Theatre fest organised by Swapnodal
Chitrangada staged
On Sunday, the 5th day of theatre festival organised by Swapnodal, Tagore’s lyrical drama version of Chitrangada was staged at the experimental theater hall of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy.
It was the 17th show of the Swapnodal’s current production, directed by Zahid Repon. Tagore wrote the lyrical drama in 1892, which highlights inherent beauty over the physical beauty through the affair of the legend Arjun and Manipuri princess named Chitrangada as mentioned in the epic Mahabharata.
The audience is more familiar to the dance drama version of Tagore’s Chitrangada, which the poet composed almost 44 years later of writing the lyrical drama when Tagore became fascinated with the classical Manipuri dance.
The lyrical drama version presented in narrative form by the troupe was equally entertaining by portraying an ugly looking Manipuri princess Chitrangada’s fascination for lord Arjun. The legend, however, does not show interest in her. When Chitrangada earns beauty as the blessings of God Madon and Bashonto, Arjun gets attracted towards her. Subsequently, Chitrangada realises, it’s her physical beauty that attracts Arjun, but not herself.
Sonali Rahman Julie and Farzana Rahman Mita alternately played the roles of Chitrangada as ugly one and as fair one while Mostafizur Rahman enacted the role of Arjun.
Earlier, Bangladesh Shilpaka Academy staged Selim Al Deen’s play Putra at the studio Theatre Hall on Saturday as part of the festival.
Directed by Mohammad Jasim Uddin, Al Deen’s emotional narrative features pain of a couple, who lost their only son at an early age. Al Deen’s close associates describe that the playwright had written the play from his personal bitter experience – his short-lived son survived for just 15 minutes.
The play ‘Putra’ centres on a couple named Siraj and Abchha, whose son Manik committed suicide two years ago at an early age.
In a cold winter night, the couple collects and burns some trunks of a mango tree where Manik committed suicide. In fact, the smoke of the mango trunk leads the couple to recall that bitter memory that takes them to a surrealistic world.
Swapnadal has organised the festival marking the troupe’s 12 years of theatre practice. The festival features plays by Rabindranath Tagore, Selim Al-Deen and Badal Sircer.
-With New Age input
