Mathkhai Mahotsav kicks off in Balangir

By Himanshu Guru: Multilingual Drama Festival Mathkhai Mahotsav kicked off on 27^th January 13 and the same will continue for 5 days till 31^st of this month at the Koshal Kala Mandal ground here in Balangir. The drama group from Raigarh of Chhattisgarh presented the inaugural play ‘Baba Pakhandi’ on the opening day.

Speaking on the occasion, Chief Guest of the evening Soumya Ranjan Pattanaik, Editor of ‘The Sambad’ said, “In a time when the art of drama is said to be in a dying condition, festival like the Mathkhai Mahotsav is a big step to save the art and culture. What we cannot do individually can be done taking help of a group of a persons in a festival”.

The sixth Mathkhai Mahotsav (2013) is dedicated in the memory of the great legal practitioner of Balangir Late Sudhansu Mishra. Dr. Hadibandhu Satapathy, a renowned physician from Balangir was honored on this occasion for his lifetime dedication to help the poor patients.

President of Mathkhai Mahotsav Committee Sri Narasingha Mishra, Dharmendra Nanda and Nayan Mohanty, the President and Secretary of ‘Bhumika’ respectively were present on the dais besides Sri Pattanaik.

On the inaugural day, the KKK cultural troop from Titlagarh presented ‘Dhaap dance’ and the inaugural drama was presented by theatre group ‘Guddi’ from Chhattisgarh [Raigarh], which presented the play “Baba Pakhandi “, directed by Dr. Yogendra Choubey. The first day of the Mahotsav was dedicated to Habib Tanvir, one of the renowned theatre personalities of the Country.