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NORTH AMERICAN Newsline SEPTEMBER 01, 2023 | The Indian Eye 28

A FULL HOUSE at 8th NATYA DARPAN

concludes this year’s festival!

OUR BUREAU nessman, community leader and one This year Natya Darpan show- nurtured with faith and understand-
of the sponsors; Manda Gorsegner, cased 6 mesmerizing plays with varied ing. Written by Pramod Kale, the play
Edison, NJ
Grants Administration Manager; Sar- subjects by local actors and diverse was directed by Sandeep Karajkar.
he 8th Annual Natya Darpan ah Ferreira, Program Content Man- groups from various cities in the USA. As always, this year the plays with
2023 concluded, beating its ager; Kayson Woolford, Engagement The Empty Chair (English) rich and thought-provoking content
Town record by having a sold-out Specialist; Amy Garcia-Phillips, Arts talked about a counseling center for that left the audiences spell bound
show over a week in advance. Indian Program Manager; Ayanna Slacum, teenagers recovering from substance and wanting for more. It’s not a sur-
Heritage and Cultural Association of Arts Program Assistant; Lindsay Er- abuse. Law for the Entitled (English), prise that there were almost 100 peo-
New Jersey (IHCA-NJ), that hosts ben, Director of the Arts Institute; an adaptation from the Kannada play ple on the waiting list to attend this
the annual short play festival, regis- Jared Cardenas, Division Head of Ed- Sampaddharma by Sriranga was an sold-out festival and had to be turned
tered another successful event this ucation, Outreach, and Administra- epic one-act play that looked at sur- down. Mr Chaudhary seemed very
year, which is not a surprise! With an tion; Tracey O’Reggio Clark, Division vival, wealth, privilege, caste, greed happy and satisfied with the response
exciting array of 6 short plays, Natya Head of Arts and Community Devel- and human suffering during a natu- from the attendees.
Darpan was held on Sunday August opment; Isha Vyas, Division Head ral calamity. Ubhe Aadve (Marathi) Speaking about the festival,
20th at the Middlesex County College of Folklife and Cultural Heritage. spoke about lockdown, two unem- Chaudhary said, “It is truly the mark
in Edison. Despite his busy schedule, the ployed friends and one crooked of our incredibly cultured and loyal
The event began with Founder of Consul General of India in New York, scheme. Na Nahaye Bahadur (Hin- audience that we were able to contin-
IHCA-NJ Dr. Ashok Chaudhary wel- Randhir Jaiswal, also graced the festi- di), a satire on long winding court uously grow our program. This pro-
coming the guests and the dignitaries val with his presence in the afternoon. procedures and tardiness of the Indi- gram is only made possible because of
present. He also took a moment to He was extremely delighted and im- an judicial system was based around an audience as intelligent, receptive,
thank his executive team and all the pressed to witness one of the 6 plays a character called Bahadur Chandel. and artistic as the actors performing
sponsors. The opening of the festival during his short visit. He addressed the Pratibimb (Marathi) was about a man on Natya Darpan stage year after
commenced with a lamp lighting cere- audience and reassured the team of who wakes up one day to find his re- year. I am extremely thankful to my
mony which was performed in the pres- the continuous support from the Con- flection amiss. In Pratibimb, writer excellent committee, team members,
ence of the dignitaries. Among those sulate for the activities by IHCA-NJ. Mahesh Elkunchwar, raised issues of the passionate actors, cast and crew,
present were Chief Guest Archana He added that such cultural activities identity-formation and identity crisis sponsors, supporters, media and the
Joglekar, celebrated actress, Direc- should be brought to the forefront in intricate ways. Mast Ekdam Majet very loyal audiences who have sup-
tor, and Kathak Dancer; Mr Hemant to create awareness and encourage (Marathi) drew upon humor to high- ported me time and again. I couldn’t
Marathe, Mayor of West Windsor; local artists. He also added that the light the fact that relationships cannot have done without anyone”.
Edison Councilman Ajay Patil; Mr. Consulate is proud to be a partner be looked upon with a consumer driv- Photos:
Nilesh Dasondi, a renowned busi- with IHCA-NJ and Natya Darpan. en mindset but rather they should be Shikhar Raj Sengupta

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