Lucknow: Describing theatre as the true mirror of society, chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday said that performing art plays an important role in giving direction to the society.“A space where emotions turn into words, which in turn become performance. Powerful theatre dramas have the capability to transform public opinion and create awareness among the community about an issue or subject,” the CM said while presiding over the golden jubilee celebrations of Bhartendu Natya Academy in Lucknow.Urging the department of culture to move forward by connecting both the old and new generations, Yogi said the time was right to come up with powerful scripts themed on national interest and patriotism.“Cultural programmes should unite the society and encourage people from all walks of life to come together,” he said.Responding to requests made by BNA chairman Ratishankar Tripathi, Yogi directed senior officials, including additional chief secretary, to construct a hostel within the institute compound and hand it over to the academy.Yogi congratulated theatre veteran Anil Rastogi on receiving Padma Award and also felicitated him on the occasion.He noted that even in 1976, when the country was going through the Emergency, the Bharatendu Natya Academy continued its academic programmes.Yogi praised the artists who performed a theatrical presentation on Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay’s ‘Anand Math’ during the event.The CM also inaugurated the newly constructed auditoriums and inspected the renovated portion of the building before going through the exhibition organised by the students.In a touching moment, a young girl who came onto the stage touched Yogi’s feet and the CM gifted her a chocolate.Besides Padma Shri awardee Anil Rastogi, others who were felicitated by the CM were Kiran Bisaria (Lakhimpur Kheri), Padma Shri Ramgopal Bajaj (New Delhi), Prof Ajay Malkani (Ranchi), Ravishankar Khare (Gorakhpur), Chitra Mohan (Prayagraj), Manju Brajnandan Sharma (Saharanpur), Munish Sappal (Mumbai), Devendra Kumar Tripathi (Prayagraj), Ajit Saigal (Varanasi), Rakesh Nigam (Lucknow), Pramod Singh Rana (Agra), Alok Pandey (Shahjahanpur), Kushal Dubey (Jaunpur), and Rakesh Pandey (Bhadohi).
