Stills from the play Ajaba Kahani Gajab Katha staged by artistes of Annapurna Theatre. Pictures by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, March 30: The efforts of members and artistes of Annapurna Theatre-B group to keep the tradition of Oriya theatre alive has now started to yield results. The number of people who turned up to watch Ajaba Kahani Gajaba Katha on Tuesday stands testimony to this.

The members of Annapurna theatre have been constantly staging plays in an attempt to preserve Oriya theatre, which was once a vibrant and integral part of Cuttack’s life but is today struggling to survive.

It is now almost five years since the group has been staging plays on social themes on the 29th of every month.

Tuesday’s play, Ajaba Kahani Gajaba Katha, is about a couple Rasik Sekha Manik Chand and his wife Bengabati and how their relation turns sour because of mistrust and misunderstandings.

It all starts when Bengabati decides to teach her husband a lesson when he refuses to take her to a circus show. The plot thickens after Bengabati leaves her husband who suspects her to have had an affair.

“The play is all about the relation between the couple and how their married life takes a drastic turn for the worse because of misunderstandings,” said the head of the group and director of the play, Jugaprakash Kanungo.

This group of over 20 amateur artistes are battling to keep the theatre scene alive. According to the group members, Annapurna Theatre, which was a cradle of Oriya theatre, was closed in mid-1980s and abandoned. Later, efforts were made to infuse life back into the theatre.

The group, which began with Bai Mano Ho on April 29, 2006, has so far staged over 55 plays including the one enacted on Tuesday. The group came into the spotlight after staging a marathon of six plays over eight-and-a-half hours in October 2006.

This was the longest theatre event on a single day in the history of Oriya theatre in the state. “We have staged plays on a number of themes, including outcomes of extramarital affairs, drug addiction, female foeticide and so on. Efforts are on to communicate with the audience on contemporary issues as well,” Kanungo added.

The large number of footfalls at the monthly shows have been appreciated by artistes and local residents alike. “It is good to see that the group has been successful in holding aloft the tradition of theatre in the city. We are also getting an opportunity to understand the real meaning of life and struggle through the various plays on social issues,” said Kishore Mohanty, a viewer.