Jaleni (fire material)" is a play that describes the Dibyangas can never be treated as burden for the family or the society. On the second day of Natyadhara series, the play was staged here at the Bhanja Kala Mandap.
The story is about a family headed by a father who after retirement engages himself only to run his family. He has two sons and one daughter. Of the two sons, one is blind and another is jobless. The marriageable daughter is at home as the father can't meet dowry demands.
Once a young lecturer comes and gives consent to marry her without any dowry. But the father has not that much of money to do the minimum preparation. Fortunately a local leader looks for a dead body for the inauguration of an electric crematorium.
The two brothers go to him and get Rs 5,000 promising that they would arrange the body. With that money, the daughter's marriage is solemnized. As the inauguration day arrives, the brothers fail to arrange the body. Finally the blind son prepares himself to do something for the family. He offers his body instead of a dead one for the crematorium.
The audience was overwhelmed by the lively acting of the artists. Sunil Nayak, who played the role of the blind son, was excellent.
The play, written and directed by Umesh Das, was staged by Theatre Marathon, one of the premier theatre institutions in Cuttack.