Nukkad Natak (street theatre) and the mangroves of Kendrapara

In lieu of this, Development Alternatives (DA) and Bharat Integration Social Welfare Agency (BISWA) organized a three-day awareness drive in and around Rangani Gram Panchayat of Rajnagar Block in the Kendrapara district of Orissa. The programme was targeted at nine high schools, fifteen primary schools and twenty-five women Self Help Groups, as well as village leaders and youth; this was spread across seven regions within a thirty-kilometer radius.

A primary component of the awareness programme was nukkad natak (street theatre), performed by SANJOG (a cultural organization based in Bhubaneswar). Street theatre as a form of communication is deeply rooted in Indian tradition. The art form has been used to propagate various social messages and create awareness amongst local communities of critical issues that affect their lives and livelihoods.  

The message of the performances was spread throughout the region, through word of mouth and other mediums including a travelling van, armed with a loudspeaker. The effectiveness of the story was in its simplicity, as actors told of the woes faced by the coastal communities as the mangroves around them slowly degraded and eventually disappeared from the landscape altogether. Subsequently, when only one tree is left standing (in the aftermath of a deadly storm), the community is hit by the realization of the true value of the mangroves. They start to regenerate the mangrove forests, vowing to protect them at all costs.

Officials from several local governmental institutions and the State Fisheries Department also attended the show. At the request of the local community leaders DA and BISWA will seek opportunities to continue these awareness-building activities. It is hoped that eventually the youth of the region will take up awareness generation as part of their theatre group activities