Powerful retelling of Mahabharata's final day grips Odia audience.
Jeevanrekha theatre group concluded the prestigious Ranga Mancha theatre festival with a hauntingly relevant performance of "Andha Yug," a play that dissects the moral decay following the Kurukshetra war. This production marks the third and final presentation of the festival, bringing a profound exploration of human frailty to the local stage. By focusing on the 18th day of the great battle, the narrative moves beyond historical tropes to question the very nature of victory when ethics and compassion have been discarded.
Gandhari’s inconsolable grief and Ashwatthama’s descent into vengeful madness serve as the emotional core of this rendition. The play highlights how the survivors of war face a spiritual vacuum, grappling with the "blindness" of their own choices. The performance successfully translates the philosophical weight of Dharamvir Bharati’s original Hindi masterpiece into a localized Odia context through Saudamini Nanda's precise translation.
Odisha's vibrant theatre circuit has long championed the adaptation of national classics, and this production continues that tradition by involving a diverse cast including Deepanwit Dasmohapatra and Shital Pajanayak. Technical elements like Bibhas Rath's music and Sanjay Sahoo's lighting design create an atmosphere that mirrors the internal conflict of the characters. As the final curtain falls on the Ranga Mancha festival, the play leaves the audience with a lingering question: when will the cycle of darkness within the human mind finally find its resolution?
