"Mithila Art": a 360 degree review of Madhubani Painting - book released in New Delhi on 17.8.2024

"We drew mythology, you must draw the present"

Days are not far away when people will forget their mother-tongue but they will still remember their ethnic art and paintings. In such a scenario only such paintings will be able to take the role of flagbearer of the culture - a speaker Alok Kumar said this at the event.

Art is not just a matter of expression, it's a matter of existence. Without this you are just a zoological creature and not a human being. Throughout the world, folk arts have evolved and flourished as an  integral part of the daily normal life of the inhabitants. They have carved out a niche for themselves by conserving their uniqueness in terms of style and technique. Through the ages, Mithila Art which is a more logical name of Madhubani Painting possesses the commendable features of inclusiveness as it has been adopted not just by the so-called elite Bhrabhmana and Kayasthas but also by the so-called ordinary castes like Dusadhs and others. The techniques and materials used in making of a Madhubani paintaing requires just flowers and other natural colours found easily in the nature. The motifs mainly consists of the nature, Hindu mythology and general life of the masses at large.

Prof. Prashant Das (IIMA) presented the welcome note to the audience and then requested the distinguished guests to come to the dais for the book release. This auspicious act was performed jointly by Chandra Mauli Karn (IFS), Arjun Naraya Choudhary (veteran writer), Cdr Kaushal Choudhary (Rtd.), Savitri Labh (artist),  Prof. Prashant Das, Binita Mallik, Dr. Minu Agrawal and the publisher Nirmal Kr Karn from Adarsh Enterprises.

After the book-release, the renowned Maithili singer Sundaram Choudhary presented Ganesh Vandana and Bhagwati geet in his mesmerisingly mellifluous voice. He was accompanied by the tabala player Pratyush and a co-singer Pragya.

Surprisingly two of the three editors namely Minu Agarwal and Laura Zizka have had no past connection to Mithila painting in their life. Only Binita Mallik is the editor who has been born and brought up in Mithila culture.

Binita Mallik propagated that the best friend of a person is not a human but a skill. Every art has a particular language and grammar of expression. She has inherited the art from her ancestors and has put her paintings in several exhibitions. She is a well-known Madhubani painting artist in Delhi. 

Minu Agarwal stated, art is something that connects people and we can celebrate the creativity best where it comes from. And the big mass of people who have gathered has some connection with Mithila culture. They have the ability to appreciate our book the most. She described further the nature of different chapters of the book and stressed particularly that the second and third chapter has cultural connection. In the middle of the book parallels have been drawn of Mithila art from some other art movements.

Chandra Mauli Karn (IFS) said it proudly that along with other presents he has presented Mithila art pieces to more than 100s of the foreign dignitaries and he did so because Mithila paintings deserve it. He recounted that some of the dignitaries in Africa said that the Mithila art has some striking similarity with tribal arts. He reminded that many initiatives have been taken from the Central Government to promote Mithila Art. 

Alok Kumar drew attention of the people towards the sustainability of paintings. He said that in coming days when most of the people are getting dispersed away from their home villages unfortunately they are drifting away from the use of their language. Though there is a a danger of forgetting the mother tongue  (which we must try to avoid at any cost) there is still a high probability that they will relate to their culture mainly through their paintings. So, the book on Mithila painting is a true service in the direction of conserving the culture.

Nirmal Kumar of Adarsh Enterprises is the publisher of the book. He said that this coffee table book will fill the long time gap on Mithila art. Not only the artists of the book but also an editor and the publisher are from Mithila. 

Savitri Labh (Artist) described the significance of Kamaladah and Kobar in Mithila art. He also said that even though someone grows old he can make Mithila paintings and can keep themselves enthusiastic and creative.

Ashok Kr Coudhary from Sahitya Akademy also expressed his views on Mithila paintings and said that though he belongs to Odisa still is a big fan of Madhubani paintings.

The released book contains insightful articles and interviews with a view to give full perspective to the readers about the Madhubani aka Mithila Art. Prof. Prashant Das is the managing editor and Binita Mallik (artist and poet), Dr. Minu Agarwal (Prof. at CEPT, Ahmedabad) and Laura Zizka (Prof. at Laussane de Echole, Switzerland)  are the editors.

The artists whose contents have been covered in this book include Godavari Dutta, Bimla Dutta, Krishna Kumar Kashyap, Smriti Shree, Sarita Das, Binita Mallik, Ranju Das, Rajani Thakur, Archana Raj. Shreya Sarda from Design Flyover has designed the whole book. The book has been divided in nine chapters as the following-

1. Mithila Art: A survey of what we already know 

2. A visual survey of Mithila Paintings

3. The International reception of Mithila paintings in the 1970s A countercultural kairos?

4.Transforming the bride: Gauri Puja in early 20th century Madhubani Paintings

5.Madhubani Paintings reviewed with modern lenses

6. Is the Mithila Painting losing its sanctity because of its excessive access?

7. Godavari Dutta:"The art came as a ray of hope in the otherwise gloomy life"

8. Bimla Dutta: " We drew mythology, you must draw the present"

9. Krishna Kumar Kashyap: "There is no distinction between education and art"

Those who were present at the event included Adhir Mallik, Pranav Priyadarshi, Ravi Shankar, Dr. Arvind Das, Suresh Kr., Ashish Niraj, Uday Shankar, Kumud Das, Radha Raman, Vijay Kr., Ravindra Kr, Sarita, Vidya, Dr. Narendra, Satyam, Rachna, A. Karn, Mamta, Jyoti, Dr. Dhwani and many more.

At the end of the event, Hemant Das Him presented the vote of thanks to the organisers and audience of the event.

----  

Report by- Hemant Das 'Him'
Send your feedback- hemantdas2001@gmail.com / editorbejodindia@gmail.com

Note- more pictures will be added tomorrow

'Laddu'- Hindi play staged in Andheri (Mumbai) on 28.7.2024

 When each spouse is a doubting Thomas

( हिंदी में समीक्षा के लिए -   यहाँ क्लिक करके क्रम सं. 54  देखिए )

Putting your demands without having an empathy for other's psychological state is the biggest  menace the world is facing nowadays.

There is a married couple of working persons. Each of them feels that the spouse is not taking interest in him or her. Their doubts are corroborated when they really discover each other's infatuation for someone else. Each doubting Thomas makes a cry to their home and a great crowd of relatives from both sides gather there to solve. And there creates a pandemonium sort of situation where each buffoon adds some sort of bizarreness to the already worsened situation. 

Ultimately it is decided that the real villains are the two other persons who are trying to break the nuptial ties of this nice couple. And when the real identities of the two villains are revealed everyone is shocked.

The play is written and directed by Amul Sagar. After watching this show I can say that his directorial skills have ruled over his penman skill. The way he brought the characters in a distinctive comical posture which was borne throughout the play was excellent in terms of comical delivery. Archit, Simran, Nayandeep and others acted in the play. Those who left impression in the minds of the audience included those who acted as the parents of the couple esp. one who was bulky in figure and carried a large number of bags on her body. The other was the father of the husband who not only by his half-pant dress but also by his postures proved himself as a good comedian. The main characters i.e. wife and husband rather remained serious in the whole play which hardly matched to the tone and tenor of this comedy play. The band party did justice to their roles. The advocate also showed his potential of handling different moods at a time.  

After watching this show, I was all smile on my face like the others in  audience.

......

Review by - Hemant Das 'Him'

Send feedback to- hemantdas2001@gmail.com / editorbejodindia@gmail.com

See the reviews of other plays- Click here

हेमन्त 'हिम' की अठारह गज़लें (Eighteen poems composed by Hemant 'Him') (संस्करण-1)

लीजिए आपके लिए प्रस्तुत है हेमन्त 'हिम' की कुछ ताजातरीन हिन्दी गज़लें जो मई से जुलाई 2024 के बीच रची गईं हैं. आपकी प्रतिक्रया हेतु कवि का ईमेल आईडी नीचे दिया गया है -

फोटोग्राफर - पीके, स्थान - स्विट्ज़रलैंड, वर्ष- 2014

ग़ज़ल -1

वो आदमी से जब से पत्थर हो गया 

श्रद्धानवत उस तले सब का सर हो गया 

The moment that man turned to a stone

With reverence everyone bows heads own

ये व्यवस्था आपकी कोई नट है क्या 

जिस तरफ मुड़े आप वो उधर हो गया  

Is this a system or an acrobat

He turned the way your stance shown

ठीक था पता हम पहुंचे भी सही थे 

पर न रहता था वो और का घर हो गया

The address was true and we reached exactly

But he had changed the residence and gone

कि किसी की हिफाजत को 'हिम' पहुंच गए 

खूं से लथपथ पर अपना पांव से सर हो गया  

Yea, 'Him' could reach for safeguarding someone

Though it looked like on his whole body was blood thrown

मेरे बोलने पर न जा, जो चाहता हूं सुन

ऐसा न था कि कहना पड़े, पर हो गया 

Don't go by what I say just listen to my heart

It was never like that you wait for words to get me known

 

बह्र: 22 22 22 22 22

ग़ज़ल- 2 

कोई है बीच भंवर और तैरना नहीं आता

और अपने लोगों में कोई बचाने नहीं आता

Someone is caught in a vortex and doesn't know to swim

And nobody among his relatives is there to save him 

मैं तो आ गया हूं, देखो हूं सामने खड़ा

मत कह कि उधर से लौट के कोई नहीं आता

Yes I have come and am standing before you

"Nobody returns from there" is just a notion of whim

ये अदाओं में तेरे अंतर और समाकलन

पर कैलकुलस मैथ, इश्क़ को ये नहीं आता

In your delicate moves I see differentiation and integration

But I am totally unaware of Calculus Math's prim

विपदाओं को सहने की भी शक्ति देगी मौज ही

ऐसी खुशियों का पल बारम्बार नहीँ आता

My revelry will give me strength to bear adversities

Chances of coming of such fortunate moments are dim

विज्ञान के विद्वान कर लें नश्तर चुभो प्रयोग

सब्जेक्ट बने 'हिम'  ये अवसर यूं नहीं आता

O learned scientist! Do experiment on me by pricking the needles 

This is really a rare moment when in the role of a subject is 'Him'.

 

बह्र: 22 22 22 22 22 22 / अंतर= differential calculus, समाकलन= integral calculus

ग़ज़ल- 3 

एक तरफ से आप बजाओ युद्ध का बिगुल

दूसरी तरफ से ग़ज़ले- दिल और गुल

बस एक पल 'हिम' ने मांगा था जीवन 

उसने कहा कि दे दो अपनी  सांसें कुल 

बारिश में नदी है उफान पर अद्भुत

कहीं टूट न जाए हर एक निर्मित पुल

दीवारों से कभी बाहर निकल के देख 

बंद रास्ते भी कई जाएंगे खुल 

क्यों वे डरते हैं ख़ुद को होश न आ जाए 

कोई दाग ऐसा नहीं जो न जाए धुल 

बह्र: 22 22 22 22 22 (मान्य छूट सहित)

ग़ज़ल- 4 

पल में बिगड़ना पल में सुधरना 

काँटों की राहों में बच के उतरना 

सावन ही मेघों का धीर तोड़े 

जानें वो पहले धीरज बरतना 

तितली उड़े कुछ हौले यहां अब 

लोगों की ख़्वाहिश, पर को कतरना 

दादी ने रक्खा है वो बिछौना 

सीखा शिशु ने जिसपर पलटना 

'हिम' मोह माया ये जग के रिश्ते

कपड़ों के सीवन का जैसे उधड़ना 

बह्र: 22 122 22 122

ग़ज़ल-5

ज़िन्दगी ये है वो अक्षांश जहां दिन नहीं होता

रात जाती नहीं चाहे तू जगे या रहे सोता

दूसरों के हो विचारों से प्रभावित वो ख़फ़ा है

किन्तु उसने जो न अपना हमें माना तो क्यों रोता

कैसी उलझन ये है किसको कोई समझे यहाँ अपना

वो जहां पर मैं हूं अब तक या वो जो है मुझे खोता?

दोस्तों अपनों को पा ले कोई तो फिर न वो खोए

तप्त से एक मरुस्थल में भी हो जल का वो सोता

जानते हैं ये कि कोई न है आशा कि रुके जंग

फिर भी देते रहेंगे चैन अमन का ही ये न्योता

बह्र: 2122 1122 1122 1122

ग़ज़ल- 6

समझें खुद को धुरी वो,औरों के जीवन को कक्षा

और वही करनेवाले हैं पूरे समाज की रक्षा

जीवन में यारों सब को, केवल खोना, खोना है

जाए कोई तो बड़े प्रेम से, यही है जीवन-शिक्षा

उसके निकट गया तो पाया यह कि वह मनुष्य नहीं था

वैसे दूर से तो दिखा था मुझको मानव का ही नक्शा

क्या कुछ फेंटा है प्यार में अगर  न मिले तो अच्छा 

कोई नफरत भी दे दे सच्ची तो मांग लूं वह मैं भिक्षा

चोट, तड़प, अश्रु और वीरानी का पूरा एहसास

'हिम' ने पलों को पूरा जीया करके पूर्ण तितिक्षा

बह्र: 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 (मान्य छूट सहित)/ तितिक्षा- सहनशीलता

ग़ज़ल- 7 

इतनी आग कहां तक आप ले जाएंगे

कुछ न मिलेगा तो क्या ख़ुद को सुलगाएंगे

एक अदद सी ज़िंदगी एक अदद सा प्यार

इस अनहोनी से कब तक जी बहलाएंगे

आपका मुंह उधर है मेरा मुंह इधर

जैसे भी चलें लेकिन वहीं पर आएंगे

दरिया तो है आग ही का पर इश्क़ नहीं 

जितना उतरेंगे उतना ही सुकूं पाएंगे 

'हिम' पागल रहकर यहीं, सोचें भला बुरा 

कैसे ये समझेंगे कैसे हम समझाएंगे?

बह्र: 22 22 22 22 22 2 (मान्य छूट के साथ)

ग़ज़ल- 8 

बादल  है बारिश है 

दिल में अजब सी कशिश है 

वैसे तो कमरा भरा है 

तुम हो तो गुंजाइश है 

प्यार में कैसा जाना 

कल की फिर ख़्वाहिश है  

तुम उसे कहते हो झरना 

जानूं  मैं कि आतिश है  

जज मुजरिम गलबहियां

कौन करे नालिश है 

 बह्र: 22 22 22

ग़ज़ल- 9 

लोगों ने माह पर लिखा और फिर महजबीं पर लिखा

हमने तो एक जोड़ी नयनों की डबडबी पर लिखा

क्या ख़्वाब थे ये सोचकर नाहक़ न तू समय गंवा

असली जो हैं लिखावटें, पढ़, अब उन्हें उधर दिखा

छोटी सी ज़िंदगी में भारी प्रपंचों का प्रहार क्यों

इतने विलक्षण चित्र पर मत झाड़ कजरा वर्तिका

मालूम क्या कि सब जा पाएंगे भी या नहीं वहाँ

जिस बिंदु पर हमें किसी ने प्यार को दिया सिखा

इतनी है हड़बड़ी कि कुछ कैसे हो बात पूर्ण भी

'हिम' की अधूरी ही रहेगी हर ग़ज़ल की पुस्तिका

बह्र: 2212 1212 2212 1212

माह =चांद, महजबीं =चंद्रमुखी, कजरा = काजल सा काला, वर्तिका= पेंटिंग का ब्रश

ग़ज़ल- 10 

शायद कुछ राहें ही हों इक तरफ़ा

ये कर या वो कर, वो तो हो ख़फ़ा

सीमा पर केवल युद्ध ही हों क्या 

तोप नहीं ले जा, तू गुल तोहफा 

कहते हैं जीने दो, बाद में सोचेंगे 

क्या होती है वफ़ा, क्या और जफ़ा

झगड़ा हुआ था, बात ये है पक्की 

क्यों पूछते हो कि कब कि किस दफ़ा? 

जो अपने वे न कभी होते हैं बुरे 

दीया ले 'हिम' देख उस दिल की गुफा

 22 22 22 22 2

ग़ज़ल- 11 

हर रोज़ जब लोग जाते हैं काम पर 

लिखते हैं 'हिम' अर्जियां उसके नाम पर 

हरदम तेरी शान, रुतबा आगे बढ़े 

तू छोड़ चिड़िया तो उसके ही बाम पर 

अबतक बदल कितने मौसम भी हैं गए 

पर वो वहीं बैठे हैं खूँटा थाम कर 

हम ले हुनर थे गए, लेंगे कुछ कमा 

देखे वहाँ दिल ही सब थे नीलाम पर 

कुछ ज्यादा मॉडर्न मानो हो उम्र, दिन 

विश्वास है जो सुबह पर, क्या शाम पर?

 2212 2122 2212 /बाम =छत

ग़ज़ल- 12 

खुद से नजरें मिला पाएं  तब है मज़ा 

और हो गलती तो शरमाएं तब है मज़ा  

सांस तो लोग ले ही लिया करते है 

क़ुछ जो ताज़ा पवन पाएं तब  है मज़ा 

ये मरुस्थल सा क्यों? सब हैं टीले अलग

सब के एहसास घुल जाएं तब है मज़ा 

बदले का सिलसिला अब तो हो ख़त्म भी 

भूल जो  कुछ कभी जाएं तब  है मज़ा 

अपनी बातें यूं तो कहता रहता है 'हिम' 

लोग इसे सुन भी जो पाएं तब है मज़ा 

बह्र: 212 212 212 212

ग़ज़ल-13 

फ़र्क़ मयखाने में क्या कि किधर भी जाऊं मै

जश्न में आज जो आए हो, क्या पिलाऊं मैं?

एक्जिट पोल कोई मेरा भी करा लेना 

जीत या हार है क्या, मान बैठ जाऊं मैं?

करना क्या है जो मैं कुर्सी पे बैठने जाऊं? 

सब हैं इस बात से लाभान्वित, बताऊँ मैं

वो जो ग़ायब सा है उम्मीदवार, मेरा है

और सरकार है बनने को, क्या गिनाऊं मैं?

काश होती जो ये कुछ भी चुनाव से हट कर

ज़िंदगी तब न मैं कहता कि जी ये पाऊं मैं

बह्र: 2122 1122 1212 22

ग़ज़ल-14 

सूरज राख हो जाए इतना गुस्सा वो  

सब हैं सर को झुकाए कि क्या करेगा वो 

शायरी वैसे तो चीज बहुत है बेमतलब 

वैद्य से इंकार जो ले, करती चंगा वो  

दूसरे पक्ष को भी सुनिए तो होगा तनाव

पर उसी वक़्त से कम भी होने लगेगा वो

वो नफ़रत मुझसे करे हरदम इस तरह 

शर्त ये है यूं ही साफदिल रहेगा वो 

बाप जो बन जाए तो कोई बड़ी बात नहीं  

तप तप के रोज मुसकाए तो समझेगा वो 

बह्र: 22 22 22 22 22 2

ग़ज़ल-15 

जज़्बा तो जरूरी है पर जाना न बह 

कि न वो बन जाए दूरी की एक वजह 

अदिति को तू देख अदिति की तरह ही

कि वो क्यों बन जाए माधुरी की तरह

सब से आगे रूह में कौन बैठा है 

जिनके दम से हैं, बूढ़ों को मिले जगह  

अपनापन वश  'हिम' ने नाम जो पूछा 

बस इतने पर ही वो करने लगा ज़िरह

रिश्ते गर उलझें तो बात हो उस पर 

उलझन में मज़ा है जब तक हो न गिरह 

बह्र: 22 22 22 22 22 

ग़ज़ल- 16 

चलो सब का क्यों न भला सोचें 

ख़ुशी बांटने की ही कला सोचें 

जो है रो रहा उसको हंसा दो तुम  

गिरे जो उसका हौसला सोचें 

पानी न रुका रहे पोखर में 

इतराता सा बुलबुला सोचें 

ये भोलापन 'हिम' को मिले फिर 

जो बढ़ी उम्र है भुला सोचें 

जन्म से जो प्रेम है वो तो बचे 

कि बनाएं वैसा किला सोचें 

बह्र: 22 22 22 22

ग़ज़ल- 17 

क्या पाया ये न देख, देख कि मन्नत कितनी थी 

हारे खेल या जीते, उसके लिए शिद्द्त कितनी थी 

आप ये कहते रहे कि न्याय रहेगा मिल के ही 

मैंने देखा कि पग पग पर ही फ़ज़ीहत कितनी थी 

कहां है इंसान कोई, सब तो सियासतदां ही हैं 

जिसने दिया था साथ उसको इसकी हसरत कितनी थी 

सोच के मैं कहीं और का चला, पहुंचा और कहीं

ऊपर से रास्ते में न पूछ  दिक्कत कितनी थी 

दोस्त न भूलते हैं कि ख़ूब कभी झगड़े भी थे हम 

'हिम' याद रखें उसके पहले मुहब्बत कितनी थी 

बह्र: 22 22 22 22 22 22 2 (मान्य छूट सहित)

ग़ज़ल- 18

इतनी है मुश्किलें कि किधर जाते 

पहलू में हो कोई तो जा मर जाते 

रोशनियों का खुला हो जो दरवाजा 

ऐसा अंधेरे दिल को वो कर जाते 

हम धीरे धीरे ही तो बिगड़ते हैं 

जल्दी कहां ही आप सुधर जाते 

पाताल कुछ अलग हो जो जीवन से  

तो सीढ़ी ले वहां भी उतर जाते 

'हिम' गर  ले हौसला जो चले बाहर  

बिन कुछ किये तो फिर न ये घर जाते 

बह्र : 221 2121 1222

ग़ज़लकार का नाम - हेमन्त 'हिम'

ग़ज़लकार का ईमेल आईडी - hemantdas2001@gmail.com

इस ब्लॉग के सम्पादक का ईमेल आईडी- editorbejodindia@gmail.com

(प्रतिक्रया का स्वागत है.)

नोट: ग़ज़लों की बहर (बह्र) को rekhta taqti project वेबसाइट पर जांचा गया है जो अभी beta stage में है.

हेमन्त 'हिम' की गज़लें (संस्करण -2) का लिंक - यहाँ क्लिक कीजिए

"All the best"- Marathi play staged in Vashi (Navi Mumbai) on 14.7.2024

 The ultimate Agency problem

( हिंदी में समीक्षा के लिए -   यहाँ क्लिक करके क्रम सं. 53 देखिए )

This play is a miniature of social dynamic of today's world. Everyone has some sort of shortcoming for which he has to take help of another for achieving the purpose. The other person has in turn his own shortcoming and he is similarly taking recourse to someone else for achieving his objective. Simultaneously there is an interplay of clashing interests which is typically called agency problem. Agency problem means the person who takes along your work is more interested in his own interest than that of his client. 

There are dashing three friends each suffering from a physical handicap. One is deaf, another is dumb and the third one is blind. They three cooperate each other in every work. They all fall in love with the same girl. And the whole play weaves the detailed comedy of how they communicate their love message to the beloved with the help of another one who is himself interested in marrying the same girl. See, how it looks like.

It so happened that when the deaf boy proposed to the girl the girl replied something but the deaf boy could not hear it so he explored another means to convey. He now wants to see the reaction of the girl visually how she reacts over it. So he records his message in a tape recorder with the help of his dumb friend. But in it after the introductory prelude just at the moment his love proposal begins, his dumb friend starts making noise loudly to black out the love message of his contender. And you could imagine how the girl would have reacted after listening to this spoiled message on the tape recorder. But as the deaf is unable to hear he is wondering why his beloved did not like his love proposal. 

Similarly when the dumb wanted to convey his love message to the girl the deaf friend was readily available to help. So, the scene moved on like this. The dumb guy is  conveying his love poem in his sign language which is being translated in sound by the deaf friend. But at the nick of hour when the vital part of love proposal comes he changes the words adversely and blotches his efforts. 

The whole play is a series of innumerous such comic instances threaded together neatly in the form of a coherent story. In the climax the girl choses a handicap chap to marry but who is the fortunate one? This is to be seen in the theatre hall.

On each and every move of this play you are bound to burst in laughter. The noticeable point is that you are not laughing at someone's disability but on his special ability of outpacing others of the same category. Cancellation of one's special ability is made through another one's special ability and this way the playwright cleverly succeeds in avoiding moral dilemma of the audience whether he should laugh or not. 

It must have been very challenging for the actors to deliver the genuine gestures of the specially abled persons but they aced their challenges. The deaf man was more vivid with his plump physique and facial expression. The blind man was so dashing notwithstanding his visual impairment and the dumb one gave his true gestures of his own class. The cynosure and darling of all the three heroes was a pretty lass character who lived up with the adequate grace and youthful mannerism. The director has kept every sequence very taut avoiding any sort of flab.

Mayuresh Pem, Vikash Patil, Manmeet Pem and Richa Agnihotri were the actors in the show. Writer and Director of the play is Devendra Pem.

The faces of the relaxed audience were saying that they got their piece of the pie. A totally different genre of comedy!

...
Review by- Hemant Das ' Him'
Send your feedback to - hemantdas2001@gmail.com / editorbejodindia@gmail.com

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"Circuit House"- a Marathi play staged in Navi Mumbai on 15.6.2024

 A rally of frenzied excuses

( हिंदी में समीक्षा के लिए -   यहाँ क्लिक करके क्रम सं. 52 देखिए )

A Minister is hanging out in a circuit house with a lady PA of the Opposition leader for a revelry. Just the moment they begin to enjoy their good time, a spoiler comes. A spy sneaked into the house with the sinister intention of exposing it all. The things worsens when the spy in an attempt to hide himself, completely gets strangled in the window pane and dies. When the minister finds the dead body under his window he is too scared so he calls his PA and asks him to come and solve the tricky situation. When the Minister's PA comes to the circuit house, his (PA's) wife makes a call to the circuit house which is picked by the minister. Till now the nosy waiter of the circuit house has smelled some rat in the relationship of the lady and the minister so to give him a plausible reply the minster tells him that the lady (PA of the Opposition Leader) is the wife of his friend (his PA). So now when some lady asks the minster over phone why a lady's voice is coming, he says the same thing that she is the wife of his PA. But then he suddenly discovers that the caller on that side was the real wife of his PA. So after a while PA's real wife also enters the circuit house to take revenge on her so-called co-wife. 

In the meanwhile, the lady PA's husband also reaches the circuit house searching his better half. And as it be an icing on the cake, the minister's wife also reaches the spot when like an alert wife she comes to know that her husband did not turn up to a meeting and has gone to the circuit house for some other purpose. Now it is not only the minister but all the three present there namely the minister, his PA, the opposition leader's lady PA are all at their wits end. What ensues is a series of prompt improvisation of excuses and false stories. The Marathi knowing audience can have fun here up to the brim.

So, the audience relished the travel through the mess of doubts and excuses. As it reached towards the climax, the cobweb of purposes of presence on the spot left everyone bemused. 

It was primarily the wonder of the playwright Gautam joglekar. The adept director Vijay Kenkare succeeded in taking it out fully. Those who proved their mettle in acting were Sanjay Narvekar, Ganesh Pandit, Ankur Wadhave, Pramod Kada, Namantar Kamble, Krisch Chaturbhuj, Madhuri Joshi, Savitri Medhatu and Sushma Bhosale. The actor who played the Minister gave the incredible performance in terms of his lithe body language and mimics. The spy remained mostly like a dead body as required but whenever he acted he succeeded in stealing his share of the show. The set-design was pragmatic and marvelous.

The height of nonsense humour was really a thrilling experience for me who witnessed it's class.

.....

Review by- Hemant Das 'Him'

Send your feedback to- hemantdas2001@gmail.com / editorbejodindia@gmail.com

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"Tax Free"- Hindi play performed in Pune on 9.6.2024

 Relishing every bit of life

( हिंदी में समीक्षा के लिए -   यहाँ क्लिक करके क्रम सं. 51 देखिए )

If you are already bearing the toughest pain of life then it's much easier for you to experience happiness in trifles. But is it so easy? Of course, if you are inclined to relish every bit and every twist and turn of your life.

An advertisement is floated  by a Blind Men's Club for inducting other members. Kale choses to join. Just he enters the club he falls down because the further part of the platform is steep 5 ft deep. And mind it, it is deliberate. There are three hosts in the blind club one of them is the manager of the club. All have become blind in some later stage of life. They smoke, they dine, sip tea, tease and dine together. The laugh, they ogle and suddenly there is a ghastly scene of murder. 

The play has been scripted by Chandrashekhar Phanasalkar and was directed by Megh varn Pant under the banner of Natyalay, Pune. The actors did well especially ones who played the roles of Manager, Kale and the body builder. The fourth actor performed well in terms of body movement but dialogue delivery part should improved more.

Enjoyed this famous play with my elder brother and Bhabhi.

...

Report by- Hemant Das ' Him'
Send your feedback to - hemantdas2001@gmail.com / editorbejodindia@gmail.com

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"Pakitmar Rangmandal" - Hindi play performed in Versova (Mumbai) on 19.5.2024

 Who is the real pakitmaar?

( हिंदी में समीक्षा के लिए -   यहाँ क्लिक करके क्रम सं. 50 देखिए )

"The real pakitmaar is not who picks pocket but one who lacks sensitivity for the deprived class." The playwright Asghar Wajahat has depicted the fact in his play "Pakitmaar Rangmandal". The way it was presented by the Third Wing Theatre at Veda Factory was a perfect blend of melodrama and realism. 

A young man is a pickpocket and is pursuing his profession religiously and picks the pocket of a vendor by diverting his attention to a beautiful lady. This man is on cloud nine and comes across a man who threatens him that he has noticed his mischief and would get him caught by the police. The young man is scared and surrenders before him. That threatener assures him to forgive subject to the condition that he would join his theatre group and quit pickpocketing. The young man agrees for it but discovers that his own pocket had been pickpocketed by the same presumptuous guy who had threatened him to take to police. Later he learns that his group is made with all such persons only and the name of the group is "Pakitmaar Rangmandal". In his group all the members were either from poor class or were some sort of destitute earlier. So they joined the theatre group to earn their livelihood in a socially acceptable manner.

But members of "Pakitmaar Rangmandal" who were mostly from a criminal background did not know that the bigger crimes are committed only by the so-called white-collared class. And this is the reason when their play is ready after 3 months of rigorous rehearsals, they are denied the auditorium just because the name of their group does not sound well. The so-called civilised auditorium managers would allow to use their hall only to the group who ostensively look good. But the founder owner of "Pakitmaar Rangmandar" would not concede to change the name for a better one as it is related to their earlier past and they love they love every part of their life. After a lot of extra effort one hall manager agrees to allow their hall for this group but on double charge. So, here Asghar Wajahat has shown the duplicity in the character of so-called civilised class. How can extra charge remove the stain of bad name? Half amount is paid and the hall is booked.

Just before the day of performance the hall-manager asks for full payment and the theatre group is in short of Rs.5000. And the niggling hall-manager is adamant on canceling the booking. As large number of tickets had been sold the group director has no way but to go for pickpocketing his old profession for one night. He is caught by the police this time. What happens after this, this should be watched in the real performance of the play.

The script moves in a very realistic scenario but in between it takes help of some melodramatic effects as in the flash-back of real life scenes of goons attacking the girl and saved by a protagonist member of the group. In another scenes, there are some romance between the a young male and a female member of the group. To enthrall the audience there are scenes of popular songs and dances too. As a whole the whole play is mix bag of full entertainment and a natural comment of morality.

The music of Durgesh Atwal did a real music with the director Gaurav taking good dancing steps from the actors. The old woman, the founder of Pakitmaar Rangmandal, the young pakitmaar made a noticeable dent through their acting. The young lady and other actors were also up to the mark.

Watching this play was a satisfying experience for me and even the more satisfying thing was meeting with the renowned national playwright Asghar Wajahat.
...

Review by- Hemant Das 'Him'
Send your feedback to- hemantdas2001@gmail.com / editorbejodindia@gmail.com

(Note: The group is requested to send the names of the artists to the above personal email ID so that they may be added in the review.)

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