Cuttack: A strong display of commitment to art was witnessed in the Maniabandha area of Odisha's Cuttack district when a Jatra actor chose to continue his performance despite receiving the heartbreaking news of his father’s death.

During the Ganesh Puja celebrations, the Konark Gananatya opera troupe was staging a play in Maniabandha. Midway through the performance, lead actor Jitendriya Das, popularly known as Jitu, was informed that his father had passed away due to age-related illness.

Even after hearing the news, Jitu decided not to leave the stage. He continued acting with tear-filled eyes, which the audience mistook as part of his emotional portrayal, and responded with thunderous applause. By the end of the show, when the organisers announced the tragedy, the spectators were stunned and praised Jitu’s dedication.

The organisers had offered to replace him with another actor and send him home immediately. But Jitu refused, saying he did not want the performance to be disrupted or the audience to feel disappointed. “I wanted no one to criticise the show. That’s why I gathered courage and stayed on stage,” he said.

Jitu shared, “I lost my mother earlier when I was away for a show and couldn’t reach in time. Now the same has happened with my father. I couldn’t even perform his last rites.”

Jitu said his father had always encouraged him to remain true to art. “He told me never to abandon my commitment to the stage,” he added.

The audience and organisers hailed Jitu’s decision as an extraordinary example of dedication to his work.