NSD theatre Festival strives to Capture Youngsters' attention

New Delhi, Feb 13 (IANS) The Bharat Rang Mahotsav - the National School of Drama's annual theatre festival - will this year have cross-cultural delicacies, theatre bazaar stalls, along with world's best theatre performances in offering, to woo young and old alike.

NSD director Waman Kendre said he sought to ensure that the ongoing 17th edition of the festival sets a benchmark in its presentation and hence took personal interest in maintaining the "quality" of associated events.

The festival concludes Feb 18.

"I really wanted to make sure that whatever we (NSD) is presenting comes with a quality check. So this year we have a various-filter team to select the best plays from around the world and India," Kendre told IANS.

"Not just plays, we wanted the audience and the visitors to enjoy cross-cultural food and get a glimpse into the theatre production world," he added.

And this is the reason why the "food court" and the "theatre bazaar stalls" are the highlight of this edition where young and old alike are thronging to taste different cuisines or peep into the world of costumes, lightning and sound instruments for stage works and many other things.

"I have been an ardent theatre fan and have been attending this festival for many years. But this is the first time that the quality of the food is so great," Ashish Sharma, a copywriter, told IANS.

This year, the stalls are from Daryaganj's "Changezi Chicken", popular Lebanese eatery Zizo, along with stuffed parathas, daulat ki chaat from Chandni Chowk, tikkas and kababs at reasonable prices ranging from Rs.100 to Rs.200.

Apart from this, the first-time "theatre bazaar" is generating a lot of curiosity among the visitors.

Raunak, who is selling tabla, dholak, flute, among other musical instruments said that many people are showing interest in these instruments.

"Not many know where to go for theatre-related products. So people are eager to see these shops and enquire about them," Raunak told IANS.

"We are getting visibility because of putting up shops here," he added.

Amlan Ray, 56, admitted this year's festival had a lot more vigor and enthusiasm compared to previous editions.

"There is so much energy here this time. I have seen four plays so far and I must confess the quality has improved a lot. It is a wholesome package that is a complete entertainer in terms of food, shopping and thaetre," Ray told IANS while he chewed on a chicken shawarma.