Children stage Dhanu Yatra at Routmunda in Balangir. Telegraph picture

Balangir, Jan. 25: A different kind of Dhanu Yatra was staged at Routmunda in Balangir on Sunday evening. It was different from the Dhanu Yatra in Bargarh, which is staged on the largest open-air theatre in the world.

What is special about the Dhanu Yatra in Routmunda is that all characters based on the epic Mahabharata had been played by children, all inmates of a Bal Sanskar Kendra. Jita Naik, president of Dhanu Yatra committee who was instrumental in starting it in Routmunda six years ago, said that he had conceived the idea to involve children with a view to hone their acting talent.

“I thought that children can learn lot from the Dhanu Yatra while playing different characters as the theme of the story is based on the fight between ‘good’ and ‘evil’. From maharaj Kansa to Lord Krishna and all other characters were played by children below 15 years of age,” said Naik.

The kids who participate in the Dhanu Yatra abstain from eating non-vegetarian food during the festival. “In fact the children who play the role of Krishna, Kansa and Balaram are vegetarians and they have been playing the roles for the last six years,” Naik said. Jaya Sankar Mishra, who plays the role of Kansa said he felt like the real Kansa during the five days of Dhanu Yatra. “I have been playing the role for the last six years and feel like the real Kansa when on stage. I have learnt a lot from my role in the festival and trying to implement it in real life,” he said.

Another interesting aspect of the festival is that a girl Rina Sahu plays the role of Krishna. Rina said her look was best suited to the role of Krishna. “Perhaps it was my look that prompted the director to pick me for the role of Krishna. I don’t mind playing a male role as long as it is the role of Krishna,” she said.

The episodes have been written by Surendra Tripathy and directed by Dandapani Hota. While the dialogues are written by Narayan Mishra, Benudhar Sahu has composed music. Advisor of the Dhanu Yatra committee Prafulla Bag said apart from the Dhanu Yatra in Bargarh there are at least 20 places in western Orissa where the festival is held and the number is increasing.