OSA Midwest Regional Drama Festival - a report by  Kanak Hota:

(Note: The festival was held on November 6, 2010)

As never before and in a rare endeavor, this year’s OSA Chicago Diwali celebration combined with Midwest Regional Drama festival at the Fair Lady Production Inc.1665 Quincy Ave, Naperville showcased the artistic talents of the chapter members and their kids in a spectacular way.  The three hour-long cultural extravaganza, interspersed with sparkling humor, scintillating wit and soul stirring music and dance did not have a single moment of dreariness. We thank our office-bearers president Ashok Parida, vice-president Ashok Sahoo and secretary/treasurer Debasish Panda, regional drama coordinator Gyana Ranjan Patnaik and event chair Rosalin Samantray for their single-minded dedication in making the event a grand success. The MCs, Salil Mishra and Dr. Subhashree Joshi deserve our appreciation for orchestrating the colorful items in delectable fashion which was great for its style, presentation and grace.

Event Chair Rosalin Samantray deserves accolade in making the show well structured and perfectly synchronized, and her tireless efforts in making the cross-pollination of our cultural identity in the package is praiseworthy. She wrapped devotional chanting, modern dance medley, classical dances in the form of Bharatnayam and Odissi, Beatles and western contemporary songs and the dramas by the Chapters as dazzling pieces of our diverse identity. If Sarita Parida’s “Aayee Dhoom Diwali” set the mood for dance and music, the hilariously comedic short plays mocked at the limitations of us as human beings blinded by egoism, personal ambition and hypocrisy. Manoj Mahapatra’s play Jaha Hale Hau” is densely satirical. It presents the plight of a director played by Rosy who fails to bring together a bunch of self-absorbed egocentric individuals fighting hard to prove themselves as better actors than the rest. The play made Prashant grunt, Jhara swing as a tasty item girl, and Bob, Manoj, Gyana rock in dark glasses to a racy number. Madhu Khuntia with his ten heads as Ravana was hilarious, Gokul Mishra for his arrogant walks as a scriptwriter and Ratna Mishra for a long spicy dialogue with friend Jhara over the phone kept everybody engaged.

Rightly, the event started with rich tributes to Guru Gangadhar Pradhan, doyen of Odissi dance in India, and Dr. Bani Dasmahapatra, mother of Chhabi Mahanty, who left this mortal world for their heavenly abodes.

Milwaukee Chapter’s Uchit Charcha targets the plight of a semi-educated power-hungry politician on a visit to Chicago. The comedy arises from the answers he gives to the press and the reaction of people who are his audience. Two worldviews –the politician back home who believes that dollars grow on trees and the self-made immigrant who does not want to part with his hard earned dollars, created the fun for the viewers. Rajkishore Pati as the screwed/shrewd politician joined by Manas and Sikha Patnaik on the stage gave us a lot to laugh and reflect.

The comedy in Gosein Mahatma by Swapnalata Mahapatra from Detroit openly attacks the institution of priesthood that preys on the faith of common man. Their cast Subhasish Mohanty, Akshyay Ray, Debasish Acharya, Sangram Basantia, Swapnalata Mishra were wonderful in their acting.

Chicago kids brought the house down by their scintillating performances: Shivansh’s chanting mesmerized everybody and Pallavi, Payal, Sabrina, Shivangi, Shivank, Samyak, and Ayush ”, were excellent in “Aayee Dhoom Diwali. Ashley Sahu and Shimron Sahoo gave the audience a treat in Bharatnatyam, while Lisa Mishra’s rendition of English song was outstanding Akash Dash gave a treat of his guitar prowess and vocal chord to the packed house. The ever-smiling Trisha Mahapatra performed a stunning Odissi dance, which enthralled the viewers in attendance. The combinations added variety, glamour and spark to the entertainment on a platter.

We are thankful to our volunteers who have worked behind the glare with dedication for the success of the show. Dr.Minakhi Panigrahy and Debashish Panda missed a large part of the event as they were working at the help desk/reception, Bharati Khuntia, heading the food team with Usha Dash, Ipsita Satapathy, Sunita Patnaik, Rupa Mahapatra, Kiti Kamath, and others, handled the serving very well. Saurya Khandai as tech. support, Sujata Patnaik and Srikant Panda in stage set up, Sunita Dash, Sarita Parida and Kiti Kamath in auditorium decoration worked hard for proper presentation of the show. Rajendra Supkar and Sunil Mishra took great shots of the entire show, which you would be receiving for your visual feast. President Ashok Parida must be thanked for the selection of the venue with all the amenities and overall conduct of the program. Little Simron deserves all our encouragement for coming out with a nice homemade brochure. Last but not the least we are grateful to all our chapter members and guests from all over the place for turning in large numbers for the great show.

CHICAGO, YOU CAN DO IT IN STYLE!!!

Kanak Hota

on behalf of OSA Chicago