A two-day drama festival organised at Salbagan near here on the bank of the Mara river concluded on Sunday.

The event was inaugurated by north Bengal development minister Rabindranath Ghosh on Saturday.

“It was one of the finest events that I attended in recent months. The organisers held a nice festival at a place that is surrounded by greenery and avian population,” said the minister.

The festival, which was organised by theatre group “Cooch Behar Anasristi” in association with the Paschim Banga Natya Akademi, was christened as “Anu Natok ebong Antoranga Natyotsav 2020”.

The show commenced at 10am and continued till 3pm. During the fest, performers staged a total of 10 short plays in an open arena amid nature.

The organisers pointed out that Salbagan, a plantation of trees that exists since the days of the Cooch Behar royals, was one of the prominent locations which was getting defamed because of some anti-social activities.

Salbagan is around 5km from here.

In a bid to re-popularise the location, they felt it pertinent to host the event here. Theatre groups from South 24-Parganas, Malda, Nadia and neighbouring state of Assam, performed at the fest.

“We did not build a formal dais and the usual wooden plank was missing. Instead, we attempted to create an ambience, with the natural surroundings forming both the dais and the backdrop. We offered a sapling to each spectator who came here and enjoyed the dramas. During the play, a group of painters exhibited their talents on the canvas,” said Ruma Saha Dey, the president of the local theatre group.

“We also planned to disseminate a message among people about the need to conserve nature,” she added.

Sanjit Saha, the divisional forest officer of Cooch Behar, said: “It was really a good show. Participants have sent a nice message for conserving nature and its resources through the drama festival.”