Bharat Rang Mahotsav to regale audience from today

A REPORTER

SHILLONG: Shillong is all set to host for the first time the 21st Bharat Rang Mahotsav's (BRM) parallel theatre festival, organised by the National School of Drama (NSD) in collaboration with the Department of Art & Culture, Government of Meghalaya. The seven-day festival will begin on February 4 and continue till February 10, 2020.

The festival is also being hosted parallelly in other cities, viz., Delhi, Dehradun, Nagpur and Puducherry. Addressing the media, Prof (Dr) Abhilash Pillai, Dean Academics, NSD informed that the festival will be inaugurated at 5 pm on February 4 in the Soso Tham Auditorium, Lachumiere here in the presence of Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma. The inaugural ceremony will be followed by the performance of the play 'Jona Gabhoru', written and directed by Probin Kumar Saika.

During the festival, theatre enthusiasts will be treated to an exciting mix of modern theatre that promises an indulging theatre experience, alongside authentic 'deep-remote-area' regional and international performances.

The 21st BRM at Shillong will showcase a range of productions comprising seven shows from critically-acclaimed plays carefully curated from across India and around the world.

The festival will host four Indian and three foreign plays. Among the Indian plays, two plays would be held in Bengali and one each in Assamese and Hindi whereas performances from the USA and Nepal would be in English and one in Russian.

The opening act on February 4is the ballad of Jona Gabhuru, a tale of a young hero who goes out in quest of fortune and wins a princess. In the kingdom of Garuchar rules Jona Gabhoru, a woman who has already put nine hundred princes in prison. She makes an announcement that whoever is successful in three tests set by her, would secure her hand in marriage, but if he is unsuccessful, he would be imprisoned. Kalidhan of Kamrup hears of Jona and is tempted to marry her. But he fails. A desperate Kalidhan then calls his friend Gopichan of Nagaon and requests him to find Jona. The tale then traces Gopichan's adventures as he set out on the quest for Jona.

Speaking to reporters here on Monday, Dr Arjun Deo Charan, Acting Chairman, NSD said, "The BRM aims at uniting individuals. BRM has been an exceptionally effective celebration drawing in crowds; and we trust a comparative run for the current year as well."

Dwelling on the festival, Suresh Sharma, Director In-charge, NSD, said, "The 21st Bharat Rang Mahotsav focuses on providing an engaging audience experience. There are shows that will leave a far larger imprint on the audience than just making them simply watch something. Hence the audience will also experience the importance of space, design and environments."

Besides the plays which will be staged every evening, the Soso Tham Auditorium campus will be abuzz with allied performances that will include traditional dance and folk performances.

The 21st Bharat Rang Mahotsava, in total will be hosting 91 plays across India till February 21.

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