Guwahati: Gandharba Drama Festival Ends at Karmashree Hiteswar Saikia Auditorium

Guwahati: A two-day Gandharba drama festival, a drawing competition in memory of Jiban Silpi Adya Sarma, and the 14th Annual All Assam Bhupendra Sangeet Competition, organized by the acting and music institute 'Gandharba' from December 6 to 8, were successfully concluded at the Karmashree Hiteswar Saikia Auditorium in Maligaon's Boripara. Noted educationist, playwright, director, and lecturer Naren Patgiri gave a brief speech to launch the second annual Gandharba Drama Festival, stressing the importance of drama in social reform. The speaker expressed gratitude while releasing the book 'Natya Prabaah' by eminent writer and drama critic Atul Majumdar, praising the author's extensive research. Following that, the play 'Dristanto,' a Gandharba presentation, written by Himjyoti Baishya and starring Akhilesh Hazari, Pradyut Bikash Das, Dipannita Das, and Partha Pratim Pathak, was successfully staged under the direction of Dhrubajyoti Kumar. Thereafter, the Guwahati chapter of the Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA) staged the play 'Priyabandhu,' which was written and directed by Naren Patgiri and featured artistes Chanku Niranjan and Namrata Das. The audience was captivated by the poignant storyline of the play.

On December 7, the crowd was captivated by the dancing performance of Bismillah Khan award winner Dimpee Baishya, which followed the evening's inauguration by the OSD to the Chief Minister, Hemanta Choudhury. Following the dance programme, Natasurya, Guwahati, presented a vivid picture of social degradation through the satirical play 'Halodhiya Manuh,' written by Abhijit Ranjan Bhattacharya, directed by Manmath Baruah, and starring Amitabh Rajkhowa, Manmath Baruah, Bijit Deb Choudhury, Meena Inti, Manoj Das, Dhanjit Sarma, and Haradhan Sarkar. Prior to the performance, a painting competition was held in remembrance of Jiban Silpi Adya Sarma. Rohan Kashyap (Purnakanta Das Memorial Award), Srishti Dhar (Kamalakanta Das Memorial Award), and Mridul Saikia (Bimal Chandra Hazarika Memorial Award) took first, second, and third place, respectively, stated a press release.

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