Bhubaneswar: The artistes of ‘Ebong Amra’, a theatre group from West Bengal, left the theatre lovers spellbound with their powerful staging of ‘Andhya Yug’ on the second evening of five-day 28th National Kalinga Natya Mahotsav, organised by Shatabdira Kalakar at Rabindra Mandap on Saturday.
Directed by Kallol Bhattacharya, ‘Andhya Yug’ is a Bengali adaptation of the Hindi classic ‘Andha Yug’ by Dharamvir Bharati. The play picks up on the final day of the Kurukshetra war, and the curtain falls on the death of Krishna, following Gandhari’s curse.
In between, viewers are treated to powerful episodes, such as Bhima’s defeat of Duryodhana, the vicious attack on the Pandava camp by Ashwatthama, Kripacharya, and Kritavarma, and the tragic slaughter of the Pandavas’ sons. There’s also the gripping scene where Krishna saves Uttara’s unborn child from Ashwatthama’s Brahmastra, and the dramatic curse by Gandhari. These moments, along with Krishna’s eventual death by a hunter’s arrow, kept the audience hooked.
Although the plot is well-known, ‘Andhya Yug’ still managed to stir deep emotions. The director masterfully connected the ancient events to contemporary life, with the actors delivering powerful performances. The lighting and prop design were also top-notch, adding an extra layer of magic to the experience. Music by Suvadeep Guha needs special mention.
What truly stood out was that all 28 actors—seven women and 21 men—were rookies. They had participated in a 30-day residential workshop that began in October last year and were performing this piece for the third time. Despite being new to the theatre scene, the cast performed like seasoned veterans, with Agnivachandra, Saheb Haldar, and Souvik Bera particularly impressing the crowd with their portrayal of Ashwatthama.
The scene in which Ashwatthama, unable to recall his Brahmashtra, directs it toward Uttara’s womb was so chillingly executed that it made a lasting impact on the audience.
While watching the play, I, and some others, found Yudhisthir and Bidur characters played by Ayush Sharma and Ashutosh and Vyas characters played by Shotam Pandey delivering their dialogues in Hindi a little bit jarring. After the show, during interaction with Kallol Bhattacharya, he explained that the actors are Hindi speakers and not fully proficient in Bengali. Since the production was a workshop-oriented one, they couldn’t be excluded, he added.
Kallol Bhattacharya, a post-graduate degree in Mass Communications, established his own theatre group ‘Ebong Amra’ in 1994 in Satkahania, a small village in Paschim Bardhaman in West Bengal. Most of the group’s members come from tribal communities and impoverished backgrounds, including peasants and bricklayers from nearby villages.
Over the years, the group has participated at several prestigious festivals like the Bharat Rang Mahotsav in New Delhi, International Theatre Festival of Kerala, Bahurupi National Theatre Festival, Rangayana, Mysore and many others major festival in India and Bangladesh.
Earlier in the evening, the second day of the festival was inaugurated by chairman, Eastern Media Limited, Soumyaranjan Pattnayak, senior journalist Pradosh Pattnayak; working editor, Pragativadi Birupakshya Tripathy. On this occasion, Kali Prasanna Mallick, an actor with Shatabdira Kalakar, was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award while Anil Patra, an actor from Berhampur and Narasingha Parida, a photo journalist, were felicitated with Shatabdira Kalakar Samman.
Established on April 18, 1976, Satabdira Kalakar is celebrating its golden jubilee which will culminate on April 18 this year.
On the stage:
Narrator 1: Tiyas Pradhan, Narrator 2: Vaskar Saha, Duryodhan: Liton Sarkar, Bhim: Rishikesh Pramanik, Judhisthir: Ayush Sharma, Nayed Mondal, Krishna: Suvasish Bag, Sabnaj Rahaman, Abhirup Chowdhury and Tiyas Pradhan, Gandhari: Lilima Biswas, Sutapa Chatterjee, Pragya Bakshi, Sanjhbati Deb, Suchismita Bhattacharyya, Saheli Mallik and Shuvamita Mazumdar, Dhritarastra: Binoy Haldar, Suvasish Bag, Bidur: Ayush Sharma, Rishikesh Pramanik and Sayanna Bhattacharyya, Jujutshu: Swarnabha Chatterjee and Surojit Mal Ashwathama: Agniva Chandra, Saheb Halder and Sourik Bera, Kripacharjya: Abhirup Chowdhury, Kritabarma: Sayanna Bhattacharyya, Owl: Suchismita Bhattacharyya, Crow: Sanjhbati Deb, Fox: Lilima Biswas, Sourik Bera, Saheli Mallik and Sanjhbati Deb, Shiv & Vyas: Satyam Pandey, Droupodi: Shuvomita Mazumder, Arjun: Surojit Mal, Uttara: Saheli Mallik, Pariskhit: Sanjhbati Deb, Sanjoy: Surojit Mal/Liton Sarkar, Deer: Sabnaj Rahaman, Vyadh: Vaskar Saha
Off the stage:Performance text/design/direction: Kallol Bhattacharya, Light design: Priyabrata Saha, Set Design/Prop Design: Mithun Sarkar, Bapi Bauri and Banamali Bauri, Music: Suvadeep Guha, Musicians: Manik Bauri, Uday Bauri, Agniva Chandra and Rishikesh Pramanik
