 Early Times Report
JAMMU, May 15: Natrang celebrated its 43rd Foundation day with big fun and fare here today at its studio theatre unfolding historic accomplishments. Joined by his senior colleagues, the founder of NATRANG Balwant Thakur transported audiences to an eventful journey of 42 years of Natrang unfolding mind blowing moments through professionally designed audio/visual presentations. He opened his first segment of speech entitled 'Had there not been Natrang' listing the major contribution of Natrang in bringing this region to the global spotlight. Had there not been Natrang, no one would have ever heard of Dogri Theatre, language and culture at the international arena.It was Natrang which took India to the 'Frankfurt International Theatre Festival, Germany and became the 1st Indian Theatre group to achieve that and also 'Dogri' etiched that milestone of being the 1st Indian language to accomplish that. This is the cultural institution which gave a new cultural identity to this part of the world globally, 1000s tirelessly worked day and night to turn this into the most sought after cultural destination of India. With over record 7,500 events to its credit, Natrang created a history for having participated over 380 national/International cultural/theatre festivals. On the occasion he expressed his heartiest gratitude to everyone who contributed immensely for the growth and development of this brand called 'Natrang'. He further said that in last 42 years, through the selfless contribution of thousands of its associates, Natrang has brought the J&K theatre to the National and International limelight and its highly acclaimed plays which vibrated the theatre world and proudly travelled the whole length and breadth of the country and also crossed the boundaries of India as well and won appreciation in Russia, Germany, U.K., Singapore, Turkey, Hungary, Poland, South Africa, Mauritius, Central Asia and UAE and thus established a globally acknowledged brand called NATRANG. This organization has been highly instrumental in giving a new cultural and intellectual identity to this part of the country and revolutionized the cultural life of the place through its out of the world creative initiatives. In 2023 Natrang accomplished the country's most prestigious task of showcasing J&K before global audiences in the G20 conference and won world acclaim for outstanding performances.
While narrating the journey of 42 action packed years of Natrang, Balwant Thakur shared few inspiring movements which were instrumental in maintaining the consistency of its continuous growth and development. Prior to the inception of Natrang in Jammu, this region never witnessed the presence of a professionally managed cultural institution. Despite having seen lots of ups and downs, Natrang never stopped working even in challenging times. There is not even a single day in 42 years when Natrang was not working. On the occasion he thanked his wife Deepika Thakur and daughters Aarushi and Gauri for supporting and strengthening his mission wholeheartedly. Fact remains that Natrang has been highly instrumental in giving a new flip to the cultural life of this region and shaped the career of many aspiring actors/directors and young professionals. Natrang pioneered in introducing Children Theatre, Theatre Camp, Weekly 'Sunday Theatre', 'Theatre Laboratory', 'Theatre Repertory', 'Script Bank', 'Documentation Centre' and 'Mega Productions' (Featuring over 500 performers).
Others who spoke on the occasion included Anil Tickoo, Neeraj Kant, Sanjeev Gupta, Arvind Anand, Subash Jamwal, Vikrant Sharma, Deepak Virdhi, Mohd. Yaseen, Meenakshi Bagat, Kananpreet Kaur, Pawan Verma and Aadesh Dhar.
Natrang was established on 15th May, 1983 with the presentation of two unique short plays 'Neeli Jheel' and 'Nanhen Kandhey Pair' directed by Balwant Thakur at Abhinav Theatre Jammu. |
