DOGRA HERALD BUREAU
JAMMU, Oct 9
Principal Secretary Culture Suresh Kumar Gupta lauded the most outstanding performance of ‘Mata Ki Kahani’ at the Navratra Festival-2024, Katra. Joined by Secretary Culture Ms. Deepika Sharma and Secretary J&K Academy of Art Culture and Languages Ms. Harvinder Kaur, he witnessed the entire presentation of Mata Ki Kahani on the 7th day of Navratra Festival. Prominent amongst those who graced the occasion Rayees Mohammad Bhat, IPS, DIG Reasi-Udhampur Range, Alok Kumar Maurya, IFS, Additional CEO, SMVDSB, Satish Kumar, JKAS, Joint CEO SMVDSB, Gaurav Sikarwar, IPS, SSP Reasi and Vipan Chandran, SP, Katra Applauding the mesmerising show Suresh Kumar Gupta said that seeing the professional class and standard of this power-packed performance, one can say with authority that such matchless shows can be considered at par with any international level shows. He complimented the writer and director of Mata Ki Kahani Padamshree Balwant Thakur and his talented team of Natrang for creating this mind blowing show which innovatively unfolds the entire story of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi. He further said that such shows should be taken all-over. Earlier Natrang Director Balwant Thakur shared his experiences of the creation of this mega theatrical wonder which took him three years in mounting this show.
History has perhaps never witnessed a production of this class at Katra which unfolds the entire legend in a highly spectacular manner. Balwant Thakur who is credited for having created theatrical wonders of world class once again established the fact that his magic spell will continue to mesmerize audiences through his mind-blowing ventures. ‘Mata Ki Kahani’ – a unique theatrical experience for the audience, beautifully showcased the popular legend of Mata Vaishno Devi. Magically it transported the entire audience to a mesmerising journey unfolding the story of Mata Vaishno Devi which is a classic narrative that echoes every Hindu household and is a part of every grandma’s midnight tale. As per the legend, during the period when the Goddess was busy in annihilating the Asuras, Her three main manifestations viz. Mata Maha Kali, Mata Maha Lakshmi and Mata Maha Saraswati got together one day and pooled their collective Tejas or spiritual strength. Today Mata Vaishno Devi is worshiped by millions and trillions of people across the world. Mata Vaishno Devi has surfaced as an embodiment of will, strength and peace. In the present times, when the atrocities against the mankind is prevailing, the legend of Mata Vaishnodevi gives a guiding light to her followers to help her devotees to uphold inner confidence and faith within themselves and on the strength of her healing and cosmic powers.
The most striking feature of today’s performance was the demonstration of perfection in every creative department be it the stage action, design, lighting, scenic imagery and visual poetry which left a life-time impact of a highly vibrant presentation.Pan-India audience on the occasion appreciated the performance and termed this as their lives best memorable presentation which they desired to continue for the entire year so over one Crore pilgrims visiting Katra every year get benefited by such educative showcasing of artistic presentations. Majority of the audiences admitted that they were not fully aware of the whole story of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi and after having witnessed this mind-blowing presentation they have come to know about various aspects of the story.
The artists who featured in this mega show included Neeraj Kant, Brijesh Avtar Sharma, Palshin Dutta, Kananpreet Kaur, Sana Chouhan, Kushal Bhat, Vishal Sharma, Kavya Sharma, Aradhaya Sharma, Pihu Mehra, Aanya Sharma, Ayushi Nagotra, Anvi Thakur, Aayna Thakur, Sania Bhagat, Sonam Thakur, Jeevika Thakur, Vrinda GujralIsha Gupta, Mehak Chib, Aradhana Soodan, Divyanshi Sharma, Mehak Singh, Suneha Angural, Sakshi Gupta, Priyal Ashok Gupta, Pratibha Verma, Mahi Verma, Simran Bhagat, Prerna Sharma, Simran Rajput, Ritika, Janvi Biloria, Harmandeep Kour, Arun Dev Verma, Sahil Narwalia, Arun Sharma, Lalita Devi, Shalini Bhagat, Kartik Kumar, Vansh Pandotra, Gopi Sharma, Sanket, Abhinav Sharma, Gourav Khajuria, Manik Sanmotra, Raghuvansh, Bhushan Kumar, Vedanshi Sharma, Deepak Saini, Mridul and Sunny Mujoo. The sets of the play are designed by Veerji Sumbli and lights by Shivam Singh. The show was coordinated by Mohd. Yaseen.
