26th march, the 3rd day and finale, started with Shudrka Hyderabad’s theme collage of music and poetry in different languages keeping in sync with the theme of the festival. It was followed by an ensemble of dignitaries. We were deeply honoured to have them all.

Discussion started with B.V. Papa Rao, an Indian film maker, a sports administrator and a former member of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS). He is also one of the founders of a Trust called Art@Telangana that supports the art and artists of Telangana. He praised Shudrka’s effort expressed his views about how theatre can help build a healthy society.

He was followed by Dr. Subir Chowdhury, a scientist by profession, has served DRDO in the capacity of Director, RCI laboratory, and passionate theatre enthusiast. He had been associated with Bengali Theatre in Hyderabad since 1970 and was the founding member of the group “Achal Adhuli”. Dr. Chowdhury spoke about his association with Theatre, Shudrka and his pointers on how to make theatre more vibrant.

Our final speaker of the day was Kollol Dasgupta, a techie by profession, but more of a singer, lyricist, author and an activist. He spoke about his experience when he saw Bijon Bhattacharya create brilliant productions out of nothing and how theatre nurtures friendships in its truest form. He ended his speech with a beautiful rendition of a poetry on theatre.