The three-day-long folk drama workshop organised by state Folk and Tribal Culture Centre with the assistance of the officials of District Information and Cultural office of North Dinajpur district concluded on Thursday.
A total of 180 folk artistes, ‘Khan Pala Gaan’ performers from different districts of the state participated in this workshop held in Karnajora auditorium in Raiganj. Kallal Chakraborty, Saurav Roy and Saurav Sarkar, renowned folk artistes and scholars, guided the artists in the workshop on different days. The folk artistes, with their performance of ‘Khangaan’ on different social issues created social awareness among the masses.
They staged some popular folk dramas, including Halua-Haluani, Dakhonswari, Mayabandhani, Dalal Fakir and Brahmaswari. Subham Chakraborty, district Information & Cultural Officer of North Dinajpur said: “We found the existence of ‘Khangaan’ in the medieval period texts and literature. It was a popular form in Gour Banga once upon a time. ‘Khangaan’ is still being performed in many villages of North Dinajpur and Malda districts.
Several hundred artistes are performing ‘Khangaan’ in the form of folk drama in rural belts of North Bengal. They are also taking part in spreading awareness on various social issues, raising voices against social vices and also for the empowerment of women in society.”