BARPETA, Jan 29 � The third Bhaona Samaroh, organised by the Bhaona Samaroh Samiti, concluded here recently. The Samaroh was inaugurated at the Mathurapuri Rangakshetra near the bus stand of the Barpeta Satra.
At a function held under the presidentship of Dalim Pathak, president of the Samaroh Samiti, Bashistha Dev Sarma, Burha Satriya of the Barpeta Satra, said that Ankiya Bhaona is a unique creation of Srimanta Sankaradeva and Madhabdeva. The duo wrote plays to forge unity among diverse sections of the people. The spirit inherent in these plays is universal and it should be emulated by all men.
Jitendra Nath, Pradhan Satradhikar of Ramray Kutir Satra of Satrasal, Dhubri, and the president-elect of the Asom Satra Mahasabha, attended the function as the guest of honour. Gunindra Nath Das, ex-MLA, Barpeta, and Arjun Das, retired principal of MC College, Barpeta, were the distinguished guests.
The first day of the Samaroh was inaugurated by noted stage and film artiste Lakshi Barthakur. �We are all responsible for the failure to establish bhaona at the world forum,� he said, adding that if this art form was not promoted in a professional manner, the works of the two great saints would remain in the dark.
Altogether six bhaonas were staged in three days, both by local and invited groups. Sri Sri Madhabdev Sowarani Samiti, Dakshin Barpeta, performed Rukmini Haran, directed by Pramathranjan Das on the first night. It was followed by Nrisinghajatra, a play written by Sri Sri Daityari Thakur, which has been translated into the Bodo language by Anil Boro, professor of the Gauhati University. The play was staged by Ankia Natya Samaj, Tamulpur. With the dialogues in Bodo, the bhaona was appreciated by the audience.
On the second night of the programme, Satriya Sanskriti Kendra, Barpeta performed the Sankaradeva�s play, Rambijay, which was directed by Pranjit Kumar Das. Satriya Sanskritik Gosthi, Kaliabar presented Kansabadh, written by Sri Sri Ramcharan Thakur, and directed by Hiru Prasad Mahanta.
Two souvenirs, Chihnajatra and Rangajatra were released on the second day by Thaneswar Malakar, Deputy Commissioner of Kokrajhar, and Manabendra Uzir, member of the Foreigners Tribunal, Barpeta, respectively.
Chihnajatra was presented by Rangghar, Barpeta, on the concluding day. It was directed by veteran stage artiste, dramatist and director Jyotiprasad Das. The Satriya Kendra of the Sangeet Natak Akademi-sponsored Pathar Gosthi of Duliajan performed Rukmini Haran, written by Sankaradeva, and directed by Haricharan Bhuyan Barbayan. The stage was inaugurated by Ranjit Kumar Das, MLA, Sarbhog.
A seminar on �Aestheticism of Sankaradeva�s plays and their holistic approach� was also held on the last day. Presided over by educationist and ex-president of the Barpeta district Sahitya Sabha Akshay Kumar Mishra, it was addressed by Dr Dayananda Pathak, retired principal of Pragjyotish College, Guwahati, and Khagen Talukdar, retired professor of Pub Kamrup College. It was inaugurated by Gobinda Talukdar, ex-president of the Barpeta District Sahitya Sabha.
Varnali Deka, Deputy Commissioner, Barpeta, and Raju Das from the Satriya Kendra of the Sangeet Natak Akademi were also present in the seminar. Competitions on Naam Ghosha recital, quiz, painting and Go-as-you-like were organised during the days of the Samaroh. The Samaroh was organised with the objective of popularising the works of the great Vaishnavite saints.
