Artistes perform at Multilingual Drama Festival in Bhubaneswar. Pictures by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, March 3: Known names in the field of theatre from all over the country have gathered at the 13th National Multilingual Drama Festival that began in the city on March 1. Organised by city-based theatre group Satabdira Kalakara, the week-long festival on at Rabindra Mandap, showcases many plays that have earned recognition in the state and a few, at national level too.

The festival opened on Tuesday evening, with the hosts (Satabdira Kalakar) staging their production Atrupta Ichhara Janha. Based on the story written by R.N. Senapati dramatised by R.K. Bannerjee, the play dealt with one of the current issues of urban areas like Bhubaneswar. It pondered on various aspects involved with slum eviction drives.

The drama depicted the suffering of slum dwellers due to sudden eviction while some of them got involved with corrupt officers for their profit. While few officials try to set things right, others are ready to ruin the many lives for political inclinations and benefits.

Using interesting techniques like interludes of situational chorus songs and dance, the play, directed by Biswanath Pati, had a good response during its earlier shows in the city.

On Tuesday too the artistes received rave response.

“The subject of the play is very important in the current scenario. Moreover, since it showed all aspects related to slums and their eviction and that too in a very effective way, it touched me,” said a theatre-lover Madhusmita Mishra .

“The performance by some characters, like the young leader in the slum and some of the officials, was praiseworthy,” said Bikram Jena, another viewer.

The captivating drama, Ajnatobaas, that was based on the empty-nest syndrome, enthralled the audience on Wednesday. Staged by Nandikar theatre group of Calcutta, the Bengali play adopted from a story written by Sukant Gangopadhyay was directed by his younger brother Sumant Gangopadhyay.

The plot revolved round an old lonely woman who underwent various psychological ailments and started living with a young couple.

While initially there were problems in adjustment by the couple, later, the three form were held together by a strange bond of affection. The emotional plots and sub-plots of the remarkably executed drama kept the audience bound to their seats.

“We had heard that the play had received great reviews at a theatre festival in Paradip where it was recently performed. Watching it today explained why so,” said Sanjit Choudhury, a viewer.

The drama fest is to showcase various plays in Hindi, Oriya, Bengali and Nepali that would be performed by troupes from Himachal Pradesh, Nepal, Hyderabad, Rourkela and so on.

Known names in the field of theatre from all over the country have gathered at the 13th National Multilingual Drama Festival that began in the city on March 1. Organised by city based theatre group Satabdira Kalakara, the week-long festival on at Rabindra Mandap, showcases many plays that have earned recognition in the state and some, at national level too.

The festival opened on Tuesday evening, with the hosts (Satabdira Kalakar) staging their production ‘Atrupta Ichhara Janha’. Based on the story written by R N Senapati dramatized by R K Bannerjee, the play dealt with one of the current issues of urban areas like Bhubaneswar itself. It pondered on various aspects involved with slum eviction drives. The drama depicted the suffering of slum dwellers due to sudden eviction while some of them also get involved with corrupt officers for their profit. Also, while few officials try to set things right, others, for political inclinations and benefits, are ready to ruin the lives of many.

Using interesting techniques like interludes of situational chorus songs and dance, the play, directed by Biswanath Pati, had a good response during its earlier shows in the city. On Tuesday too the artistes received rave response.

“The subject of the play is very important in the current scenario. Moreover, since it showed all aspects related to slums and their eviction and that too in a very effective way, it touched me,” says Madhusmita Mishra, a theatre-lover. “The performance by some characters, like the young leader in the slum and some of the officials, was praiseworthy,” said Bikram Jena, another viewer.

The captivating drama, ‘Ajnatobaas’, that was based on the empty-nest syndrome, enthralled the audience on Wednesday. Staged by Nandikar theatre group of Calcutta, the Bengali play adopted from a story written by Sukant Gangopadhyay was directed by his younger brother Sumant Gangopadhyay.

An old woman who is lonely and undergoing various psychological ailments starts living with a young couple. While initially there are problems in adjustment by the couple, later, the three form a strange bond of affection. The emotional plots and sub-plots of the remarkably executed drama kept the audience bound to their seats.

“We had heard that the play had received great reviews at a theatre festival in Paradip where it was recently performed. Watching it today explained why so,” said Sanjit Choudhury, a viewer.

The drama fest is to showcase various plays in Hindi, Oriya, Bengali and Nepali that are to be performed by troupes from Himachal Pradesh, Nepal, Hyderabad, Rourkela and so on.