Writer: Mahendra Malangiya
Director: Yaduvir Yadav
Group: Nari Udgaar Sansthan, Bihar
Language: Maithili
Duration: 2 hrs
The Form
Natua Nach is a popular folk-theatre form of Maithili speaking region of Bihar & Nepal. It is performed mainly during festivals. Most of the stories of Natua Nach have been taken from folk tales which depict socio-political life and its struggles. The folk art has developed in form and style as per the interests of the audience. This presentation is based on the life of the most loved deity of Mithila, Raja Salhes.
The Play
King Kulhesar’s daughter, princess Chandravati, asks goddess Durga for a boon to marry king Salhes. Goddess Durga appears in the dreams of princess Chandravati and King Salhes and asks them to meet in the garden of King Kulhesar at an appointed hour. But Salhes rejects the proposal of marriage to Chandravati. King Kulhesar takes Salhes into captivity and asks him to guard Chandravati’s wedding chamber. One night, the earlier guard, Chuharmal, breaks into the chamber, steals Chandravati’s clothes. Phulwanti, the gardener, catches Chuharmal and frees King Salhes.
Director’s Note
Earlier, almost every one or two village in Mithila region had its own folk theatre group. The artists used to do farming, traditional caste-based jobs, daily wage work etc. for their sustenance. Today, we are left with very few such groups. This presentation has been prepared by arranging a production-based workshop by collecting artists of remnant groups around Babubarhi and Rajnagar. This is an attempt to look at the traditional Salhes Nach in a new perspective.
The Director
Yaduvir Yadav was born in 1973 in the village Bhupatti of Madhubani district. He did M.A. from Lalit Narayan Mithila Vishwa Vidyalaya. As a student he started working with IPTA, Madhubani and acted in Maithili and Hindi plays under different directors. Some of his important plays are Amli, Saiyyan Bhaye Kotwal, Andher Nagri, Lakh Ki Naak, Aurat and Sabse Sasta Gosht. Along with acting in 30 plays, he has also directed plays like Original Kam, Gam Nayi Sutaiye, Kathak Lok etc. Presently he does farming and is the president of FACs, an organisation of the farmers of Bhupatti Panchayat, Madubani district.
The Writer
Mahendra Malangiya is a well-known playwright, theatre director and founding president of Delhi based theatre group Mailorang. Besides writing many critical research article on folk literature, he has also written 13 Maithili language plays, 19 one-acts, 14 street-plays and 10 radio drama. He got Senior Fellowship from Government of India, and the many awards received by him include award from International Theater Institute (Nepal) and Prabodh Sahitya Samman etc. He has prepared the performance text of this production of Raja Salhes.
The Group
Nari Udgaar Sansthan is a socio-cultural organisation which has been archiving the cultural heritage of Mithila region. The primary objective of this institution is to encourage and empower the local women of Mithila with the medium of production-based workshops. It has been organising events in collaboration with like-minded groups. It has also been organising Rastriya Lok Utsav in the remote areas of Madhubani district for the past 3 years in collaboration with Achhinjal.
Cast & Credits
| Artists | Kamal Ram, Mahendra Ram, Ghuran Das, Shivji Paswan, Mahendra Das, Pawan Paswan, Vijay, Shiv Kumar, Pramod Debaan, Jibachh Paswan, Gulab, Gobind, Suparita, Sunita, Phuldevi, Kashyap Kamal, Bhagwan, Prashant |
| Assistance | Shyamcharan, Bajrang Mandal, Mukesh Jha, Tejnaryan Choudhary |
| Design | Abhishek Devnarayan |
| Coordination | Yaduvir Yadav |
| Performance Text | Mahendra Malangiya |
| Direction | Yaduvir Yadav |
Contact
Nari Udgaar Sansthan
Village Murhaddi, Near Badka Mill, Babu Barhi
Madhubani, Bihar 847224
M: +91 7992367692, 9709925597
E: bhatsimarmithila@gmail.com
