A two-day theatre fest of child artistes planned by the Sishu Kishore Akademi at Rabindra Sadan, a government auditorium in Behrampore town, Murshidabad, from Tuesday has been postponed for the livestreaming of the rituals centred around the Jagannath Dham in Digha.
In other parts of the state, including north Bengal, the administration, civic authorities and the Trinamool leadership have also lined up a slew of events, along with livestreaming of the rituals on giant screens, during the next two days.
Jagannath Dham will be inaugurated on Wednesday, a move perceived as an attempt by the TMC to consolidate Hindu votes. Some of the rituals will start on Tuesday.
Minor inmates of the state-run homes had prepared for the theatre fest to be held in various parts of Bengal and were supposed to stage eight plays during the next two days.
“We have postponed the theatre fest that was supposed to start tomorrow (Tuesday) for the livestreaming of the Jagannath Dham event,” said Prabal Basak, the district information and cultural officer of Murshidabad.
Arpita Ghosh, chairperson of the Akademi, which is under the state information and cultural affairs department, confirmed it. “It has been postponed for administrative reasons. We will host the fest next month,” she said.
The decision has not gone down well with Benrampore's theatre lovers. Pradip Dey, a veteran thespian in Behrampore, said: "Children of government homes had prepared for weeks the plays they were supposed to stage. But now, we will have to watch some rituals live, instead of their performance."
Livestreaming preparations are on in most districts, led by their respective TMC presidents. Avijit De Bhowmik, the TMC president of Cooch Behar, is among the forerunners, intending to use every option to popularise the inauguration of Jagannath Dham in Digha, around 850 kilometres away.
On Monday, Bhowmik and his party organised a procession of priests and devotees. Later, a “Purohit Sammelan” or a conference of priests was held at the town's Rabindra Bhavan. “On April 30, the consecration will be livestreamed at the Madanmohan Temple complex,” he said.
Similar arrangements have been made in Alipurduar district. On Wednesday, the civic body in Alipurduar will organise a livestreaming in different locations, along with a puja at the Iskcon temple.
In Jalpaiguri, the TMC will hold processions in each panchayat and municipality across the district on Tuesday.
In Malda, a district with minorities comprising over half the population, Trinamool is focusing on the Hindu population to popularise the Jagannath Dham. District TMC chief Abdur Rahaman Boxi said the party would host livestreaming in all 146 panchayats of Malda.