Bhubaneswar: Postponement of all cultural programmes followed by the closure of auditoriums due to coronavirus outbreak has not only affected the livelihoods of the performers, the viewers have also been deprived of their sources of entertainment. With the pandemic driving lives online across the globe, the Odia Language Literature and Culture department recently decided to entertain the audience by digitising the cultural programmes including the plays that are staged on city auditoriums on a regular basis.
According to official sources, theatre lovers in the state, after nearly three months of a dry spell, will have the opportunity to watch a play titled Sagar Sangam online during Rath Yatra.
Haren Sahoo, the president of Odisha Natya Sangha who will be directing drama, said, “I have designed the play based on the life eminent poet Kavisurya Baldeva Rath and will do my best to entertain the viewers. However, I don’t believe that an online drama can offer the theatre experience to the audience. I think it is just an attempt to keep the theatre lovers connected with the medium.”
Former Odisha Sangeeta Natak Akademi secretary and senior theatre personality Dhira Mallick said, “Although you will now watch a play from the comfort of your home, it will be no match to real experience. I am having my fingers crossed to watch the viewers’ response. Let’s hope that the situation gets better in coming days.”
Satya Ranjan Behera, a well known theatre director of the state, felt that that digitisation of plays is the need of the hour as several artistes are feeling low due to joblessness. Most importantly, many families are solely dependent on theatre for their livelihoods. This is the first time that such an arrangement has been made but let’s hope that it doesn’t go on for too long, he added.
Eminent theatre artiste Sugandha Pati said, “Drama is the reflection of life and many Odia plays truly represents the culture and traditions of the state. Online drama is like ‘something is better than nothing’ as performing before a packed house has its own charm. It is really frustrating for an artiste when he/she doesn’t get a chance to perform before a live audience.”
However, the tough time has only inspired the artistes to become tougher and let’s hope that the effort of Haren Sahoo doesn’t go in vain.