Shyamhari Chakra
BHUBANESWAR: Much to the cheer of countless artistes and connoisseurs of Odia theatre on both sides of Odisha-Jharkhad border, Saraikela would host an annual Odia drama festival soon.
Saraikela was an Odia princely state of India during the era of the British Raj and is currently a part of the Jharkhand state.
The Odia people of Saraikela and Odia cultural activists of Odisha have been struggling since decades for preservation and promotion of Odia language and culture.
Thus, the news of the revival of Odia theatre in Saraikela has caused much cheers among the Odia people on both sides of the border.
The move to promote Odia theatre is being spearheaded by New Delhi based eminent Chhau exponent Sashadhar Acharya who hails from Saraikela and supported by a number of artistes and arts activists of Saraikela.
Recipient of the Padma Shri and Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, Acahraya is an Odia whose forefathers had moved from Puri to Saraikela.
A meeting was organized recently at Indratandi Mohalla in Saraikela that was chaired by Acharya and convened by senior artiste Shantanu Senapati.
The meeting deliberated on the need for urgent preservation of Odia culture and tradition in Saraikela region through revival of Odia theatre activities and an annual Odia drama festival to showcase the local talents.
The festival featuring Odia plays would be staged during the last week of February or the first week of March next year, the meeting decided.
Among the large number of theatre artists and activists who participated in the meeting included Nathu Mahto, Subodh Panigrahi, Bablu Dubey, Rupesh Sahu, Dilip Shankar Acharya, Saroj Acharya, Partha Sarathi Acharya, Nilkanth Sarangi, Sushant Kumar Mahapatra, Rajat Patnaik, Tuna Pati, Vijendra Pattanayak, Robi Kar, Nalini Acharya, Moni Jyotishi and Sandip Nanda.
Odisha Natya Sangha, a federation of theatre organisations of Odisha state has welcomed the move. “Government of Odisha and Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi should come forward to support the move,” opined noted theatre director Avinna Rourtay, founder-member of the Sangha.
