The 30th National Drama Festival of Vivechan inaugurated on Wednesday with the play ‘Agarbatti’. The play, staged by the Samagam Rangmandal, displayed the story of a woman burning like an incense stick bearing the brunt of caste, religion and gender discrimination. The festival was inaugurated at Tarang auditorium at the hands of Dr Rajesh Dhiravani and social worker Geeta Tiwari in presence of Chief General Manager HR, MP Power Management Company, Rajeev Kumar Gupta and Transco MD Sunil Tiwari, Director, Samagam Rangamandal Ashish Pathak, Himanshu Rai, Banke Bihari Beohar and R Manu Tiwari. Speaking on this occasion, Secretary of Vivechan Himanshu Rai said that many senior theatre artists Anil Ranjan Bhowmik from Allahabad, Raghavendra Rawat from Jaipur and Alok Paradkar from Gorakhpur have come as drama critics in the National Drama Festival of Vivechana. Rajeev Gupta applauded the overwhelming support received from the MP Power Management Company in the festival all these years.

 

Dr Rajesh Dhiravani, who remains associated with the festival since it’s beginning, said that the Drama Festival becomes a huge success as every theatre lover and theatre personality love to be a part of this festival. Banke Bihari Beohar and Muralidhar Nagaraj also expressed their opinions during inaugural session. After inauguration, the play ‘Agarbatti’ was staged. The audience was waiting for this play for a long time. This play has gained popularity throughout the country. This play depicted the story of women who were widowed due to the massacre in Behmai. An incense stick factory was opened by the government for their rehabilitation. The heroine Thakurain, Lal Ram's widow is burning in the fire of vengeance. She has kept her husband's ashes safe for the day when her revenge will be complete. But a woman asks.

 

Why were all those killed were men? And why only few men were killed? This question lit a fire. In which all the women were enthralled. Everyone told their story. Of being a woman of her own caste and of male oppression. The characters of the murdered men were exposed. The dramatic and deep way in which this play raises these questions is astonishing. The audience got the goosebumps. The acting, costumes, music and lights were all amazing. Director Swati Dubey brought the vision of writer Ashish Pathak to life. The team of well-trained artists created such intense and deep emotional scenes with their miraculous acting that the audience kept clapping and giving their blessings again and again. The cast includes Swati Dubey, Srishti Pogade, Sakshi Gupta, Vandana Awasthi, Bhavana Jain, Harshita Gupta, Pooja Kewat, Avani Shrivastava, Jayanshika Dubey, Utsav Hande, Vandit Sethi, Shivam Bavariya, Shivakar Sapre, Mayur Tiwari, Arpit Khatik, Himanshu Tiwari in various roles. At the end of the play, director Swati Dubey and the artists were presented with the artwork of the mask of Vivechana made by Nisha Dubey as a memoir.