Natrang’s Dogri play ‘Bawa Jitto’ spell bounds thousands in Aghar Jitto Mela-2019

20/06/2019

Katra, Jun 19: Aghar Jitto Mela-2019 enlivened with the presentation of globally acclaimed Dogri play 'Bawa Jitto' which mesmerised thousands of the audiences here at the main stage of Aghar Jitto consecutively for the second evening. A mega presentation of NATRANG Jammu is written by Late Prof. Ram Nath Shastri and is innovatively devised, designed and creatively directed by Padamshree Balwant Thakur. This mind-blowing presentation of Natrang magically transported along the thousands of the devotees and the pilgrims to a six hundred year old saga of supreme sacrifice of a farmer who gave his life in fight of justice and exploitation by the landlords. The most noteworthy feature of the presentation was that it made the entire audience to relive a 15th century tale exactly at the same place where it happened over 650 hundred years ago. Welcoming the mammoth gathering at the main stage of Aghar Jitto, Natrang Director Balwant Thakur said that if such events are made a permanent feature and supported wholeheartedly, they will not only revive cultural and community life of the area but will also become the ultimate world cultural destination. Nowhere on this earth can one have such an occasion to see something out of the world happening on stage which transports together thousands of audiences to a live happening of 15th century. Nowhere in the world has a theatre performance attracted over this much audiences which happens here in the Aghar Jitto Mela. There is a dire need to appreciate this rarest strength of the region and state is required to promote, project and own this ultimate power of the community initiative. On the occasion he thanked Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrnie Board and all who supported him in his endeavours in the preservation of the priceless heritage of this region. He also expressed his heartiest gratitude to the District Administration, particularly the Deputy Commissioner Reasi, Indu Kanwal Chib for supporting Natrang to make all this possible. The efforts of his friend Rullo result in a land grant from landlord in Shamachak and one fourth of the produce is fixed as land revenue. The hard work put in by him, the sweat and toil of Jitto turns a barren land into prolific treasure. This makes avaricious landlord to back out on his word and ask for major share of the crop. Helpless Jitto, unable to endure injustice, kills himself. The agony becomes boundless when Gauri, his little daughter immolates herself on her father's pyre.
The most outstanding feature of the play was the performance by versatile actors on stage. The role of Bawa Jitto was played by senior most film and theatre actor Arvind Anand who kept everyone spellbound through his electrifying performance. Versatile Anil Tickoo- National Sangeet Natak Akademi Awardee as Malli left the lasting impact on the audiences through his highly mind-blowing performance. Popular child artist Vrinda Gujral of 'Sabse Bada Kalakaar' and IPL Sunday Funday fame won appreciation of all in the role of Bua Gauri and the same character was played by Saanvi Anand on the first day of the show series. They were supported by senior actors like Suresh Kumar as Mehta Beer Singh, Neeraj Kant & Vijay Bhat as Sarpanch and Ghaghi, Sanjeev Gupta as Isso, Dewankshi Sabikhi as Jojan, Vrinda Sharma as Jeuni, Subash Jamwal as Raja and Mohd. Yaseen as Rullo with full perfection. Others who gave vibrant performances included Brijesh Avtar Sharma, Kananpreet Kaur, Manoj Lalotra, Ajay Lalotra, Abhinav Sharma, Aadesh Dhar, Kuldeep Angral, Aarti Devi, Sumit Raina, Sushant Singh Charak, Sachin Saini, Bhoomi, Deepika Panotra, Aakash Wadhwan, Rishav Sharma and Chirag Anand. The traditional narrative singers Girdhari Lal and Harbans Lal who are working with Natrang since 1986 are the real hero of the play where they receive special appreciation.
The lights were designed and executed by Suraj Ganjoo and sound was professionally audiographed by Tilak Raj. The shows were coordinated by Ashok Thakur, Sartaj Singh and Gopi Sharma.

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