lanka Podi”, a revived folk theatre form of Koraput district of Odisha, and “Nacha”, a folk theatre of Chhattisgarh, were presentedon Sunday, the third day of ‘lok Jatra-A Festival of Folk Theatre” going on at Koraput and attracted theatre aficionados as well as common spectators.
lanka Podi Jatra is based on the tale of Ramayana featuring its various characters, the main attraction being Ravan which is presented through a gigantic frame with 10 heads. The Aranya Kanda was presented at the lok Jatra. It was directed by Manmath Satpathy.
The next presentation was Nacha performed by artists of Ratanpur of Chhattisgarh. It was directed by Kansi Ram Sahu, an awardee of Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi.
Both the productions had outstanding music, dances and acting aided by body movements. They were well enjoyed by a packed house audience at the Sanskruti Bhawan, Koraput.
This is the maiden venture of the Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi in southern Odisha and is an outcome of the Nandanik’s proposal to hold a national-level festival in Koraput, informed Monideepa Gupta, local coordinator of lok Jatra.
