Bhaskar Parichha
Title: Kansa Maharaja- The Hero of Bargarh Dhanu Yatra
Concept & Edit: Nilambar Rath
Content and Composition: Sharmilee Mahapatra
Design and Digital Execution: Biswal Sudhakar
Publisher: Pranati Parida
Academy for Media Learning Private
M-6, Samanta Vihar, Bhubaneswar -751017
Price Rs 600
ISBN: 819332252-5
This was a book waiting to happen. And, there couldn’t have been a better timing than to get the book released on the stage and by the hero himself. Dhanu Yatra – also called World’s largest open theatre – has been extensively covered by the national and international media over the years. Yet, a book on this colossal event was conspicuous by its absence.
This 50-paged, lavishly illustrated book ‘Kansa Maharaja – The Hero of Bargarh Dhanu Yatra’ – straight away fills that vacuum.
Brought out by ‘OdishaLIVE’, this multicolored coffee table book is intended for a cause – that of promoting and disseminating Odisha’s well heeled cultural legacy. Maharaja Kansa’s own words about the book are instructive: “This illustrated book in English language will be very much useful in educating the people worldwide on the significance of Dhanu Yatra.”
Dhanu Yatra – which finds a mention in the Guinness Book of World Records – is an 11-day festival that revolves round the story of demon king Kansa – the mythological tyrant. The character of Kansa is at the epicenter of this carnival and concludes with Kansa’s death in the hands of his nephew, Krishna. The tale symbolizes victory of good over evil.
During the yatra, Bargarh – also famous for Sambalpuri Handlooms – turns into a virtual Mathura where Kansa rules the roost. Dressed in full regalia he moves around the town on a caparisoned elephant issuing orders and pulling up errant government officials. This is the most captivating scene in the whole celebration. What’s more, people thronging to this small western Odisha town keep moving about to witness the dramatization of various episodes of the open-air drama with lots of enthusiasm and fervor.
Spread across a 8km radius area, the whole of Bargarh town is transformed into a very big stage even though the story of Kansa, his death and the noble deeds of Krishna are enacted at 14 main places at Mathura and 4 main places in the adjoining Gopapura. The book has all these scraps of information for the connoisseur.
Believed to have originated in 1915, Dhanu yatra is as a symbol of people’s protest against the British rule. The present form manifested after the country attained independence. The annual event – now on the seventieth year – is an inalienable part of western Odisha’s cultural profile. All this and more is talked about in this hard-covered book. What’s notable is the hundreds of photographs culled out from the archives to be presented alongside lucid text.
Neatly divided into fifteen chapters, the book traces the history of this fête juxtaposing the past with the present. Then there are chapters on the durbar of the king, the itinerary, how mythology turns into reality, the Rang Mahal or the entertainment extravaganza, the ceremonial objects, how facial make-up breathes life into the two-hundred odd characters, the distinctiveness of the show and so on. Even as the facts and figures have been collected from various written and oral sources, the content is convincingly educative and makes for a compelling read.
While the book is expected to inspire further conversation, it will surely be a helpful guide to the reader who wants to know about Odisha’s rich heritage, and particularly Bargarh’s yearly fiesta. The book will also give a fillip to Odisha’s tourism potential. The hardback – recapitulating the seventy-year old glorious heritage – will help in providing basic reference material to the non-Odia readers, researchers and globe-trotters. For those who wish to come down to Bargarh someday to be part of this magnificent social event and relish the pageant in all its hues and colors, the book will be of immense help.
(Courtesy: ‘Political and Business Daily’)
