Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, May 15: Theatre group ‘Natrang’ here today celebrated its 44th Foundation Day by organising a mega cultural extravaganza honouring the stalwarts whose dedication and artistic brilliance transformed Natrang into a globally acknowledged cultural institution.
The chief guest on this occasion was Dr. Devansh Yadav, JMC Commissioner.
Those who were honoured on the occasion were Arvind Anand, Sanjeev Luthra, Suraj Singh, Vijay Bhat, Neeraj Kant, Anil Tickoo, Sanjeev Gupta, Pankaj Sharma, Rakesh Kumar, Subash Jamwal, Vikrant Sharma, Sumeet Sharma, Chander Shekhar, Suraj Ganjoo, Mohd. Yaseen, Rahul Singh, Pawan Verma, Sunny Mujoo, Palshin Dutta, Meenakshi Bhagat, Mahikshit Singh, Shivam Singh, Kananpreet Kaur, Kushal Bhat, Sanket, Vishal Sharma, Aadesh Dhar, Mitali Sarmal, Mihir Gujral, Sheetal Sen, Gopi Sharma, Brijesh Avatar Sharma and Soujanya Shekhar
The celebrations commenced with a welcome address by the founder of Natrang, Padma Shri Balwant Thakur, who took the audience through the extraordinary and eventful 43-year journey of the institution.
He stated that had Natrang not existed, Dogri theatre would never have attained international recognition.
Thakur shared that over 7,600 events and participation in more than 385 national and international theatre and cultural festivals have established Natrang as one of India’s most vibrant cultural institutions.
He also expressed gratitude to his wife Deepika Thakur and daughters Aarushi and Gauri for their unwavering support in strengthening his artistic mission and vision.
The institution has earned numerous national and international honours like Padma Shri, Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, Sanskriti Award, National Fellowships and International Fellowships awarded to Balwant Thakur and several others from Natrang.
Sharing his future vision, Thakur revealed that Natrang dreams of establishing Jammu as an international destination for theatre and performing arts.
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