The finale of the festival had a play written and performed by the ‘Sarwanam’ theatre group. Ashesh Malla, the concept designer and director of the play took a creative step and presented a play which was an assortment of five literary creations of Tagore.[break]
Taking characters from three stories and two poems written by Tagore, the director related five sections of the 75 minutes play through a narrator.
As the play began, the narrator looked immersed in a bulky book he carried along filled with creations of Tagore. As he spoke out to the audiences, the characters came to life giving an initiation to the play.
‘The postmaster’ a tragic tale of an orphan girl, left behind by a postman who decides to leave her and return home to his family, was the first to take on stage. ‘Pujarini’ a tragic poem about a girl who is ordered a death sentence by the king for worshipping Buddha was the second one.
Third depicted a dancing diva from the poem ‘Abhishar.’ The story talks of a beautiful young girl rejected and exiled from her town. She was condemned for being old in age and with a diseased body. A sage nevertheless comes to her and lends a helping hand.
The salvation of the lady was followed by the story of never ending greed of a Zamindaar. For ‘Duibigha Jameen’ the landlord plots and deceives a poor farmer snatching away his land.
Final show was that of young Chandra who takes on herself the blame for the murder of her sister in law. Based on the characters of the story ‘Sajaya,’ where the murder is actually committed by her brother in law, this tragic tale ends with Chandra being declared guilty by the court.
Although based on the works of an Indian writer, the treatment of the characters throughout the entire play had a Nepali flavor to it.
Husband wife quarrel over ‘bhat pakaune’ to names like Dhana Prasad which contributed towards adding a local touch.
Also worth a mention is the music, immersed thoughtfully into the play. Loud beating of the drums introduce a cruel king, and the contrast created by the name of a character ‘Dhana Prasad’ who owns only ‘duibhigha zamen’ could be seen as plus points of the play.
At times the narrator would interact with the characters giving the classic tales a post modern touch. The director explained his use of the narrator, saying “bringing five different plots together was the most challenging part for me and therefore I have used the narrator.”
“My only endeavor was not to kill the writer’s emotions,” he stated. The Sarwanam group was approached two months prior to the play by Anandalok according to Malla.
Anandalok is a group of worldwide Rabindranath Tagore aficionados who along with the Embassy of India and B.P. Koirala India-Nepal foundation collaborated to bring about the festival.
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