Bhubaneswar: The curtains came down on two-day national puppet theatre festival ‘Kandhei Nata: Eka Sanskruti Jatra’ concluded at Bhanjakala Mandap on Friday, marking a colourful celebration of India’s rich puppetry traditions.
Gracing the concluding day as the chief guest Culture Minister Suryabanshi Suraj, observed that the puppet theatre has long served as a powerful medium to send out important social messages. He also lauded the puppet theatre maestros for keeping the age-old art form alive.
Informing about the purpose of the festival, secretary of Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi Chandrasekhar Hota said, “The main objective of this festival is to introduce the younger generations to puppet theatre. This is why we ensured the participation of school children. Over the two days, hundreds of school children got the opportunity to watch puppet shows, many of them experiencing it for the very first time.”
The participating groups also expressed their delight for the Odisha government mounting such a beautiful festival. “The government’s initiative is praiseworthy. This will go a long way in helping the artistes preserve and refine the ancient art forms,” said Sudip Gupta, the founder of Culcutta Dolls Theatre.
Echoing the same, septuagenarian puppet artiste Sushant Kumar Dhal, the founder of Jai Bharat Kandhei Kala Parishad, Dhenkanal, Odisha, said, “In this digital age, the puppet theatre is struggling for its survival. I have ideas to incorporate modern technologies to make my shows more engaging but the financial constraints have held me back.”
The festival drew large crowds, with the older visitors reliving cherished childhood memories while younger audiences gathering experience about the art of puppetry.
“I brought my 88 years old mother to the festival so she could revisit her childhood days. Seeing her so happy was truly special,” said Ullas Pattnaik, a resident of Nageswar Tangi, Bhubaneswar.
Pratik Patnaik, a class V student of DAV Public School, Pakhoriput, shared his excitement. “Because of the efforts of the government, we got to watch puppet shows about which we had only heard from our grandparents. It gave us a chance to learn about ancient art forms.”
Organised by Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi, under the aegis of the Department of Odia Language, Literature and Culture, Government of Odisha, the much-anticipated puppet theatre festival featured a total of 12 puppet theatre groups from Odisha and other states.
The puppet theatre groups participated in the festival were Gundu Raju’s Sri Rajaram Thogalu Gombemela, Karnataka; Sudip Gupta’s Dolls Theatre, Kolkata; KK Ramchandra Pulavar’s Tholpavakuthu, Kerala; Puran Bhatt’s Kathptli, Rajasthan; Chakradhar Parida’s Debashilpi Biswakarma Kandheinacha, Keonjhar, Odisha; Guru Parameshwar Singh’s Shri Bagadevi Puppet Theatre, Kendrapada, Odisha; Jagabandhu Behera’s Shri Maa Jagatjanani Puppet Theatre, Bhanjanagar, Odisha; Guru Khageswar Pradhan’s Ravanachhaya Natya Sansad, Angul, Odisha; Amarendra Nath Naskar’s Kultali Debendra Nath Sarala Putul Nach, 24 Pragana, West Bengal; Gouranga Charan Das’ Shri Ram Chhaya Natak Gabeshana Parishad, Angul, Odisha; Jayashree Das’ Kandhei Ghar, Bhubaneswar, Odisha and Sushanta Kumar Dhal’s Jai Bharat Kandhei Kala Parishad, Dhenkanal, Odisha.
