Srinagar, March 24 2018
In an effort to boost theatre activities in the Valley and give a platform to local artistes, the three-day ‘Kashmir Natya Mahaotsav’ is all set to start on Saturday here.Organised by the North Zone Cultural Centre (NZCC), Patiala, in association with the J&K Academy of Art,
Culture and Languages, the festival will witness staging of 12 plays by local artistes. Three more plays will be staged as part of National Theatre Festival.“From Saturday, we are starting the three-day
National Theatre Festival in which we are going to present three plays — one from Delhi, second from Bihar and third one from Chandigarh. After this, we will stage 12 Kashmiri plays. The festival shall be called ‘Kashmir Natya Mahotsav’,” NZCC director Saubhagya Vardhan told reporters here.
The festival will be held at the Tagore Hall and is likely to boost theatre-related activities in the Valley that had taken a backseat after the eruption of militancy more than 28 years ago.Vardhan said they had chosen the summer capital as the venue as not much theatre activities were being held here.
He said the festival would be a step towards putting Kashmir on the theatre map of the country.“I joined as the NZCC director on February 7. Since then I was eager to come to Kashmir and organise some activity here. This place has been and will always be my first priority. Not much theatre-related work has been done in certain regions, including J&K,” he said.
He said they would also hold other festivals including those related to music and culture in the Valley. “I want to promote and preserve the rich art and culture of the state. I will like to work for Sufi and folk music, folk dance, theatre and also the contemporary theatre. Our organisation is going to work for culture, handicrafts and other allied arts of the Valley,”
Vardhan added.He said the NZCC would also take local theatre team for performances outside the state besides organising performances of non-local groups here.Festival director Mushtaaque Ali Ahmad Khan said the festival would further revive theatre activities in the Valley and “good days” were in store for theatre.All for theatre
- To boost theatre-related activities, three-day ‘Kashmir Natya Mahaotsav’ to be held from Saturday.
- Twelve Kashmiri plays to be staged at the Tagore Hall
- Three more plays will be staged as part of National Theatre Festival
- The festival will be a step towards putting Kashmir on the theatre map of the country
- Festival director Mushtaaque Ali Ahmad Khan said “good days” were in store for theatre in the Valley
