19th Natya Mela to kick off on Nov 26

Kolkata: Paschim Banga Natya Academy is set to hold the 19th edition of Natya Mela in eleven districts over a period of 61 days, starting from November 26.

Theatre personality Bratya Basu, who is also the minister in charge of the Science & Technology and Biotechnology department and Indranil Sen, minister of state for Information and Cultural Affairs, are expected to inaugurate the 'Natya Mela' at Rabindra Sadan auditorium at around 5 pm on November 26.

Tomar Kono Satya Nai, a play produced by Kalyani Natyocharcha Kendra, would be staged at Rabindra Sadan on the first day of the event.

Apart from Rabindra Sadan, the plays would be staged in various other venues including Minerva Theatre, Madhusudan Mancha, Girish Mancha, Tripti Mitra Natyagriha, Charukala Bhavan and also the open air theatre adjacent to Paschim Banga Natya Academy from November 27 to December 6. The programme would, however, continue at Rabindra Sadan and Sisir Mancha till December 3. Rabindra Bhavan and Ajitesh Mancha situated in Dum Dum would also host the programme from December 4-6.

Altogether 83 full-length plays and 98 short-length plays would be staged in various theatres in 11 districts, including Kolkata. Street plays and puppet shows would also be one of the main attractions of the event.

The other venues in the districts are Rabindra Bhavan in Asansol, Birendra Smriti Town Hall in Contai, Rabindra Sadan in Suri, Rabindra Bhavan in Bankura, Capital Hall in Darjeeling, Sarojendradeb Raikat Kala Kendra in Jalpaiguri, Batanagar Sports Club Auditorium in South 24-Parganas, Rabindra Bhavan in Chinsurah, Rabindra Bhavan in Uluberia and Rabindra Bhavan in Balurghat.

As many as 230 productions houses would participate in the event. The Information and Cultural Affairs department would confer 'Dinabandhu Purashkar', 'Girish Purashkar' and 'Sambhu Mitra Purashkar' on various distinguished theatre personalities at Rabindra Sadan on November 26.

Bratya Basu, who held a press conference on Sunday in this regard, said that after coming to power the Mamata Banerjee government has increased the grant from Rs 3,000-10,000 to Rs 50,000 for various theatre groups in the state.

Basu also said that the government had allowed the theatre groups from the districts to stage their plays in the city's auditorium and thus stage theatre has evolved in the past eight years.

The state government had spent Rs 1.36 crore for the development of stage theatre in 2018, while the expenses in the current year stand at Rs 1.46 crore.

"Stage theatre reflects the social and political aspects of the society and therefore it often invites criticism. For the Centre, it has turned into a matter of suspicion and they (Centre) have drastically slashed its expenses for the stage theatres," Basu said.