NSD campus witnesses cultural extravaganza

An enthusiastic audience, comprising children, parents and underprivileged kids from different NGOs witnessed some great treat as traditional art groups and special folk theatre artists weaved their magic with enchanting performances on the fourth day of the prestigious 'Bal Sangam' at NSD campus.

Making a mark with today's marquee performance was Changu Mangu ki Gatha (Nautanki), a special theatre performance presented by Mayur Rangmanch hailing from Allahabad. Mayur Rangmanch established in 1986 has been constantly working to preserve theatre activities.

The performance Changu Mangu ki Gatha (Nautanki) is a folk theatre of UP. It's a traditional story with a moral value on how conflicts in family dominate the love and affection of blood relations resulting in the loss of near and dear ones.

Among other traditional groups that graced the NSD campus with their performance included: Chokhreng Culture and Drama Society (Tripura) – a cultural organization in the state of Tripura established in1986. It has been promoting and preserving the original art of tribal folk dances of Tripura. The organization has trained more than 100 artists from different tribal communities of Tripura.

Lebang Boomani – Both men and women participate in the Lebang Boomani dance. The men use bamboo clappers called Tokkas to set a beat while the women join them by waving colourful scarves to catch the Lebang, a delicious insect. The rhythmic play of the clappers is thought to attract the Lebang out of their hiding places allowing the women to catch them. The dance is accompanied by musical instruments like the flute, Khamb, the percussion instrument Pung, and sarinda. Since its inception, Kala-O-Kalakar (Sambalpur, Odisha) has been endeavouring to create a link between the ancient and modern-art, culture and music, and is striving to promote as well as to take the responsibility of preserving the same for the future generation. Apart from this, it imparts education on drawing, painting and Odissi dance. Presided by Prof. Waman Kendre, Director, NSD, the tenth edition of the 'Bal Sangam' concluded on Tuesday with Manoj Joshi, eminent theatre and film actor as the chief guest, Vibha Chibber, renowned theatre and television personality as the guest of honour and M.L. Srivastava, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India as the special guest.