A poetic play depicting the challenges faced by the nation and the struggle of the common man in post-independent era was beautifully staged at Bharat Bhavan.
Marking the fifth day of Natyaroop theatre festival, the Hindi play ‘Patkatha’ was brilliantly performed at Antarang Hall, Bharat Bhavan, on Wednesday. Directed by Punj Prakash, the play was staged by the artists of Dastak theatre troupe, Patna.
It was a solo performance by Ashutosh Abhigya. Interestingly, it is based on a long poem by Sudama Pandey called ‘Dhoomil’.
The artist in a lyrical and poetic manner interacts with the audience narrating them about the dreams of common man, tale of India’s freedom and the broken desires of people of free India. The poetic presentation reflected on the shattering of those dreams.
The common man had certain aspirations from an independent country but the fact is that their dreams remain unfulfilled. In fact, now the situation is that its own chosen government harnesses their dreams in the name of regional interests, communalism, and sometimes religion, language, security, and sometimes inviting people in the name of rhetoric.
A man dressed really simply comes on stage asking what has happened to his country. He asks about what was thought and what have come in front are entirely different situations.
Through the usage of this frank poem Dhoomil, the artist with the beautiful web of dialogues and lyrical presentation bluntly exposes the exploitation cycle; inspires to understand it and overcome it. The presentation of this poem evokes a disillusioned society which in the name of democracy has faced different types of infidelity.
Also the artist unmasked the ideologies and the people making noise of those. Whereas, on the other hand, it also questions the layman's ignorance, and helplessness filled with decency.
The solo performance was appreciated by the audience. The sharp body language and clear dialogue delivery made the play even more impactful.