Play on Shivaji to be staged in Goa after 12 years

Panaji: A mega drama on the life of Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji will be staged in Goa next week, after a gap of about 12 years. The drama, titled `Janata Raja`, will be enacted on a five-storey stage spread across 2,625 sq ft by more than 200 artists, its organisers said here today. The play, which was first staged in 1985, has done 985 shows across India and the US. "People of Goa wanted the mega drama to be performed again in Goa, since it never returned after 2001," Rajan Ghate, a local organiser told reporters here. Produced by Pune-based Maharaja Shiv Chhatrapati Pratishthan and written by renowned historian Babasaheb Purandare, the play recreates a real life ambience with horses, elephant, camel, bullock carts and palanquin taking to the stage, Ghate said. The play would be performed in Mapusa town, 10 kms away from here, from April 15 onwards with the help of local organiser Shri Pratishtha Society . SPS president Dipak Gadekar said the five-storey set will have replicas of historic Shaniwarwada (Pune) and Agra Fort, which are closely associated with the life of the Maratha king.