Workshop on bhaona organized in Russian language in Moscow and Finland

A Correspondent

Biswanath Chariali: After the successful performance of the bhaonas, Udyog Parva and Ravan Bodh in English on September 15, 2018 and on January 11, 2019 in Delhi and Mumbai respectively, a workshop on bhaona has been organized in Russian language in Moscow and Finland under the directorship of Arup Saikia. The workshop will be held under the banner of Prajanmya Unmesh, a leading socio-cultural organization of Assam.

Joint coordinators Girimallika Saikia and Sandhya Gitimallika have helped to organize the event. Maximum numbers of artistes have been taken from Russia and Finland. Speaking to this correspondent, Arup Saikia, the director, said that the Ankiya Nat of Maha Purush Srimanta Shankerdev, namely Keli Gopal had unique dramatic beauty and was worth showing to the world in different foreign languages.

Arup Saikia, a devotee of Sankerdev, hails from Jamugurihat, a small town of Assam and is an alumnus of Delhi University. He is also the translator of the scripts. “Bhaona is a creation of polymath Srimanta Shankerdev who ushered in a new era of Vaishnavism in Assam and its peripheral areas. His ideas were inspired from the Indian theatrical institutions, giving birth to a new form of drama –a mix of pre-modern era puppetry. Oza pali (a traditional form of folk dance) and other techniques were used in Sanskrit plays. He created the form of conveying religious messages to local people through entertainment.

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