Rath Yatra brings new hope for jatra artistes of Bengal; bookings kick off

KOLKATA: For over six lakh people in Bengal connected with jatra, the age-old folk theatre, Rath Yatra is more than just a festival. It’s the day they wait for all year because it marks the beginning of bookings for upcoming shows. As per tradition, this year too, bookings kicked off on Friday from a temporary counter set up beside the Paschim Banga Jatra Academy.

Kolkata now has around 45 active jatra companies, up from 39 last year and each of them launched their new productions on Friday. While cinema halls and OTT platforms are often struggling to pull in viewers, jatra producers are pleased that audiences, especially in the districts, still show love for this thousand-year-old art form. A shining example is Sonar Bangla Jatra’s play ‘Bor Dar Sansar’, which clocked 205 shows and bagged the top prize.

Veteran jatra stars Anal Chakraborty and Kakoli Choudhury, fondly known as the “Uttam-Suchitra” of jatra, believe the growing number of young talents entering the scene is what will keep jatra going strong. “Jatra can be a serious career option, but along with earnings, one must also respect the art form,” said Anal. Kakoli echoed his thoughts. Like every year, a 15-day residential workshop will be held at the Phanibhushan Bidyabinod Jatra Mancha from July 15 to discover budding jatra artistes from different districts. Financial support was also announced for older or struggling artistes and technicians.

Though ministers Aroop Biswas and Indranil Sen couldn’t attend this time due to Rath Yatra celebrations in Digha, Kanak Bhattacharya, governing body member of the Paschim Banga Jatra Academy and secretary of the Paschim Banga Jatra Sammelan, took a moment to thank both the ministers and CM Mamata Banerjee for their continuous support in helping jatra thrive.

“Whenever a show picks up in places like East Midnapore or South 24-Parganas, you know it’s going to do well. Usually, a jatra pala has to cross 100 shows just to break even,” said Roop Kumar Ghosh of Akash Bani Jatra Production.

Their latest play ‘Orai Amar Ghor Bhengeche’ has been written by seasoned writer-actor Manjil Banerjee, who has penned nine fresh scripts this season. His subjects range from Covid-era oxygen scams to moving family dramas. The members also brought out this year’s edition of Jatra Darpan, a guidebook featuring details of new productions.