Monday, May 29, 2017

‘A Quite Desire’ showcases Tagore’s life


Kathmandu, May 28: Ruchika Theatre Group of India staged ‘A Quite Desire’, a theatrical performance depicting glimpses from the life of Nobel Prize winner Bengali poet Rabindra Nath Tagore, at the Army Officer’s Club on Sunday.
The play depicts the psychological ups and downs in Kadambari Devi, sister-in-law of Tagore, who jealously loves her brother-in-law who was of the same age. When Kadambari Devi was married to Jyotirindranath Tagore, elder brother of Rabindra, she was 9 years old.
As Jyoti is busy in various works along with his business, Rabindra and Kadambari become playmates and companions, and affection between them keeps growing.
The drama comes to an end with the suicide from an overdose of sleeping tablets taken by Kadambari after the marriage of Rabindra with Mrinalini Devi.
Written and directed by Feisal Alkazi, the play beautifully portrays the companionship between Rabindra and his sister-in-law, Kadambari, and the social impact of the events.
She was the first and only reader of Rabindra’s creations till they got published. And, when his books were published, he earned wide accolades from around the Indian subcontinent.
Jealousy is clearly visible in the eyes of Kadambari when Rabindra receives various gifts and gold from the king of a neighbouring state as an appreciation of his beautiful poems, and while reciting the letters sent to him with admiration of his creations.
In his initial days, most of the poems by Rabindra were written on Kadambari.
Alkazi is successful in presenting the paradox of relationship between the two on stage.
“The marriage of Rabindra’s elder brother Jyoti to nine-year-old Kadambari, two years older than himself, brought a whole new dimension to his experience of the world. For the longest tie, she was his only reader, friend, confidante and, above all, his muse,” said Alkazi.
He said that the play tried to explore the relationship through the medium of Tagore’s own words.
The fact that Kadambari committed suicide four months after Tagore’s marriage indicates the depth of their bond.
The play has used many pieces of prose, poetry and music of Tagore. The major three characters of the play Jyoti, Kadambari and Rabindra were performed by Jaipreet Singh, Smita Mazumdar Rajaram and Armaan M Alkazi respectively.
The drama was presented by the BP Koirala India-Nepal Foundation, Embassy of India, and Kathmandu.
Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Jitendra Dev facilitated the artistes and said that such events would help in deepening the cultural and people-to-people relations between the two neighbours.

(Published in The Rising Nepal Daily, May 29, 2017)


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