Marking the sixth day of Haryana Mahotsav, the Swang style play ‘Swang Jaani Chor’ was staged brilliantly at Antarang Hall, Bharat Bhavan. The play was performed here on Wednesday.
Swang Jaani Chor is a traditional folk tale about a mischievous thief ‘Jaani’ who helps the poor and robs the rich. Jointly directed by Satish Georgy Kashyap and Sandhya Sharma, the play was performed by the artists of Swang- A Folk Art Academy, Hisar. It was a hit among Bhopalites.
The lead roles were played by the two directors that made the play even more enjoyable.
The play revolved round a cunning thief who has special knack of cheating credulous people. His modus operandi is to win the confidence of his victims and then rob them.
Once he was going to his sister's house to offer gifts for his niece at the time of her wedding, his bosom friend Nar Sultan earnestly appealed him to liberate a young woman, Naar Mahakde, from the captivity of Adil Khan Pathan, a tyrant ruler, who is making preparations to marry her by force.
Jaani accepts the challenge and publicly announces about his mission of liberation. Jaani chor, along with his friend Nar Sultan, decides to free the girl from Pathan. Notorious Jaani had special skills to fool people and was a devotee of Maa Kaali. Finally ‘the thief’ kills Adil Khan Pathan and accepts the Hindu girl as his sister.
Folk theatre has deep roots in the society. Though simple it is rich in music, dance and costumes making it spectacular. Jaani Chor is an epic which has many secondary and tertiary stories. Swang Jaani Chor was a fascinating example of Swang folk drama traditions.
It was a great pleasure for theatre lovers to associate with Swang orchestra, musicians and singers. Nagada, clarinet, dholak, harmonium, and chorus singing made this a memorable production. The stage was decorated with large number of instrumentalists and vocalists making the platform even more colourful.
It is to be noted that Swang is a folk dance drama of Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh. It incorporates suitable theatrics and mimicry accompanied by song and dialogue. The themes draw variously from themes of morality, folk tales, lives of inspiring personalities, stories from Indian mythology and in recent times.