Bhubaneswar: The Bhanjakala Mandap here on Sunday came alive as Panchadhwani Natya Parishad’s tenth edition of its two-day Theatre Festival inaugurated with much fanfare.
A decade ago, when Odisha’s theatre landscape teemed with several groups, theatre lover Panchanan Dash and his like-minded friends—Sarada Prasad Sarangi, Karunakar Samal, Prakash Maharana, and the late Ramesh Chandra Mohanty—decided to carve out a space of their own.
Their shared passion gave birth to Panchadhwani Natya Parishad in 2014.Since then, the group has not only staged its own productions and toured festivals across the state, but also built a festival of its own, slowly but surely earning a special place in Odisha’s theatre circuit. So far, it has successfully staged 32 plays and around 75 shows. During Covid period, it created ripples by staging a play ‘Ishwara Ama Sapaksha Re’ on the pandemic in Puri.
The inaugural evening of the Parishad’s theatre festival witnessed the presence of distinguished guests like secretary of Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi Chandrasekhar Hota, LIC’s senior circle manager Shyamalakanti Mohanty, Odisha Natya Sangha’s president Mihir Kumar Meher, Sangha’s secretary Sudhanshu Dwibedy, theatre personalities Upendra Prasad Nayak, Maya Das, Lala Biren Ray, and Kshirod Kumar Swain who lit the auspicious lamp, marking the beginning of the festival.
A felicitation ceremony followed, where eminent theatre personality and CSNA awardee Manoj Kumar Pattanayak was felicitated with ‘Panchadhwani Natya Prajna Samman’ for his lifelong contribution to the theatre world. Similarly, ‘Panchadhwani Natya Gourab Samman’, ‘Gopinath Dash Baristha Natya Nirddeshak Samman’ ‘Panchadhwani Naba Natya Jyoti Samman’ and ‘Utsav Sahoo Sangeeta Prativa Samman’ were conferred upon writer and film director Chinmaya Kumar Das Pattanayak, actor and director Prakash Maharana, theatre producer and organiser Subhakanta padhi and Odissi vocalist Rupak Kumar Parida respectively.
On this occasion, Parishad’s president Panchanan Dash’s book titled ‘Pasha Pali O Anyanya Natak’ was unveiled.
The inaugural evening’s play was ‘Jatha Goutamasya Ahalya’, staged by the artistes of ‘Panchadhwani Natya Parishad’, under the able direction of Prakash Maharana.
As the title suggests, the play’s central character is Ahalya, a mythological character who was cursed into stone and later redeemed by Lord Ram. The play, written by Panchanan Dash, poignantly captures Ahalya’s tragic journey-cursed since childhood, wronged by deception and ultimately restored to dignity.
The play opens at the ashram of sage Goutama where two travelers stumble upon a massive stone blocking their way. Their attempts to move it fail. Then they hear a heart-wrenching cry emerging from within it. It is Ahalya, trapped in stone. What follows is a tale of love, betrayal, and divine justice.
Ahalya is born from Lord Brahma’s mind with unmatched beauty. To protect her from lustful eyes, Lord Brahma places her in the care of sage Goutama until she attains puberty. When that time comes, the sage returns Ahalya to Lord Brahma. Her charming beauty catches the eye of Lord Indra, who attempts to claim her as his bride.
When Brahma instead arranges her marriage with Goutama. Consumed by lust, Lord Indra disguises himself as sage Goutama, arrives the sage’s ashram in his absence in night and have physical relationship with Ahalya.Upon learning the deceit, the sage, in a fit of rage, curses Ahalya to become a stone until Lord Rama’s divine touch in Treta Yuga restores her humanity.
When Ahalya questions her guilt, Lord Ram reassures her of her innocence and declares she will be honoured alongside Draupadi, Kunti, Tara, and Mandodari as an ideal woman.
Though the story is familiar, the production struck an emotional chord and the audience watched with rapt attention as the cast breathed new life into the timeless tale. Panchana Dash’s evocative writing and Prakash Maharana’s deft direction that worked, Pratap Rout’s soulful score and Subhankar Sahu’s atmospheric light design combined to create a performance that was truly a feast for the senses.
On the stage:
Sage Goutama: Malaya Kumar Mohanty, Ahalya (child): Laxmipriya Senapati, Ahalya (adult): Anusuya Swain, Ahalya (atma) Dharitri Khanduala, Brahma: Biranchi Kumar Dash, Narada: Rajesh Mallia, Lord Indra: Santosh Kumar Pattanayak, Vishwamitra: Raghunath Behera, Lord Ram: Jyotiranjan Ray, Laxman: Babul, First traveler: Prakash Maharana, Second traveler: Brundaban Parida, Yajna priest: Karunakar Samal, Jaga Rao and Vivek Lal (Dada)
Off the stage:
Writer: Panchanan Dash, Director: Prakash Maharana, Chief Assistant Director: Karunakar Samal, Assistant Director: Rajesh Mallia, Music: Pratap Raut, Light: Subhankar Sahoo, Choreography: Pradyumna Mohanty, Stage: Trimurti Arts, Costume and make-up: Janata Chitralaya
The anchor of the evening was Biswajit Baliarsingh.
