Jatra pala titled Devi Sultana, demonbstrating the need of harmonic co-existence of all religions, was staged at the Experimental Theatre Hall of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy on Wednesday evening.
Jatra troupe Joyjatra staged the pala.
Devi Sultana, which has been written by Bhoirob Nath Gangopadhyay and directed by Habib Sarwar, reveals the story of a beautiful Hindu young woman named Devi who accidentally takes shelter at a Muslim household for three days. On returning home, she gets banished from the society by the Brahmins, the high caste people of Hindu religions, and thus she is forced to take refuge at the house of Muslims. After much confrontation between fundamentalists of two religions, the woman at last dies in a Hindu-Muslim conflict.
The colourful attire, powerful delivery of dialogues and charming backdrop music entertained the viewers who gathered on Wednesday evening to watch the jatra pala.
Earlier, a discussion session featuring jatra practice of the country was held at the same venue. Advocate Mahbube Alam, attorney general of Bangladesh, attended the programme as chief guest. Akram Hossain Humayun, director of Mercantile Bank Ltd; Akhtaruzzaman, secretary general of Bangladesh Group Theatre Federation; Mamunur Rashid, theatre personality and chief of Aranyak Natra Dal; noted jatra artiste Tapash Sarkar, Dr. Tapan Baghchi, deputy director of Bangla Academy; and others attended the discussion session as special guests.
The production was attended by a good number of audience, who are mainly urban residents. ‘It was charming to watch jatra pala in the heart of the capital at Shilpakala,’ said Zubair Ahmen Polash, a government service holder from Arambag.
-With New Age input
