Kosli Naat Badi - The Week Long Kosli Drama Fest Starts 15 Jan at Balangir

To promote Kosli drama and to give further boost to Kosli language, a State-level drama festival, Kosli Naatbadi, will be held at Sadeipali in Balangir district from January 15 2011. The main purpose of organising the festival is to revive the regional Kosli Theater, which is facing a lot of challenges these days.

SITE Cultural Society will organize this state-level Kosli Naatbadi. It is infact the oldest Kosli drama fest in Orissa.The Kosli festival will stage the play in colloquial languages.

With the winter still on, it is a wonderful season for theatre lovers to flock together and enjoy the dying art of the area as well as skills of artistes from other parts of the state. SITE secretary Srikara Mishra said since it is the harvest season, the farmers and labourers are in the mood to celebrate. It is the best time for any cultural body to offer this kind of entertainment. "Our objective is to showcase the local flavour of land through these plays to enthrall the average audience. Apart from that, we will also felicitate outstanding artistes and plays too," said Mishra. In the seven-day long festival, 22 plays will be staged.

A theatre lover, Sashi Sekhar Panda, said the organization is making a rare effort to revive the theatre culture in the region. "Although there were doyens of drama here in Balangir, there have been no opportunities like this. This effort will definitely help improve the theatre culture in Balangir and contribute greatly to India's theatre potential," said Panda.

Last year following Kosli dramas of 22 different cultural outfits of eight districts were showcased. Khapara (Balangir), Ashra (Baragarh), Dalari (Bhavanipatna), Remu (Baragarh), A Phula (Bheden), Paiaan (Mahada), Sagharsha (Khtkhatia), Bimbadhar ra Katha (Padampur), Akuha Manar Bhasa (Sonepur), Annapurna (Balangir), Kaanali Patar (Boudh), Annath Ashram (Belpahad), Mun ra Aakar (Balangir), NaaT (Balangir), Laaja (Balangir), PalataBahga (Sambalpur), Agathkatha Kehehez (Baragarh), Phalsa Phul (Kalahandi), Haldipali ra KeluRam (Sambalpur), Rath (Padampur), Naatua (Sambalpur) and Udelia Utpath (Baragarh).

Welcoming all the Kosli people to be a part of the Kosli Naat Badi and feel proud to promote the Kosli cultural heritage