Tales from troubled lands

Posted by Sinlung
A scene from Dhaka Theatre’s Dhaboman, the inaugural play at the 26th Nandikar’s National Theatre Festival ’09
The 26th Nandikar’s National Theatre Festival ’09 at the Academy of Fine Arts began with thoughts of brotherhood and keeping one’s chin up in dismal times. The first play was Dhaboman by Dhaka Theatre on December 16, the day Bangladesh won its freedom from Pakistan with India’s help 38 years ago.
By bringing to the festival plays from troubled regions like Bangladesh, Pakistan, Manipur and Assam, Nandikar hopes to promote understanding and amity at the grassroots level.
Beautifully choreographed with music from various Bangladeshi traditions, Dhaboman is rich in the late Selim Al Deen’s characteristic evocative text. It is the tale of a young male buffalo Shorab (played by Esha Yousu) whose faith and love for his human family (the farmer Nahbat, his wife and crippled son) crashes when he realises that to them he is just a domestic animal who can be sacrificed for their son’s welfare.
Shorab is a misfit with his knowledge of human ways and the duties of domestic cattle. Shimul Yousuff’s directorial debut brought to the fore the age-old conflicts of love and betrayal between man and man, and man and nature.
“Don’t go by the brand, check out the lesser-known plays. There is more to Manipur than (Ratan) Thiyam and (Heisnam) Kanhailal, and even in (Vijay) Tendulkar’s plays one must not overlook the savage satire of Jaat Hi Poochho Sadhu Ki for Ghasiram Kotwal,” Nandikar director Rudraprasad Sengupta advised the audience.
Y. Rajendra Singh’s Mompak will be staged at 3pm on Sunday. His troupe Panthoibi Natya Mandir of Imphal has been exploring new forms like Manipuri folk clowning. In Mompak (Mattress) a girl disguises three suitors as a mattress to protect them from her father’s wrath.
Later in the evening comes Zikr-e-Nashunida (Discussing the unheeded) from Pakistan, which is a series of narratives on the wrongs of war. The Urdu play directed by Sheema Kermani and Anwar Jafri was written by Prasanna Ramaswamy, an Indian.
On December 21, Paradise Theatre will stage Acheekpagi Khonjel (Sound of a voice) on man-woman relationships, directed by L Kishworjit. The group BAA from Assam will present Miri Zeeyoree on December 22. Written and directed by Anup Hazarika, it presents the tragic tale of Panei and her lover Jonkia.