Artistes perform the play Sakala Sandhan at Annapurna Theatre — A in Puri. Pictures by Sarat Patra

Bhubaneswar, June 29: Puri’s once splendid Annapurna Theatre – A seemed to have left its glory days behind.

Once reverberating with dialogues and music of plays by eminent artistes and dancing bells of the founders of different styles of Odissi dance such as Pankaj Charan Das, Debaprasad Das and Kelucharan Mohapatra, the theatre had turned into a crumbling structure, often reminding one of a past that was both recent and long gone.

However, a group of art lovers are now putting in efforts to revive this temple of art. This group, mostly youngsters, has been consistently staging plays every second Sunday of the month to bring back the lost glory of the theatre. Though the complete renovation is still far off, the team of amateur artistes has inspired many local residents to get involved in this mini theatre revolution.

Known as the Sreekshetra Natak Utsav Committee, the team has been staging plays at the theatre for four years now.

“We started the efforts in 2008 out of love for theatre. Neither do we have any professional training nor much funds. But the enthusiasm among locals has revived this theatre tradition of the city that had once produced eminent artistes like Ramachandra Pratihari, Bhanumati Devi, Durlabh Chandra Singh, Nityanada Das, Byomakesh Tripathy and so on,” said Prafulla Samantaray, a member of the committee and the district cultural officer.

The artistes stage plays based on historical, mythological and even social themes. The play staged in June by Suman Natya Sanstha, Sakala Sandhan, portrayed the problems faced by exploited tribals.

“The aura of this theatre is such that all our plays get great attendance and many of our artistes have been engaged by television serial makers and in films, despite any professional training in acting. Of course, we are helped by the alumni from Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalaya (USM) of Bhubaneswar,” added Samantray.

Three annual festivals are also organised by these drama enthusiasts. Bikram Sahu, a pass-out from the drama department of USM, organises ‘Rangashala’ annually, while a businessman and drama aficionado, Govind Mohanty organises a theatre festival ‘Anusthan Amara’. A servitor of Lord Jagannath, Raghunath Puja Panda also organises a festival ‘Puri Drama Expo’.

“Art and theatre are forms of devotion and this auspicious centre of art has the blessings of Lord Jagannath that the artistes performing here receive. It is a very important cultural centre for the city as well as the state. It must be revived fully to boost theatre,” said Puja Panda.

Samantray said the expenses for holding plays are shared by many locals who wish to see the tradition of the city rejuvenate. However, the structure of the Annapurna theatre is yet to be fully renovated, he added.

“The land where the theatre stands is stranded in a legal dispute between a math and the Jagannath temple authorities. Thus, we are not able to get the repairs done,” said Samantray.

The fans, stage, roof and in fact, entire structure needs urgent attention for maintenance.

“We had repaired the pillars and some other portions of the theatre. But until the government authorities and cultural department takes up the issue, we can only do our best by continuing the staging of plays,” added Samantray.

The theatre that was established in 1933 had a strong craze among people across the state when the Annapurna – A touring troupes used to hold theatre camps until the 1970s.

However, from 1980 to 2008, the theatre was seldom used due to the inefficient administration and legal tangles.