Other States - Orissa   

Bhubaneswar to host puppet festival in September

BHUBANESWAR: New Delhi-based Sangeet Natak Akademi (SNA), the apex body of performing arts of the nation, in association with the Orissa Sangeet Natak Akademi (OSNA) would host a four-day puppet festival in the city in September.

It was decided following a meeting between SNA secretary Jayant Kastuar and his OSNA counterpart M.N. Satapathy in New Delhi recently.

Mr. Satapathy told The Hindu that this exclusive puppet festival would be the first of its kind for the State. Scheduled to be hosted from September 8 to 11, it would feature all the four styles – string puppetry, glove puppetry, rod puppetry and shadow puppetry, he added. “Orissa is one of the few Indian states to have all the four styles of traditional puppetry but lack of adequate patronage has made these largely marginalised over the years. The festival would be an attempt to revitalise these dying arts practices of the State,” explained Mr. Satapathy.

The Central Sangeet Natak Akademi has expressed its concern over the rich but dying puppetry tradition of Orissa, he added.

Eight troupes - each style being represented by two troupes – would be invited to participate in this four-day festival that would include interactive seminars and workshops during the day time and performances during evenings. The thrust would be on documentation of the proceedings and deliberations on innovative ways to promote these ancient forms in the contemporary society, Mr. Satapathy hinted.

Observers from the SNA would select some of the troupes who would show brilliant performances during the festival for release of financial support to undertake new projects and programmes, it was learnt.

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