One of the celebrated plays by Mohan Rakesh ‘Ashadh Ka Ek Din’ was brilliantly performed on Thursday at Shaheed Bhavan.
Based on Kalidasa’s life the play was directed by Abhishek Pandit. It was splendidly performed by Sutradhaar theatre troupe, Azamgarh Uttar Pradesh.
The three act play began with introducing Kalidasa. Set at the backdrop of 100 BCE to 400 CE Kalidasa in the first act is seen leading a peaceful life in a Himalayan village and is romantically involved with Mallika. However, he is invited to appear at King Chandragupta II's court in far-off Ujjayini.
Torn between his current idyllic existence and love on one hand, and the desire to achieve greatness on the other, he leaves for Ujjayini in a conflicted state of mind. Mallika wants the best for the man she loves, so she encourages him to go to Ujjayini.
In the second act, Kalidasa has achieved fame and is married to a sophisticated noblewoman, Priyangumanjari, while Mallika is heartbroken and alone. Kalidasa visits his village with his wife and a small retinue. He avoids meeting Mallika, but Priyangumanjari does. Priyangumanjari offers to help Mallika by making her a royal companion and marrying her to one of the royal attendants, but Mallika declines.
In the third act, Kalidas reappears in the village. Mallika is now married and has a daughter from Vilom, a kind of Villain whom Mallika and Kalidasa always hated for questioning their relationship from a worldly perspective. Mallika learns that he has renounced his courtly life and the governorship of Kashmir that he had been granted. Kalidasa comes to see Mallika but, learning of her situation, despairs. The play ends with him leaving her house abruptly.
The play was presented beautifully on stage recreating the era once again on stage that made the play worthwhile watching.