Rourkela, Dec. 13: The 31st All Odisha Lok Natak Mahostav started yesterday at Civic Centre here and will continue till December 18.

The festival, which is being organised by the Cultural Academy, is said to be one of the oldest events in the state.

Veteran actor Pitambara Puhana, who was honoured during the festival by the president of the academy, Prabhat Mallick, said: "Lok Natak is about the moving stories of ordinary people. It has a broad and all-encompassing philosophy."

Convener of the festival Akhaya Samal said the organisers were people from all walks of life - thinkers, writers and painters. He said theatre was just another area of interest for them and that was why finance had become a major source of concern. In other cities, such festivals have regular patrons, he said.

Samal said: "We are not being able to hold the festival regularly because of financial constraints."

"When the festival started in late 1970s, I was a college student. The plays staged at the festival during that time never compromised on quality," said theatre actor Prasant Pati.

"It was in late 1980s' that the festival started having two shows and visitors were asked to purchase tickets. The standard of the plays was very good even then. At that time, many scripts used to be rejected during the selection process," said a member of the academy.

One of the founding members of the academy, Bishnu Routray, said: "It appears today's youths are not interested in theatre, but one should not lose hope. I am sure the scenario will change for the better."

This time, six plays will be staged from as many theatre troupes.

Panchadhawni from Bhubaneswar presented Sabuja Swarna, which speaks about issues of displacement. Another troupe Sachetan Hema, from Bargarh, will present the play Abhimanuy Ra Katha.

The four other troupes are from Rourkela.