Effort must be made to conserve the traditional form of Bhaona

A Correspondent

SARUPATHAR: The Barokhiliya Bor-Namghar of Gondhokoroi village in Sarupathar under Dhansiri subdivision will hold the 4th All Assam Bhaona Competition on January 25, 2019, and it will continue till February 1, 2019. The bhaona competition will be conducted by the committee president Naren Chutia, working president Jiban Chutia, secretary Rabo Chutia, and Tankeshwar Saikia.

Naren Chutia said, “Bhaona is a traditional theatre form which shows the victory of truth in the climax, generally using mythological figures drawn from the Bhagavata and the Ramayana.” Every day two bhaonas will be performed by the competitors. The first prize winner will get Rs 60,000, second prize winner Rs 40,000 and the third prize winner will get Rs 30,000.

The committee members also told The Sentinel that bhaona represents the applied aspect of plays written in the ankiya naat tradition. “Bhaona are colorful presentations which have the quality of keeping the audience spell-bound. The actors representing kings and queens wear elaborate glittering costumes. Masks are an integral part of the performance of bhaona. The performers wear large, colorful masks of gods, goddesses, demons, and animals.”

They added, “Effort must be made to conserve the traditional form of bhaona which can be considered as a powerful tool for development of moral values of the masses, especially children. However, the essence of performance, characteristic of the ankiya naat and bhaona must not be lost. These plays will then be events for children to experience and observe and imbibe the moral values inherent in the stories enacted by the various characters with pomp and show.”

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