The stage is all set for the 11-day open air theatre Dhanu Yatra to begin from today, Monday.
With the central theme of the festival based on the Krishna Leela and Mathura Vijay, the enactment will begin with wedding of King Kansa’s sister Devaki with Basudev followed by his accession to throne dethroning his father Ugrasen and conclude with ‘Kansa Badha’ at the hands of nephew Lord Krishna.
Considered the biggest open air theatre in Asia, the festival was organised to celebrate the Independence and victory of the good over the evil. Bargarh Municipality limits conforms to Mathura where King Kansa will rule.
River Jeera represents river Yamuna across which is situated village Ambapali which turns into Gopapur where Krishna will be brought up. The festival, which is a synthesis of stage, theatre and cinema, will be held for 11 days preceding the Pousa Purnima. Every year, the organisers add a new dimension to the festival to set aside the monotony and add colour to the festival.
This year, a 250 feet long and 25 feet wide Rangoli was drawn by students from various institutions depicting each aspect of the festival. It was a visual delight as the entire episode of Mathura Vijay and Krishna Leela was depicted frame by frame with multi-coloured Rangoli outside Women’s College here.
Besides, cultural troupes from across the country including traditional dance troupes of the district and the State will perform. This year, dancers from Russia are slated to perform on the stage to entertain King Kansa and they have already reached Bargarh.
Moreover, on the sideline of the festival, a State-level handloom exhibition-cum-sale is jointly organised by Sambalpuri Bastralaya and Development Commissioner for Handloom, Ministry of Textile besides Pallishree Mela. This apart, there will be trade fair and the traditional Meena Bazar complete with joy rides and a variety of utility items on sale.
