National level drama festival to be rechristened as Biswa Bangla National Drama Festival

Kolkata: The national level drama festival that the Bengal government hosts every year is going to be organised in a much bigger form this time with its new name "Biswa Bangla National Drama Festival".

Several drama groups participate in the festival every year that the Mamata Banerjee-government has taken to a new level in the past few years. "This time, it is going to be bigger and it will be named as Biswa Bangla National Drama Festival," said an official in the state secretariat.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had introduced "Biswa Bangla" with an aim to ensure that the state can create its own space in global arena in different aspects.

It may be mentioned that the symbol of Biswa Bangla is a part of the logo of the host city Kolkata for the FIFA Under-17 Football World Cup that is going to commence in October. The symbol of Biswa Bangla was also being designed by the Chief Minister.

Last year, around 16 drama groups has taken part in the festival which included 10 from different parts of Bengal and 6 from other states.

Though the total number of groups who are going to participate this time is yet to be finalised, it is surely going to increase. More number of groups from other states are also going to participate.

There is going to be a special section for young directors. The official said that this time, more opportunities will be given to the young directors. "It is going to encourage the young directors and it will be a major platform for them to showcase their talent," the official said adding that several drama groups from districts are also going to get the opportunity.

The official said that the final decision on the dates of the festival is yet to be taken but it has been finalised that it will continue for seven long days. The drama groups will be asked to approach and the groups will be selected on the basis of their performances through a screening process, the official said.

For the past few years, the festival used to take place in Minerva Theatre and Rabindra Sadan. But this time, the total number of venues where the participating drama groups will be performing will also be increased. The venues of the festival this time are Minerva Theatre, Sisir Mancha, Madhusudan Mancha and Rabindra Sadan Mukta Mancha. The dramas that are of the genres of street play will be held in Ranbindra Sadan Mukta Mancha.

The official said that the Minerva Natya Sanskriti Charcha Kendra will give shape to the entire event. The Minister of State for Information and Cultural Affairs department Indranil Sen is the chairman of the executive committee of the Charcha Kendra. The state Information Technology minister Bratya Basu and MP Arpita Ghosh are members of the body too.

The official said that groups of many well-known national level drama personalities also take part in the festival. In the past few years, the

festival has reached to a new level in the national level and drama groups from different states wait round-the-year for the festival.