Keshav Mahanta being greeted by children on his 80th birthday in January

Oct. 15: This Children’s Day, young citizens of the city with a flair for histrionics will take to the stage to a pay tribute to their favourite koka — litterateur Keshav Mahanta — who breathed his last this year.

A group of about 25 child actors will bring to life various characters of Mahanta’s Beli Olowar Sadhu, a work cherished by his young fans, at Pragjyoti ITA Centre for Performing Arts, Machkhowa.

Manik Roy, director of the venture, said the Sahitya Akademi awardee was a guiding force for his child readers. “For children, the octogenarian poet-lyricist was their koka (grandfather) — a friend, philosopher and guide. Th-rough his powerful yet lucid writings, he taught children about life,” said Roy. “Thus we thought of staging Mahanta sir’s play on the day dedicated to children as a tribute to the author by his young readers.”

The group is taking acting lessons under the watchful eyes of Roy, a veteran in the theatre circuit. For the youngsters, acting out stories they have grown up with, is a dream come true. “I have read most of Mahanta koka’s stories and am very excited at the prospect of performing in a play written by him,” said Gayan Pathak, a member of the troupe.

With eight children’s plays to his credit, Roy’s contribution has been acknowledged through several national-level awards. He was adjudged the best director on two occasions at the All India Children’s Theatre Festival held at Cuttack, Orissa, annually. Rajar Deul, written by Assamese playwright Harendranath Borthakur, fetched Roy his first Best Director award in 2003. Roy repeated the feat at this year’s edition of the festival, for his play Dhunu Moina.

Recently, Roy made his foray into the world of films with Platform, an hourlong glimpse into the life of orphans. “Mostly, I work with children to highlight their issues. Children are fantastic artistes and can improvise a lot. I am no social activist, but just another creative person who is equally responsible towards society,” said Roy.

Many child actors groomed under Roy have made a mark on the silver screen as well. Konikar Ramdhenu’s Ronak Gogoi, Mrigaskhibharadwaj of Tora and Niyar Saikia of Butterfly Chase, the yet-to-be-released Hindi film directed by Jahnu Barua, have grown as actors under Roy’s wing.

Mahanta, the doyen of Assamese literature, passed away after a brief illness in March this year. Sahitya Akademi honoured the writer for his book on songs Mur Jey Kiman Hepa. He was also conferred the Assam Sahitya Sabha Raghunath Choudhury award for Tumar Teej.

Mahanta has penned five books on songs and four on poetry. His translations of some well known works of literature have also won him critical acclaim. Best loved as a children’s author, Mahanta’s popular works include Maa Aami Sodiyaloy Jamyee, a collection of poems, Kiman Jay Ke-He-He, a compilation of plays, and Beli Olowar Sadhu.