Journalists Stage Play To Promote Art Form In Odisha’s Berhampur

Berhampur: In order to give a boost to waning popularity of plays, a group of journalists staged a drama in Berhampur of Odisha’s Ganjam district on Thursday night.

About 20 working journalists under the banner of Berhampur Press Club staged ‘Asta Surjyara Swapna’ (dream of setting sun), a social satire, during the ‘National Tourism Festival’ at Biju Patnaik Sanskruti Bhavan in Berhampur.

When professional dramas are losing their audience due to cheap comedy and double-meaning dialogues, this social satire reflected the shortcomings of the society, said Rabi Narayan Behera, District Information and Public Relations Officer (DIPRO) of Ganjam who scripted and directed this play.

Given their daily work, it was tough for the journalists to rehearse for the play. They used to rehearse after midnight after finishing their professional work for a fortnight.

The play depicts what happens when one dies and faces trial before the ‘Yamraj’ (Hindu God of death) at ‘Jamlok’. ‘Yama Raj’ judges the souls of the dead including a fraud, journalist, snake-handler, advocate, lady dance guru and other souls on their ‘Karma’ (deeds) and assigns them to the realm aided by Chitragupta who keeps a record of every deed done by a man. The entire drama revolves around people who do not practice what they preach and sends a message of honesty and integrity in life.

“Though it’s a Herculean task to gather the journalists for a full-fledged rehearsal for their busy schedule, it was quite easy for me as they were serious about the whole exercise,” said Rabi Narayan.

Berhampur SP Saravana Vivek M, Commissioner of Berhampur Municipal Corporation (BeMC) J Sonal and Sub-Collector V Kirtivasan were among prominent invitees at the play.

Berhampur Press Club has decided to stage ‘Asta Surjyara Swapna’ at Rabindra Mandap in Bhubaneswar soon.