(Watch) Bargarh Dhanu Jatra: Kansa Maharaj shakes a leg with Ollywood actress Anu Choudhury

Bhubaneswar: Ollywood actress Anu Choudhury has performed at the court of King Kansa during the ongoing Dhanu Jatra at Odisha’s Bargarh town.

The popular actress, who graced the open-air theatre as a guest yesterday, performed at the court of Kansa Maharaj after receiving a ‘direction’ in this regard from the demon king.

King Kansa directed the popular actress to perform on a song of any of her Odia movie. Acting upon the direction, the actress performed at the court of Kansa Maharaj.

King Kansa and a few of his courtiers also shook a leg with the popular actress for a few minutes. The demon king also praised the dance performance of Choudhury by terming it as ‘Chamatkar’ (wonderful).

“I feel proud after visiting the world famous Dhanu Yatra at Bargarh. I took the blessings of Lord Krishna during the festival,” said Choudhury.

The annual festival, considered as the largest open-air theatre in the world, is celebrated across 8-km radius at Bargarh municipality and its nearby areas. The festival is enacted on the theme of ‘Mathura Vijay’, which depicts the victory of Lord Krishna against his uncle and demon king Kansa.

The entire Bargarh town is decked up as Mathura while nearby Ambapali village turns into mythological Gopapura for the drama-based open-air theatrical performance.

The Jeera river, located close to Bargarh, is considered as Yamuna during Dhanu Jatra. Each and every residents of Bargarh consider themselves as the subjects of demon king Kansa during the festival. Several episodes related to the childhood of Lord Krishna and Lord Balaram are enacted during the 11-day festival.

The people of Bargarh have been organising the festival since 1947. “Dhanu Jatra was first organised at Bargarh in 1947 to celebrate the independence of India from the British rule,” said a local.

This year, the festival kicked off on January 15 and it will continue till January 25.