Message of victory of truth and brotherhood

Prayagraj: From Mahatma Gandhi to so many people have been influenced by the story of the play Satyawadi Raja Harishchandra, but when folk artists staged this story in the Nautanki style in the Cultural Center auditorium, the entire auditorium became emotional. Many aspects of this story, including ethics, philosophy, morality, truthfulness, kept the audience captivated. In the five-day Nautanki Festival organized by the North Central Zone Cultural Center, Ministry of Culture, Government of India, the Kanpur style of Nautanki and the rustic dialogue of the artists kept the people engaged on Thursday. Center Director Sudesh Sharma welcomed the chief guest Prof. Swatantra Sharma by presenting him a bouquet of flowers.

In the presentation done by Nautanki Prashikshan Kendra, Kanpur, Anupriya Chauhan was in the role of Raja Harishchandra’s wife Taramati and Uphaar Mishra was in the role of Harishchandra. At the beginning of the program, the artists showed glimpses of famous folk compositions Rangmanch ke charan mein Rangkarmi shish nawaata hai, Rangkarmi ka janm janm se nata hai… and the audience welcomed it with applause. The story revolves around Satyavrat’s son Raja Harishchandra, his wife Tara and son Rohit. Raja Harishchandra’s fame spreads all around. Sage Vishwamitra wants to test his truthfulness himself. One day Raja Harishchandra dreamt that he had handed over his entire kingdom to Vishwamitra. The very next day Vishwamitra reaches the king in person. The king handed over everything to Vishwamitra. When Harishchandra asked for five muhurats from Vishwamitra, he said that Rajan, you have donated everything. Then Harishchandra worked at the crematorium. His son was bitten by a snake. There also he had to undergo the test of truth. Due to his truthfulness, his son also came back to life by the grace of God. Vishwamitra returned all his kingdom. Raja Harishchandra being sold in Kashi, Vishwamitra, Harishchandra’s dialogue, Harishchandra’s dialogue with his wife and son and many other dialogues bring tears to the eyes of the audience, while the episode of the gardener of Harishchandra’s garden and the dialogue between Vishwamitra and the courtesans also bring smiles on the faces of the audience. Traditional musical instruments were adding to the originality of this drama. On this occasion, Brigadier A.S. Chauhan, Man Singh Tomar, Sunita Chauhan, Pradeep Bhatnagar and a large number of spectators were present.