Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 28: The first ever ‘Jammu Youth Theatre Festival’ jointly organized by Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), Jammu and North Zone Cultural Centre, Patiala was inaugurated here today at the Auditorium of Government College for Women (GCW), Gandhi Nagar, Jammu.
The inaugural ceremony was marked by the lighting of traditional lamp by the chief guests, Rakesh Gupta, Principal Secretary, Forests and Sarita Chauhan, Commissioner/Secretary, Higher Education Department.
Earlier welcoming the guests, the Regional Director of ICCR, Balwant Thakur presented an overview of the concept behind holding such an exclusive theatre festival by youth. Over two hundred young aspirants were involved in the training and finally about 150 are appearing in five plays.
Underlining the importance of arts and theatre in education, Sarita Chauhan highlighted the role of such activities in the overall personality and intellectual development of the youth and stressed on the need of larger participation of the students in extra-curricular activities.
The opening play of the festival “Kya Yeh Sach Hai” was directed by prominent actor/director Anil Tickoo. A highly socially relevant play highlighted the plight of the ordinary woman even though the world extols the success stories of Kalpana Chawala, Sunita William and the presence of female President and Prime Minister, women executives, policewomen, engineers and doctors.
The play traces the life of a woman from birth until the point after marriage when she asserts her independence. The various stages through which the woman has to pass were aesthetically conveyed. The play ended with a positive note that still there is a hope and all can change provided we muster the required courage and have a will to see the change.
The artists who participated in the play included Cheena Mahajan, Jasmeen Kaur, Sabia Kaur, Jaspreet Kaur, Mehak Sharma, Shruti Sharma, Rohini Sharma, Sugun Mahajan, Natarta Chib, Priyanka Vishali, Kahyati Sharma, Saniya Mahajan, Richa Sharma, Sunaina Kangotra, Dhanakshi, Raizada, Sameeksha Sharma, Ayushi Chowdhary, Sushmita Benerji, Ankita Chopra, Shweta Jamwal, Mehak Jain, Gurvinder Kaur, Gursharan Kaur, Parasjeet, Komal Sharma, Nistha Mahajan, and Simaranjeet.
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