‘Dhanu Yatra’ the largest open-air theatre performance begin
Recently, the biggest open air theater festival ‘Dhanu Yatra’ festival started after a gap of two years in Odisha’s Bargarh on 27th December.
- The vibrant Dhanu Yatra is associated with the culture of Odisha. The festival is being organized from December 27 to January 6, 2023.
- Several artistes from 130 cultural troupes from across the country are scheduled to perform during the festival. To mark the occasion of the festival, President Draupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeted everyone.
Dhanu Yatra –
- Dhanu Yatra, the eleven day annual festival places Bargarh in the cultural map of India. It is an open-air theater festival which is spread over more than 5 square kilometers and includes a village and a town.
- The cast list is also long, with virtually every villager playing a role and for the entire eleven days, the people of Bargarh obey the orders of King Kansa.
- Around 3,000 artistes from 130 cultural troupes from across the country are participating in the festival. However, Kansa is the central attraction of Dhanu Yatra.
- The Dhanu Yatra was started in the year 1947-48, right after India’s independence, after the harvest season, which was a reflection of the joyous atmosphere in the country.
- Society for the end of British misrule since then it celebrates it every year at the end of paddy harvesting.
- It begins on the 5th day of Paush Shukla and ends on Paush Purnima. During the 11 days the entire area of Bargarh city and surrounding sub-urban parts of Bargarh block like Cement Nagar, Padhanpali, Jamurda, Tora etc turn into ‘Mathura Nagari’ – the kingdom of Kansa.
- The Jeera River flowing from the side of Bargarh becomes Jamuna River and ‘Ambapali’ on the other side of the river becomes ‘Goppur’.
Source – PIB
