Lalit Gupta
JAMMU, Sept 26: Acclaimed modern plays of Dogri and Punjabi languages were performed on third day of the five-day Natya Samagama organized by Sangeet Natak Akademy, New Delhi, in collaboration with J&K Cultural Academy, at the Abhinav Theatre, here today.
The first performance was Natrang’s Bawa Jitto in Dogri. Written by Ramnath Shashtri and directed by Balwant Thakur, the play considered as one of the high-water marks of development of Jammu theatre in recent times, is based on the life of 16th century Dogra folk hero Bawa Jitto, who laid down his life to defend the values of honesty and justice.
The play, with more than 300 performances since 1986, has been instrumental in stirring the collective memory of new generations by reiterating the Dogra character of making supreme sacrifice of life not only as warriors but also to uphold cherished values.
Today’s show of Bawa Jitto stood out for its captivating visual design marked by a unique fusion of native folk forms with modern expressions of physical theatre idiom. The ingenious musical narrative of the life of folk hero by the onstage Gardis, folk singers, to well choreographed groupings and blockings of agile actors, left an indelible mark on the audience. Vijay Anand as Bawa Jitto, Sachita Dubey as Gauri, Madan Rangela as Mehta, Anil Tickoo As Mehta’s Lackey, Renu Sharma, Rahul Singh, gave good performances.
The second production of the evening by Manch Rangmanch, Amritsar, was Balwant Gargi’s Punjabi play Kanak di Balli. Directed by Kewal Dhaliwal, the play revolves around story of a young girl, her typical dreams of finding true love, getting married and raising a family. But all this is shattered when her drunkard uncle, who she lives with, sells off her field. In the end, just like the ripe wheat crop in her field that is sold to the highest bidder, she too is sold off and commits suicide to escape a grim future.
The play with rustic dialogues, liberally spiced with Punjabi idioms and maxims, was conspicuous for its design wherein realism was interspersed with poetic elements of music and dance. Ramandeep Kour as Taroo, Bachna as Jatinder Soni and Jitnder Kour as Taba, gave impressive performances.
The day-long folk performances by folk artistes of the state included “Jattar” by Mohan Lal and party, “Geetru” by Rumalo Ram & Party from Ramnagar, Chinjaan and Massadey.
Tomorrow three plays to be staged will include Sartaqs, Purgi drama, by a group from Leh, Raja Vikramaditya (Swang) by Folk Art Academy, Hisar, and Abhigyan Shakuntlam by a group from Ranchi.
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