‘Bhand Pather’ back with a bang

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, October 30

With an objective to infuse new life into “Bhand Pather” — the traditional folk theatre of Kashmir — Natrang, Jammu, in association with the Sangeet Natak Akademi has launched its revival project that is featuring 20 folk shows over a period of two weeks.

The revival project was launched from a remote village of the Safapora area in Bandipora district of north Kashmir on October 26. Six other such shows have so far been featured in other parts of the Valley, including Watterahel in Budgam district and Nihalpora in Baramulla district. Two (of the six) shows were held at Jagerpora and Khaipora in Kupwara district today. The folk theatre shows are also being held in other districts, including Anantnag, Pulwama, Kulgam, Ganderbal and Kulgam, before the project concludes on November 7.

Natrang, Jammu, the first full-time professional theatre group of Jammu and Kashmir, led by Padma Shri awardee Balwant Thakur, is known for its contribution to the theatre. It has performed more than 5,000 shows and participated in 135 national theatre festivals during the past 28 years.

After a gap of two years, Balwant Thakur this time is on his second mission to revive the traditional folk theatre in Kashmir, after the first project was launched in 2011. “The aim of the revival project is that these (folk) theatre groups should focus on contemporary issues and happenings,” he said, adding that the Kashmir folk theater was dealing mainly with the issues that were relevant in the past. “This is high time to get it revived,” Thakur said and commented that the folk theatre had to be vibrant and there was need to infuse new life into its content and form.

The revival project was launched after a 10-day-long workshop for the theatre directors and writers held here from October 9. The directors and writers, according to Balwant Thakur, were given training on the modern aspects of the theater so as to infuse a new life into this art, which has been a traditional art form of the Valley.