Curtain falls on Delhi's theatre fest
After enthralling the Delhi audience for three weeks, India biggest theatre festival has finally come to its end. The 20th Bharat Rang Mahotsav (BRM), organised by National School of Drama (NSD), brought a bouquet of plays, interactive sessions, and other cultural events to cheer up the winter afternoons of theatre enthusiasts in the city.
The event will culminate today, in the presence of Pandit Birju Maharaj, Padma Vibhushan awardee and renowned Kathak maestro.
The last performance of this 21-day-long festival will be a drama by Gajapati Kapilendra Deva. Titled 'Parashuramvijaya', the play narrates a story of Kshatriya king Sahasrabahu Kartavirya, who kills Jamadagni, a great sage, and father of Parashurama, for the ownership of the divine cow Sabala.
Parashurama, after the completion of his lessons in warfare from Lord Siva at Kailash, is returning home and is informed by Shandilya, a discipline of Jamadagni, about the death of his father. Parashurama vows to kill Sahasrabahu Kartavirya, and to free the world of Kshatriyas. A great war is fought between Parashurama and Sahasrabahu, and the evil king is slain.
Directed by Ajit Das, this one hour and 50 minutes long performance will be presented by'Abhinaya Jagruti Institute of Theatre, Bhubaneswar'. The group was formed with the objective to promote and advance cultural and dramatic activities throughout India; to bring new artists, dramatists and directors into light, and to revive traditional folk forms of Odisha; conduct seminars and workshops on various subjects like dance, painting, and primarily theatre; and to print and publish periodicals on theatre as and when necessary.
Talking about the play, director Ajit Das said, "Directing a play from a definite period is always a challenge. The set is very simple - a raised platform, and another small platform in the center of it, to show the throne of the king, and on the left, down a small raiser, is the place for Lord Jagannath. Most of the costumes are designed as per the Odisha traditions. The costume of Parashurama is that of a munikumara, with tiger skin drape, to show his strength. The king's costume is not as per Odisha traditions, as the king belongs to the South (King of Mahishmati), and sage Jamadagni is draped in a white dhoti and uttariya, whereas the other disciplines of the sage are given the traditional costume.
