A play that twists your belly with laughter

If you are a teacher, you must watch it. If you are a guardian, you must watch it. And, if you are a student, you must watch it.

‘Upiyan ko Nibandha’, a play directed by Kedar Shrestha is for everyone who went to school or is going to school.

The play has raised some serious questions about the traditional classroom teaching learning and relationship between a teacher and his students.

The drama starts with masked representation on stage where all students wear similar masks while teacher puts a special mask making himself special in the crowd.

He beats a drum and students move according to the drum-beat and perform the command of the teacher. He is later identified as a strict and stick bearing ‘Nepali Guru’ who time and again abuses his students and punishes them physically.

The Guru never smiles in the class, doesn’t let students make comments and harass the kids verbally and physically if they failed to complete their homework.

Classroom has eight students altogether who enjoy their time to the fullest in the absence of teacher.

Some students are lazy, some are active, and some are creative while others are dull.

They make fun of teacher, tease each other but love and care prevails among them.

A perfect school class room!

The play has an essay on a ‘upiyan’ or flee as its theme upon which the whole story revolves.

The protagonist, a boy named Mahesh from the class, is a tender hearted kid who unlike his other fellow doesn’t speak much and seldom resists any wrong doing that his fellow students do to him.

The teacher teaches them how write an essay through an essay on flea which he writes on the white board which every student copies.

While doing his home assignment, writing an essay on cow, Mahesh devises a novel and ingenious way to write the essay where he connects cow with flea.

As it was against his traditional standards of writing an essay, Nepali guru punishes Mahesh. He beats him with stick and pulls his ears.

The students want to complain to the principal that the Nepali teacher’s teaching was poor and one way. But, at the time of filing complaint to the principal coincidentally Mahesh becomes alone.

When the event comes to the knowledge of Nepali teacher, he again punishes Mahesh while other students couldn’t speak out of fear.

Headmaster asks him to understand the psychology of the students in the class room and follow the student-centric teaching method. He urges the Guru to review his teaching methods as they were unfit to the new generation.

In the end, the Nepali guru throws his special mask and puts on one which is similar to that of students.

 Directed by Kedar Shrestha, the play twists your bellies with laughter.

The activities of the students in the classroom and their innocent and, sometimes, sarcastic comments about the teacher and friends make the audience laugh throughout the play.

“We have been running special show in the afternoon for school students where the artistes have to pause a while delivering another dialogue waiting the kids to stop their laughter,” said Shrestha who is also the writer of the play.

Abhaya Baral, Sanjita Sanjee, Praku Pandeya, Laxmi bardewa, Shankar Bhandari, Bijaya Tamrakar, Binita Gurung and Ana Deuja have performed the role of students. They are perfect.

Likewise, Roshan Subedi, Dipak Chand, Rajendra Bhatta, and Mamata Lamichhane have represented the headmaster and teachers while Jiban Bhattarai is seen as the office assistant.

The play will be stages at the Theatre Mall at Kathmandu Mall until 17^th July at 5.30 PM everyday except Wednesday. There will be additional show at 1.30 on Saturdays.