Shadow Correspondent
jammu NOV 23:
Jhiri Mela-2018 enlivened with the presentation of globally acclaimed Dogri play ‘Bawa Jitto’ which mesmerised thousands of the audiences here at the main stage of Jhiri Mela-2018 consecutively for the second evening. A mega presentation of NATRANG Jammu is written by Late Prof. Ram Nath Shastri and is innovatively devised, designed and creatively directed by Padamshree Balwant Thakur.
This mind-blowing presentation of Natrang magically transported along the thousands of the devotees and the pilgrims to a six hundred year old saga of supreme sacrifice of a farmer who gave his life in fight of justice and exploitation by the landlords. The most noteworthy feature of the presentation was that it made the entire audience to relive a 15th century tale exactly at the same place where it happened over 600 hundred years ago. Welcoming the mammoth gathering at the main stage of Jhiri Mela, Natrang Director Balwant Thakur said that if such events are made a permanent feature and supported wholeheartedly, they will not only revive cultural and community life of the area but will also become the ultimate world cultural destination.
Nowhere on this earth one can have such an occasion to see something out of the world happening on stage which transports together thousands of audiences to a live happening of 15th century. Nowhere in the world a theatre performance attracts over 50,000 audiences which happens here in the Jhiri Mela.
There is a dire need to appreciate this rarest strength of the region and state is required to promote, project and own this ultimate power of the community initiative.
On the occasion he thanked Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrnie Board and all who supported him in his endeavours in the preservation of the priceless heritage of this region. He also expressed his heartiest gratitude to the District Administration, particularly the Deputy Commissioner Jammu, Romesh Kumar and the Bawa Jitmal Shrine Mela Committee for supporting Natrang to make all this possible. Natrang has staged over two hundred shows of the play Bawa Jitto all-over India and as of now this play has become the longest living contemporary theatre production of the country which has again given a new cultural identity to this region.
The story of Bawa Jitto portrays the age-old saga of exploitation of landless farmers by landlords.
Due to the constant and persistent pressures of relatives, with a piece of land as bone of contention, Bawa Jitto, a hard working, farm less farmer is forced to leave his native village.
Accompanied by his nine-year-old daughter, he takes shelter in the house of a friend in Shamachak, a nearby village.
The efforts of his friend Rullo result in a land grant from landlord in Shamachak and one fourth of the produce is fixed as land revenue. The hard work put in by him, the sweat and toil of Jitto turns a barren land into prolific treasure. This makes avaricious landlord to back out on his word and ask for major share of the crop. Helpless Jitto, unable to endure injustice, kills himself. The agony becomes boundless when Gauri, his little daughter immolates herself on her father’s pyre.
The most outstanding feature of the play was the performance by versatile actors on stage. The role of Bawa Jitto was played by Neeraj Kant who kept everyone spellbound through his electrifying performance. Versatile Anil Tickoo as Malli left the lasting impact on the audiences through his highly mind-blowing performance. Popular child artist Vrinda Gujral of ‘Sabse Bada Kalakaar’ fame won appreciation of all in the role of Bua Gauri and the same character was played by Saanvi Anand on the second day of the show series. They were supported by senior actors like Madan Rangeela as Mehta Beer Singh, Vijay Bhat as Sarpanch and Ghaghi, Dewankshi Sabikhi as Jojan, Vrinda Sharma as Jeuni, Subash Jamwal as Raja, Mohd. Yaseen as Rullo and Shivam Singh as Isso with full perfection. Others who gave vibrant performances included Saanvi Anand, Deepali Sharma, Meenakshi Bhagat, Kananpreet Kaur, Manoj Lalotra, Ajay Lalotra, Jatin Sharma, Kuldeep Angral, Udit Sagar, Aarti Devi, Sumit Raina, Ujhwal Bandral, Vanshika Gupta, Abhi Bargotra, Shivam Sharma and Sushant Singh Charak.The traditional narrative singers Girdhari Lal and Harbans Lal who are working with Natrang since 1986 are the real hero of the play where they receive special appreciation. The lights were designed and executed by Brijesh Avtar Sharma and sound was professionally audio graphed by Tilak Raj.
