Artistes of Shatabdira Kalakar stage the play Kedar Gouri at Rabindra Mandap in Bhubaneswar. Telegraph pictures

Bhubaneswar, Aug. 9: Theatre group Shatabdira Kalakar presented Kedar Gouri, a traditional tale that many Odias have grown up listening to, in the form of a play at Rabindra Mandap on Monday evening.

Director Dhira Mallik blended modern elements into the folklore while keeping the essence of the story intact.

The play told the story of lovers Kedar and Gouri in whose honour the 10th Century Kedar Gouri temple was built. Playwright Shankar Tripathy dramatised the ancient tale.

Under the empire of Lalatendu Keshari, two kings of neighbourhood provinces — Birabara Singha and Sridhar Singh — share a strong bond of friendship.

They decide to make their friendship stronger by vowing before the deity at Lingaraj temple that their children Kedar and Gouri would marry when they grow up. The two young kids grow up together and with time their fondness for each other blossoms into love. But a small feud leads to enmity between their fathers. Kedar and Gouri pine for each other, and when nothing works out, they choose to die together.

Though a tragic story, Mallik slipped in comic moments that received applause. The actors’ performances were subtle and the stage crafted by Asim Basu provided the perfect backdrop to the story, especially with the image of Lingaraj temple in the background.

The audience did not tire of clapping on the numerous occasions that the play slipped into a lighter mood.

Actors Bharat Panda (Kedar), Sandhya (Gouri), Partha Bira (Lalatendu Keshari), Soumendra (Birabara Singh), Kedar Jena (Sridhar Singh) and others with small comic roles made an impact on the audience.

“We have grown up listening to this tale. But seeing it unfold on stage was a great experience. The actors did a wonderful job,” said Prashant Nayak, a member of the audience.

Shatabdira Kalakar presented the play for its monsoon theatre session.

“We chose this play because the tale belongs to Odisha and viewers can identify with the incidents they see unfolding on stage. Visualising what you have read or heard about is a special experience and we wanted to give our viewers that opportunity through Kedar Gouri. Shankar Tripathy has done a brilliant job of transforming the legend into a play,” said director Mallik.

He said the theatre troupe would be performing another period play soon.

“Rehearsals are on for our next presentation, also a period play that again is typically Odia. We will be performing the tale of King Kharavela in our next play, most likely this month,” he said.