The tall sal trees at Rampur village in Agia in Goalpara district of Assam came alive on Saturday as a few hundred villagers and guests assembled to witness a unique theatre festival.
The 10th edition of Under the Sal Tree commenced on Saturday with the staging of Kukuiraja by the artistes of Badungduppa Kalakendra, the organisers of the festival.
The stage was built of bamboo and straw and the sitting arrangements were made in a completely natural setting inside a jungle, which made the theatre festival unique.
The three-day festival, scheduled from December 15, had to be postponed and cut short by a day to two days because of the widespread protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.
“We could finally organise it, braving all challenges. Some groups could not make it. So, this time we are staging just three plays in two days instead of six plays in three days,” Madan Rabha, coordinator of the festival, told this correspondent on Saturday.
The Assamese version of Charandas Chor directed by Anup Hazarika of Guwahati was staged on Saturday afternoon. On Sunday, Meenai by Ranabir Khoisnam from Manipur will be staged.
Groups from Bangladesh, West Bengal and Odisha could not attend the festival due to the countrywide unrest.
By organising the plays in the lap of nature, the festival’s founder Sukracharjya Rabha wanted to spread the message of coexistence with nature. “This is a campaign against global warming, human-animal conflict and use of plastic,” Madan said.
The festival was started by Sukracharjya, a widely respected theatre personality of Assam, in 2008. He passed away last year. This is the second edition of the festival without its founder. The festival has gradually attained popularity among theatre lovers.
Ankumani Das, assistant professor with Kumar Bhaskar Varma Sanskrit and Ancient Studies University, who has been visiting the festival for the past three years, said, “It is a unique festival. It is always a great pleasure to be here. Besides conveying a strong message on conservation of environment, everything is near perfect here. It is well organised. That is why I come here every year.”