By Madhur Tankha
Ethnic expressions: One of the plays depicting the Chati Kango community of Arunachal Pradesh during the festival.
New Delhi,Apr 6 : To re-energise the spirit of North-East India and resuscitate its dying theatrical traditions, the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts is hosting a month-long festival at its No. 3 Rajendra Prasad Road premises here these days.
“Indigenous Theatre Festival of North-East India” is showcasing the varied facets of the ancient creative cultural expressions that have come to represent the ethnic communities of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Sikkim, Tripura and Nagaland.
Besides presenting a holistic picture of textile weaving, the festival has on display colourful traditional dresses and household items in relation to their ecological surroundings such as high-altitude mountains, river valleys and forested topography. A food court serving traditional cuisine of the North-East States has also been put up.
A four-day workshop on “Indigenous Theatres of North-East India: Past, Present and Future” inaugurated by Union Culture Secretary Jawhar Sircar on Monday seeks to pose significant questions pertaining to the current state of theatre activities. The workshop will look afresh at day-to-day problems faced by art institutions and find solutions.
According to festival associate coordinator Dr. Alka Saikia, the North-East as a whole is witnessing vast socio-economic and cultural changes in the wake of globalisation. “Due to the changed circumstances, the old theatre groups are slowly fading away. It would not be inappropriate to say that the tradition of indigenous theatre is on the verge of extinction. While we welcome modernity, at the same time we want our cultural heritage to be preserved… We want to encourage our theatre groups to give Delhiites a glimpse into our rich ancient theatrical traditions.”
Sixteen theatre groups that until now had been performing in villages and open spaces are performing for the first time in the Capital.
Expressing concern over lack of livelihood opportunities among theatre practitioners of eight States in the North-East, Dr. Saikia says that to sustain themselves and their families, theatre artistes are working as farmers or doing odd jobs in the interiors. “IGNCA is doing a commendable job but there has to be combined effort to highlight the problems faced by theatre groups and practitioners before policy-makers and academicians.”
Noting that creating understanding among people about the cultural traditions of the North-East is one of the main agendas of the festival, Head of Department of IGNCA's Janapada Sampada division Molly Kaushal says reviving theatrical traditions would bring about peace, tolerance and mutual respect in the region.
The festival, which opened at IGNCA on April 2, is open up to April 30.
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