A great crowd showed out on August 29 in Rajouri for the Dr. Shalinder Sharma Memorial National Drama Festival, which was put on by the Rangmanch Theatre Group.
Rangmanch Theatre Group of Rajouri, founded by famous artist and educator Vishal Sharma Pahari, is responsible for introducing theatre and stage plays to this border area.
Rangmanch has been well-known in recent years as a top-tier national street theatre and drama troupe that has performed at several national festivals.
On Monday, Rajouri played host to the opening ceremony of the two-day National Drama Festival that had been planned by Rangmanch and hosted in the auditorium of the Boys Pahari Hostel. Dr. Shalinder Sharma, a prominent orthopaedic surgeon in Rajouri, died suddenly on January 18 of this year due to a major cardiac attack, and the two-day National celebration was held in his honour.
Thousands of people from all walks of life attended the festival, where six plays were presented. Among them was Dighdarshak, which was performed in Punjabi by Sifar Theatre Amritsar and in Hindi by Collage Cultural Society Prayagraj.
The play Dighdarshak, written by Priyam Jani and directed by Vishal Sharma in Punjabi and by Mahendra Kumar Kannojiya in Hindi, respectively, is about the relationship between a student and an instructor and highlights the challenges that each must overcome.
Baday Bhai Saahib, penned by the great playwright Munshi Premchand and directed by Vishal Pahari, was also performed by the host Rangmanch theatrical troupe in Rajouri.
The Dr. Shalinder Sharma memorial prize, given to those who have made significant contributions to the performing arts, was presented to Dr. Omendra Kumar and Saleem Raja at the closing ceremony. While discussing this national level theatre festival, professor Zakir Malik Bhallesi said that drama is still the finest means to convey any sentiment and instill moral values in a straightforward, readily understanding, and heart affecting manner.
Acting in a play or drama on stage, he remarked, is simple for the audience to grasp but challenging for artists who do so while maintaining their own style.
Bhallesi praised the work of the Rangmanch Theatre Group, claiming that the national theatre festival in Rajouri grabbed the attention of the whole community.
Dr. Vidushi Badial, who has called theatre the most heartfelt form of artistic expression, has emphasised that additional festivals and events like these are desperately needed to offer creatives a much-needed boost.
