An otherwise sleepy town 70km from Jamshedpur, Chaibasa in West Singhbhum suddenly buzzed as a cultural hotspot on Jharkhand's 17th Statehood Day.
Adivasi Adi Bimb, the three-day national tribal festival of dance, music and theatre organised by the National School of Drama (NSD), New Delhi, jointly with art and culture department started on Tuesday.
Theatre guru and NSD chairperson Ratan Thiyam, along with West Singhbhum DC Shantanu Kumar Agrahari, inaugurated the festival at Zilla School grounds in Chaibasa, which was gaily decked for the day.
"We had the choice of organising this festival at any metropolitan city but we chose Chaibasa because we thought of organising it amid tribal people. This is a better place to learn other tribal dance forms and to know each other. This festival is a tribute to Birsa Munda and the tribals of Jharkhand," said Thiyam, a Padma Shri, who has performed his acclaimed plays across the world.
Thiyam's reasoning behind the offbeat venue was justified, as over 7,000 tribal residents came to the venue on Tuesday.
DC Agrahari, in his address, appreciated the efforts of the NSD and asked talented youngsters to seek admission to the prestigious institute.
The first day staged Mongchouk dance from Sikkim, peacock dance from Assam, Dong dance from Bihar, Ghumura from Odisha, Cheraw or the bamboo dance from Mizoram and Kurmali Jhumar, Baha and Hori Aandi from Jharkhand.
"Cheraw from Mizoram holds the 2010 Guinness record, because 10,736 people danced across a 2.5 km area, the largest such ensemble ever in the world. The co-ordination of female dancers and male dancers who move the bamboo in rhythmic beats is a miracle. We have 16 performers for today (Tuesday)," said F. Zatawiya, the group leader of Zinpach from Mizoram.
Two Jharkhand theatre groups also performed on Tuesday. Birsa Kala Kendra performed Kurbaani Bekar Nahi Jayegi, the story of Veer Budhu Bhagat, a tribal freedom fighter in 1857, directed by Deepak Lohar. Nian, a production of Natya Chetana, dealt with the story of a tribal girl compelled to join the Naxalites after suffering sexual exploitation.
The performances struck a chord. Youngsters, friends and families came in large numbers to attend the show and also to learn from dance forms of other states.
"Chaibasa usually does not host cultural programmes of this stature. So, this is a very pleasant surprise. My friends and I will come here everyday," smiled Suman Balmuchu, a third-year BCom student.
