Aranyak�s Raarang Utsab
�Raarang� to be staged at BSA July 31
DL DESK
Aranyak Natyadal is organizing a three-day theatre festival titled Raarang Utsab to celebrate the 150th show of its highly acclaimed production Raarang, with the slogan Shuni Duragota Madoler Dhwani, at Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA).
The festival will start from July 30 at 6pm at the premises of the National Theatre Hall of BSA and Aranyak Natyadals play Raarang will be staged at the Experimental Theatre Hall of BSA on July 31 as a part of the festival.
Based on the Santal Rebellion of 1855, which is said to have inspired the revolutionary struggles of many other groups across the Indian subcontinent, Raarang also shows the tragic tale of Alfred Soren, who was killed in 2000 when he opposed the expulsion of Santals from their ancestral lands. Soren was stabbed to death and his home was torched.
Set against the backdrop of the British Raj, written and directed by Mamunur Rashid, the plays impressive cast includes Chanchal Chowdhury, AKM Hassan, Tomalika Karmakar, Joy Raj and Shamim Jaman. Raarang is a Santal word for their battle cry. Though the Santal uprising has been overshadowed by many others that followed, the legacy of the rebellion lives on among the Santal tribes and speaks of pride in their identity.
On the other hand, the opening evening of the festival will present the play titled Bhangbanga--a production of Aranyak, written by Mamunur Rashid and directed by Faiz Jahir, while on the concluding day of the festival on August 1, theatre troupe Aranyak will stage another play Swapnopothik, written by Harun Rashid and directed by Mamunur Rashid, at 7pm.
Apart from staging the play, the concluding day of the festival will have a seminar at the seminar room of BSA at 10 am and Aranyak-Dipu Memorial Award giving ceremony will take place at 6:45pm on August 1. l
