Customs & rituals are important markers of KP identity

A scene of the play ‘Gaad Bateh’ which was staged by Vomed Rangmanch on 2nd day of Annual Drama Festival at Jammu on Wednesday. —Excelsior/Rakesh
A scene of the play ‘Gaad Bateh’ which was staged by Vomed Rangmanch on 2nd day of Annual Drama Festival at Jammu on Wednesday. —Excelsior/Rakesh

Lalit Gupta

JAMMU, Nov 14: Kashmiri play ‘Gaad Bateh’ presented by Vomed Rangmanch on the second day of the ongoing Annual Drama Festival 2018, comes as a contemporary work which reflects Kashmir Pandit community’s transition from ‘sorrow of exile’ to ‘learn from exile’.
Written by young Rakesh Roshan Bhat and directed by Rohit Bhat, the play which reiterates the urgent need to continue the age-old traditions despite change of environment, is woven around ‘Gaad Bateh’, (Fish with Rice), the Kashmiri annual sacrificial offering to the guardian of the house, the Grah Devta during the month of Posh as he being a protector is known to keep the house safe from evil spirits.
The plot revolves around one Kanyalal who celebrates all the KP festivals to keep the culture alive in exile but has not been able to celebrate Gadd Bateh as he didn’t own a house for 26 years in Jammu. Now when he finally builds a house he wants to celebrate it quietly. But the other characters like his son, grandson, and daughter in law, fish-loving neighbor and the Grah Devta make it memorable for him.
Staged on almost bare stage, today’s production was dominated by good work done by actors who through well-timed colloquial phrases, adages and maxims, comic one-liners and punch lines made the audience burst into spontaneous laughter time and again.
The cast of actors included Vinay Pandita as Kanyalal, Jatinder Jotshi as Grah Devta, Daizy Bazaz as Veena, Puneet Bali as Bubji, Rahul Pandita as Sanju Bhaiya, Bharti Koul as  Shama ji, King C Bharti as  Ramesh, the child actors Kosar Chandpuri as Sonu and Ishu Bharti as Krishna.
Tomorrow Punjabi Play Kuleshney will be staged by Manoranjan Kala Kendra.

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