Kosal Discussion and Development Forum

Matkhai festival concludes with a Koshali language play

February 3, 2014 at 12:32 pm sanjibkarmee Leave a comment

Following is a TOI report:

BALANGIR: A play in Koshali language was the highlight of the concluding day of five-day national multi-lingual theatre festival ‘Matkhai Mahotsav’ at Balangir on Saturday. The festival was organized by socio-cultural organization Bhumika.

The play ‘Gara Bandha’ revolved around erstwhile royal tradition of hunting by kings. Gara Bandha was a man, who used to accompany kings and symbolized the prey during hunting.

“The play depicted the life and struggle of a Gara Bandha. It portrayed the exploitative royal tradition. Through the play we want to send a message across the society how in the past right to life was violated,” said president of the festival Chittaranjan Das.

Odia play ‘haat’, based on plight of bonded labourers, pulled huge crowd as Balangir is known for large-scale migration. Another play Gabbar Ghichor in Bhojpuri also portrayed migration woes.

A Delhi-based drama troupe performed Nachnia (dancer), based on struggle and livelihood of dancing community. “The play mirrored how the dancing communities were looked down upon by the society. They were artiste yet they never got due recognition and respect,” said Dharmendra Nanda, member of the festival.

On the closing day, BJP state president K V Singhdeo attended the festival as chief guest.

“Matkhai Mahotsav is not only offering entertainment through plays but also proving to be a tool for spreading socio-economic and socio-political awareness,” said chairman of the festival Narasingh Mishra. Matkhai is the name of a hill, situated on the outskirts of the town.

Entry filed under: Balangir, Drama, Kosli Culture, Kosli language and literature, Language, Mathkhai Mahotsav, Region watch.