BARGARH: Ask any Bargarh resident the way to ‘Kansa Gali’ and they would lead you to the street where lived Judhistir Satpathy, the man who brought alive ruthless King Kansa for over two decades in the history of Dhanuyatra. Such was his clout that, not only his residential address became a landmark as ‘Kansa Gali’, but the locals continued to call him ‘Maharaj’ till his last breath.
The whole theme of Dhanuyatra revolves around the theme of Krishna and Mathura Vijay in which King Kansa is the protagonist. Satpathy through his acting had done justice to the character of Kansa which remains etched in the hearts of the people of Bargarh.
Satpathy reprised the role of the demon king from 1957 to 1980 in two phases, with a gap of one year during 1973. His role as Kansa did not remain limited to stage only, rather he used to make a personal presence among the denizens which made him popular among the public. Be it penalizing a local for their wrongdoing during Nagar Parikrama or confronting government officials for not addressing the grievances of public, the town indeed appeared to be kingdom during the 11-day-long festival. And that was the reason, why the people of Bargarh called him ‘Maharaj’ even after the festival ended.
While the locality where Satpathy lived was known as Rangharpada originally, the locals later renamed it as ‘Kansa Gali’ which was changed officially by the Bargarh municipality. Satpathy’s grandson, Jitendra Satpathy said, “I feel proud to be a descendant of Judhistir Satpathy. His popularity has remained unmatched even today. While all other actors playing Kansa now deliver their dialogues in Odia only, my grandfather at that time used to deliver his dialogues in Sanskrit and Bhojpuri which was unique.”
Actor Tapaswini Guru, who also lives near the Kansa Gali here said, “Judhistir Satpathy had not taken any training in acting but he had an identity of his own style. Moreover, his persona, the way he carried the get up of Kansa, his way of walking, his voice modulation made the character larger than life.”
Old-timers who have been watching Satpathy for years tag him the best. Though Satpathy passed away in 1982, he is still known to every youth and child of Bargarh. “The least the district administration can do to acknowledge his contribution to Dhanuyatra is by putting up his statue at a prominent place in Bargarh town,” felt Guru.