Other States - Orissa   

She now does monoacting in real life

Photo: Lingaraj Panda

Sundarmani Devi at her rented house in Gopalpur. —

BERHAMPUR: Sudarmani Devi, veteran stage artiste and cinema actor of yesteryear, who had lived a life amidst crowds and applause, now lives a lonely life at Gopalpur beach resort.

The winner of Orissa Sangeet Natak Akademi award alleges that she has not received her government allowance meant for artistes for the past one year. She said it was proof that she had become a forgotten entity. But she has not forgotten stage. At an age of over 75 years this spinster, who had her youth dedicated to stage still dreams to establish an institute to train up young children for acting on stage.

She had left home at the age of 16 for her love of stage. She was almost a rebel to come out of her traditional home at Tangi to act in the then famous Annapurna Theatre of Puri. She was trained under noted directors like Durlabh Singh, Dukhiram Swain, Kasinath Sahu and Mania Sir. She had become a name to reckon in the commercial theatre world of Orissa during sixties for her acting in famous plays like Badua Jhia, Utha Pacheri etc. Later she joined the Ganjam Kala Parishad and preferred to stay at Gopalpur to spend her rest of her life. Her popularity also made her a councillor of the Gopalpur Notified Area Council in the past.

She said she had won the post uncontested as no one was ready to contest against her due to her popularity as an actress. She had also delved into the world of Oriya cinema. But now she lives all alone at her house at Gopalpur. She forgot to build up a family due to her love for stage. There is no one to look after her. “It is a kind of monoacting,” she says, when anyone asks about her loneliness. But she is hurt by the deterioration of theatre and acting in Orissa. According to her the State Government should come out to promote creative theatre in the State. But the State Government has forgotten to pay up allowance to this veteran artiste since one year.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Poetry fest
Bhubaneswar book fair from Feb. 12
Painting expo
Additional coaches to clear extra rush
Day to remember
Freedom fighter felicitated
Sarpanches allege raw deal
She now does monoacting in real life
Check entry of fake drugs, court tells State
Matric exams may be delayed
Nazia leaves for Kashmir with husband
State plea on Central forces

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu