Raise the gaps through culture, a theatre festival to begin today
Source: Hueiyen News Service
Imphal, February 18 2011:
When politicians failed to heal the hearts, art and culture take over the responsibility of bridging the divide created by imaginary boundaries of hearts and territories.
This must be the driving force for people behind North East Theatre Festival 2011 that will kick start from February 19.The 9-day festival aptly sub-titled "raise the gaps through culture" is organized by NT Theatre Manipur at Changangei Uchekon in Imphal West district.
Speaking in a press meet, the festival's committee Chairman Budha Chingthem said that the objective of the festival is to inculcate unity amongst the people of North East and also with the people of Mainland India through the utilization of the force of culture and tradition of the mongoloid North East brotherhood.
The festival director Dipak expressed similar shared feeling saying that the objective of the festival is to revivify the age old relationship between the people of North East.
Since theater groups from mainland India are unable to perform widely here given the language barrier, this festival attempts to address such handicap by focusing on languages from North East.
Theatre groups from Assam, Nagaland, Meghalaya and Manipur will perform in as varied form of genres as contemporary theatre, Sanskrit play, folk tales and legendary narratives injected with the throbbing politics of counter insurgency plots of the North East India.
Many renowned theatre personalities who had been trained at National School of Theatre will make their presence felt during the festival.
Budha Chingtham (NT Theatre), Pavitra Rabha (Meghalaya), Nandakumar Moirangthem Bodhayana (COSMO), MC Arun (Banian), Y Rajendra (Panthoibi), Girish Karnad Sophocles (Khoriphaba) and Habiv Tanvir (Baa-Assam) etc are the highlights of the festival.