Bargarh: Hrusikesh Bhoi has emerged successful in the keen contest to enact the role of King Kansa of Mahabharata in the famed ‘Dhanu Yatra’, which turns 75 this year, officials said.
The selection committee headed by Bargarh district sub-collector Mirdha Toppo chose Bhoi to play the role of the tyrannical demon king of the epic from among 42 contestants, they said.
His name was declared November 11.
Bhoi, however, is not new to the role. He had donned King Kansa’s robes nine times earlier.
“Bhoi left all the participants behind and emerged as the best choice for the role,” Toppo said releasing the list of artistes to perform in the festival which will begin here from December 27.
The 11 day ‘Dhanu Yatra’, during which the whole town becomes a stage, will be held after a gap of two years of the pandemic.
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A large number of visitors from across the state and the country flock to Bargarh to witness the spectacle.
Officials said that initially 60 people had applied to play the role of Kansa, the tyrannical uncle of Lord Krishna and the king of Mathura, after Gopal Sahoo, who became a household name in the state for his deft enactment of the character as many as 23 times bowed out this year as he turned 60.
The officials said four of them were rejected as they had crossed the age limit of 60 years. From the remaining 56 contestants 42 were selected for the final round of the audition. Bhoi hails from Chicholi village under Ambabhona block in Bargarh district. He works as a driver in health department. He had played the role of Kansa between 2009 and 2017.The selection committee has also announced the name of artistes to play the roles of Mahamantri Vidur, Satyaki, Akrura and others.
The ‘Dhanu Yatra’ had started after Independence as a mark of the triumph of good over evil. During it Bargarh town is transformed into Mathura under the rule of King Kansa and Ambapalli across the Jeera river becomes Gopapura, where Lord Krishna spent his childhood. The Jeera River is then considered as the river Yamuna and the writ of Kansa rules.
