The first yatra in Sambalpuri dialect being staged at Balangir. Telegraph pictures

Balangir, Sept. 26: Art lovers in Balangir were treated to a rare experiment on Saturday evening. A group of local enthusiasts led by theatre director Prashanta Khamari staged Dukh Sindoor Ke Luhu Alta, the first ever Sambalpuri yatra, at Town Auditorium.

The yatra, a popular form of theatre, was presented by Nataraj Kala Parishad, a Balangir-based cultural organisation.

The story is about a poet whose only weapon, his pen, suddenly stops due to series of incidents in his family. His brother, wife and mentally-challenged son desert him. His sister-in-law is deserted by her husband. Her father, a man of ideals, goes mad and she attempts suicide. Though she is rescued, she gets raped.

Sambhu Prasad Dash, Ram Prasad Dash, Nabaghana Dash, Jyoti Ranjan Panigrahi, Sanjeev Nayak and Sunita Panda played key roles.

Rashmi Ranjan Sahu from the audience hailed the effort.

“It is a welcome step to further enrich our culture by such experiments. More yatras should be staged in Sambalpuri,” he said.

Nimai Charan Panigrahi, who had played a brief role, said it might not appeal to people who were habituated to Oriya yatra.

“”However, once the story starts unfolding and characters deliver dialogues in Sambalpuri, one wouldn’t stop appreciating it,” Panigrahi added.

Theatre personality Khamari was very happy at the response his directorial debut received in a yatra.

“I would like to thank the all the people who supported our new venture. It’s not always an easy task to make people sit through a full-fledged play. However, the audience had watched it till end,” Khamari said.

Khamari said Bhukha, the first film in Sambalpuri by director Sabyasachi Mahapatra, had heralded a movement on Koshali culture.

“Once Bhukha achieved international fame, local playwrights and artists began to write and stage Sambalpuri plays. Nowadays, hardly any Oriya play is staged here,” he said.

Khamari, a founder member of Nataraj Kala Parishad, said: “We always try to add new flavours to folk genres and exhibit something new in the field of dance and drama in Sambalpuri. With the increasing popularity and acceptance of Sambalpuri language and literature, we thought a full-fledged yatra in Sambalpuri could have been staged.