Three-day Bal Rang Utsav concludes
Prayagraj: Dialogues like “We don’t need ghosts, we need understanding… We don’t need fear, we need treatment…” filled the auditorium of the North Central Zone Cultural Centre on Wednesday. The occasion was the conclusion of the three-day ‘Bal Rang Utsav’ organised under ‘Theatre in Education’. On the last day, child artists, through plays based on two different themes, made the audience aware of serious issues like mental health, superstition, Beti Bachao, women’s education and de-addiction.
The closing ceremony featured performances of “New House,” directed by Sunil Chauhan, and “I Am Not a Bojh, I Am the Future,” directed by Ashwini. In both productions, the children’s acting, dialogue delivery, and stage confidence impressed the audience.
“Naya Makaan” tells the story of a family that experiences mysterious events after moving into a new home. Anvi, the daughter of the family, sees shadows and hears strange voices. Instead of understanding her problem, the family initially dismisses it as fear and delusion. Driven by superstition, they resort to witchcraft and exorcism.
When the situation worsens, Anvi is taken to the hospital. Doctors determine that the problem isn’t a ghost, but a mental health issue. The play then encourages the audience to consider the need for sensitivity and medical attention, rather than associating mental health issues with superstition. The second presentation, “I am not a burden, I am the future,” sharply criticized social evils through the endangered folk theatre tradition of Bundelkhand, the Swang style. The play highlighted issues such as Save the Daughter, women’s education, and drug addiction through storytelling, songs, music, humor, satire, and powerful dialogue.
The story is set in a rural society where daughters are considered a burden and drug addiction impacts family happiness. In this environment, a daughter tries to convince her family and society that daughters are not a burden, but the future of the family, society, and nation.
On stage, Suryansh played the role of acrobat, Chitralekha played the role of actress, Rishi played the role of Halke, Dev played the role of Badde and Anuj played the role of Sheikh Chilli. Adifa Siddiqui, Mokshi Jain, Kavya Jain, Greeva Singh, Anubhuti Singh, Arjun Gupta, Riddhi Vardhan Upadhyay, Nayra Saxena, Anvi Gangal, Anshika Sharma, Syed Hamza, Faz Rehman and Lakshya Sharma gave a wonderful performance. Lighting was handled by Saksham Mishra.
The programme was inaugurated by lighting the lamp by the special guest Prof. Aadesh Kumar Srivastava, Dean, Faculty of Law, Allahabad University, Prayagraj, Centre Director Sudesh Sharma, Deputy Director Dr. Mukesh Upadhyay, Programme Advisor Kalpana Sahay and senior theatre artist Avtar Singh.
On the closing ceremony, Center Director Sudesh Sharma honored both theater directors with robes, a plant, and a memento. Certificates were presented to the child actors. Artists who excelled in theatrical performances were also honored with awards. Senior theater artists Sushma Sharma and Ashok Shukla were present on the jury. Akash Agarwal conducted the program.
