“Pagah” Kashmiri theatre festival concludes successfully
Vomedh assured of support by all the attendees in its mission for preservation of Kashmiri language
Srinagar, May 23, 2022: On the concluding day of the Pagah Kashmiri theatre festival, Tagore Hall witnessed jam-packed audience for the Kashmiri folk play Angraiz Paather. The week-long festival was inaugurated by Vomedh on the eve of its 14th foundation day and went on from 17th to 23rd May 2022 at Tagore Hall Srinagar. The festival is part of the Vomedh’s initiative for preservation and promotion of Kashmiri language under project Pagah. The brother duo Rakesh Roshan Bhat and Rohit Bhat, the co-founders of Vomedh, were the festival directors.
Reputed theatre groups from Jammu and Kashmir presented their Kashmiri plays over the course of seven days.
“We are overwhelmed by the response received from the participating theatre groups, the audience and people in general for this initiative. We are happy that people are connecting with our mission to preserve and promote Kashmiri language. The roots of Vomedh are in theatre and we want to leverage our expertise in theatre to propagate Kashmiri language”, said Rohit Bhat while expressing his pleasure over the successful completion of the theatre festival.
The plays performed over seven days included Daye Sanz Dayegath by Vomedh, Zahar by Chinar Art foundation, Shakle Gaur by Yemberzal youth club, Dagg rouz lalvin by Shahkaar cultural society, Mukjar by Mehak dramatic club, Ghar devta by Samooh theatre and Angraiz paether by Kashmir Performers collective on the last day. The performances in all the plays were top notch. The theatre connoisseurs who attended the festival applauded the efforts of the theatre groups to pull off top quality productions which shows the commitment of these theatre groups towards theatre and love towards Kashmiri language. Audience also appreciated the use of colloquial Kashmiri words which evoked instant connection and love with Kashmiri language.
The prominent guests like President Private Schools Association G N Var, Director DD News Srinagar Qazi Salman, VC central university Kashmir Prof Farooq Ahmad Shah, writer Arvind Shah, actor director Ayash Arif and others who attended the festival commended Vomedh for organizing such a big theatre festival. They appreciated the efforts of Rakesh and Rohit and appealed to audience to encourage such initiatives.
The function started with traditional welcome Rouf which was performed by Shagufta and group. This was followed by felicitations and play performance. Rashid Nizami kept the audience hooked during the function.
The Kashmiri folk play Angraiz paather which was the highlight of the concluding day was performed by Kashmir Performers collective under the direction of Manzoor Ahmad Mir. The play based on a folklore was enacted very well by all the artists. Manzoor has emerged as one of the prominent proponents of folk theatre. The performance was lauded by all the guests and the audience.
On this occasion various personalities from art, media and events faculties were felicitated for their role in promoting culture and art in the valley. Media person Gulfam Barji was felicitated for promoting Kashmiri language and Gulam Mohammad Bhagat for his contribution in Kashmiri folk theatre.
Prominent media personalities who were felicitated on the occasion included Arshid Mir Editor Kashmir Headlines, Farooq Wani from Zee News , Sabha Gul from Rising Kashmir, Mir Omar Sadat from Channel 1 News, Mohammad Imran Naikoo from Kashmir News Bureau, Arshad Nawshari from D D News, Ayoob Khan from News 18 Urdu and Daily Tameel-I-Irshad “Vomedh has been pushing for adoption of language at grassroots level by connecting with school children. Already parents have started valuing the programs organized by Vomedh and look forward to participation of their children in such programs. Private schools’ association of J&K is happy to associate with Vomedh in this noble cause”, said G A Var, during the felicitations.
“We are making a serious and sustained effort to work towards Kashmiri language. We feel delighted that people are realizing the need for such a sustained initiative. We appreciate the help we are getting here. We want project Pagah to become a people‟s movement. I dream of the day when no such initiative is required”, said Rakesh Roshan Bhat, convenor of project Pagah. Rakesh is also a famous playwright and co-founder of Vomedh.
