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New Delhi. The Maithili theater movement, though not a very long one, has a continuous tradition in independent India. Just as in many other languages, theater started with translation, similarly in Maithili, along with translation, original plays were also written to give impetus to the theater movement.

However, original plays like Goraksha Vijay and Dhurtasamagam already existed in Maithili. Prominent playwright, poet and linguist Uday Narayan Singh Nachiketa said this in a symposium on Maithili theater movement organized in the Antarmukh auditorium of the National School of Drama under the joint aegis of Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi and Maithili Folk Rang (Mailorang).

While giving the keynote address, Pradeep Bihari said that today the scenario of Maithili theater has become very rich after going through many color movements and discussed in detail the challenges of plays and theater happening in different cities of Mithila from rural areas.

He said that Mithila society should take steps to encourage theater artists and arrange awards and honors to promote those performing in plays.

Namonarayan Mishra discussed the contribution made by the theater institutions and theater workers in Kolkata in carrying forward the theater movement. Kislay Krishna read a well-researched article on the activities of Maithili theater in Mithila and Nepal.

Senior actress of Maithili theater Premlata Mishra Prem gave a detailed and meaningful discussion about the theater movements of Patna, the institutions to theater and the activities of those institutions. He said that initially there was a lack of female actresses for theatre, but gradually due to awareness in the society, now a large number of female actresses and directors are active in Maithili theatre.

In the second session, young writer Arunabh Saurabh read a research article to the Maithili theater movement and the influence of global theater on it and discussed various theatrical styles.

The second session was presided over by Professor Devshankar Naveen and he expressed hope that the Maithili theater movement has influenced the society and culture of Mithila and will continue to contribute positively in the future. He said that literature has never been a means of entertainment, rather its basic objective is to improve the society.

At the beginning of the program, Deputy Secretary of Sahitya Akademi N Suresh Babu welcomed all the invited scholar participants and audience on behalf of Dr. Varun Gulati, Secretary of the Akademi. Many writers, poets and critics of Maithili were present in the seminar.