A four-day long theatre festival highlighting a message against oppression began on April 2 at the Experimental Theatre Stage, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA). Anushilon Natya Dal has arranged the festival to celebrate its 30th anniversary.

Anushilon Natya Dal is a Rajshahi University campus based theatre troupe, and it has earned accolades for its quality productions. A member troupe of Bangladesh Group Theatre Federation (BGTF), Anushilon has participated at theatre festivals arranged by the Bangladesh Centre of International Theatre Institute and BGTF.

The inaugural programme was rather unconventional. There was no formal discussion. The programme began with a dance presented by members of ethnic communities like Santal and Malpahari, who are actors of Anushilon. Theatre personalities Ramendu Majumder, Mamunur Rashid, Ataur Rahman, M. Hamid, Nasiruddin Yousuff, Mannan Heera and others greeted Anushilon on the occasion of its 30th anniversary.

Apart from Anushilon's production Bhumi Kanya, three Dhaka based theatre troupes will stage their plays at the festival. Other participating troupes Aranyak Natya Dal, Desh Natok and Palakar will stage Raarang, Birsa Kabya and Mangula respectively.

Chief of Anushilon Natya Dal, Malay Bhowmik informed, "All of the four experimental theatre productions included at the festival feature the marginalised's struggle for survival. It's not possible to organise an event like this in Rajshahi due to technical limitations."

On the opening day Anushilon staged Bhumi Kanya, written and directed by Malay Bhowmik. The play is set against the backdrop of

the 'Nachol Rebellion', led by Ila Mitra in the 1940s and '50s. Interestingly Ila Mitra, popularly known as "Nachol er Rani" has not been portrayed in the play. Rather, through some imaginary characters the ideology of the Tebhaga Movement' also known as Nachol Rebellion' has been presented. Farmers from different ethnic groups of North Bengal rebelled against the feudal lords for the rights to the profits from the harvest.

Director Malay Bhowmik has used a few traditional art forms of Bengali and Santal communities of North Bengal in the theatre production. However, the style of presentation in Bhumi Kanya is influenced by that of Raarang, an Aranyak Natya Dal production. The latter features the Santal resistance against the dominating Bengali community in the post-Nachol Rebellion era.