Initiative to take Chilarai’s achievements to national level

GUWAHATI: The North East Regional Centre, Guwahati, of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), Ministry of Culture, Government of India, has undertaken a month-long workshop-oriented production of a play to showcase the accomplishments of the legendary 16th-century Koch general Sukladhwaja, better known as ‘Chilarai’ based on his life. The idea behind the workshop-oriented production is to take the exploits and feats of Bir Chilarai to the national level.

The inauguration of the workshop was held in the Sankar Madhav Kala Krishti Vikas Kendra on May 27. The chief guest for the event, resident editor of The Times of India, Prabin Kalita, in the presence of Suresh Goduka, Regional Director, IGNCA-North East Regional Centre, Guwahati, inaugurated the workshop. In his address, Kalita stressed that workshops like these will help theatre artists showcase their talent at the national level, which will be beneficial for Assam. Goduka, in his address to the guests and participants of the workshop, elucidated that a legendary personality like Chilarai and the historical importance of his achievements in that particular period of time should be made well known in the pan-Indian context, and this workshop-oriented production is a step in that direction.

Litterateur and eminent theatre director and artist Prabhat Goswami, CBFC adviser panel member Sailendra Pandey, senior cultural journalist and Satriya artist Chitralekha Gogoi, and film director Nimananda Das were among the important guests invited to the event. The workshop has participation from artists belonging to different districts of the state. On June 27, at the conclusion of the workshop, a Hindi-language production of a play titled “Mahaveer Chilarai” will be staged. Himangshu Sharma, a Sangeet Natak Akademi Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Award winner, will execute the workshop-oriented production project, stated a press release.

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