Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 26: In his message on World Theatre Day, renowned playwright and theatre director Balwant Thakur has emphasized the importance of theatre in education and communication.
He stated that theatre has played a crucial role in shaping civilizations and is no longer considered solely as a source of entertainment. Instead, he said, it has widened its scope and become an effective medium for education.
Thakur highlighted the benefits of performing in theatre, stating that it develops the focus of the mind, body, and voice.
He added that theatre enhances verbal and non-verbal expression of ideas and improves confidence, voice projection, articulation, and fluency with language.
According to him, societies that perform and participate in theatre are more aware, updated, and intellectually awakened.
Thakur also discussed the challenges faced by society in Jammu and Kashmir, emphasizing the need for intellectual engagement of the civil society.
He stated that theatre can play a pivotal role in sensitizing generations about the value of their language, culture, and identity.
He appealed to all stakeholders to support endeavours aimed at upgrading the intellectual identity of the region, emphasizing the responsibility of both the government and the civil society in preserving, protecting, and promoting culture in general and theatre in particular.
Thakur pointed out the irony of Jammu being promoted as a smart city, yet having only one theatre that is in shambles.
He stated that a smart city requires the engagement and participation of the civil society in activities of art and culture.
Thakur concluded by quoting an Irish playwright and poet who regarded theatre as the greatest of all art forms and the most immediate way for human beings to share their sense of what it means to be human.
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