HIKKA EE DHAAGE MEIN PIROYAL
Adapted and directed by Sangeeta Bapuli
To commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Kavi Guru Rabindranath Tagore,
“Theatre Lovers Kolkata” staged a Sindhi play on 15th January 2012 in Kolkata.
Despite being married to a Bengali family Sangeeta clings to her Sindhi roots and works tirelessly for the promotion of Sindhi language and culture. She has adapted three stories of Tagore - “Noshto Neer, “Dui Bon” and “Streer Potro” and translated the screenplay with her creative inputs along with Shrikant Sadaf and Vimmi Sadarangani and woven them into a common thread of loneliness of the three women Charulata, Sharmila and Mrinal.
This play has original background score designed and programmed by the young and talented
Girish Sadhwani.
Songs of Tagore have been very beautifully translated by the great poet, a living legend Arjan Hasid, and Professor Vimmi Sadarangani.
Set in Bengal of the years 1901, 1914 and 1930 we find Charulata married to an older Bhupati finding her soulmate in her brother-in-law Amal, who finally deserts her. Sharmila the dedicated and sincere wife watching her husband Sasank fall in love with her own sister Urmila, and Mrinal, devastated after the death of her companion Bindu, breaking ties with her matrimonial home of 15 years.
Every story has some special moments and the most amazing fact is that all three stories kept moving together yet not overlapping the other.
Neelesh Bhagat the renowned sound engineer from Bollywood has mixed the music of the play with great expertise and Kaajal Chandiramani's voice creates the right mood in the song “Vaat-a akeli halande halande”. Girish's lovely song “Maan jaana sunaa-na tokhe oh videshini” is a great romantic moment for Amal and Charulata. Girish's aalaap gives the required soul to the mood of Mrinal as Mrinal leaves her home and the material world and follows the flute of Krishna.
Ramesh Bachani as “Sasank” and Reeta Rohira as “Sharmila” are a perfect pair. Moti Mehtani as “Bhupati” touches the audience who sympathize with him as he feels sorry that he was blind not to notice the relationship of his brother “Amal” played by Dinesh Israni and his wife “Charulata” played by Lavisha Bachani. Gaurav Singh as “Sarat” a Swadeshi boy of Bengal in 1914 is a surprise package. Barkha Sadarangani fits into the role of a young chirpy “Bindu” who shares an unconventional relationship with “Mrinal”, played by Sangeeta Bapuli who herself does full justice to the story. Simran Mirchandani as the daughter, whom Mrinal imagines, is a sweet little kid who comes across as a real dream daughter.
“Flawless, beyond expectation & perfect” were the words of Mr. Murli Punjabi - Secretary Sindhi Panchayat Kolkata.
Director’s Note
The entire world has been working on Tagore's works to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the great poet.
Celebrating Tagore in Sindhi has been my dream for nearly two years. I just couldn't make up my mind as to which piece I would like to share with my community. I was fascinated by the women of Tagore who belonged to the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.
Charulata(1901)with a literary taste and hunger for love finds her soulmate in her brother –in-law. It is a period when girls were married young and grew up without the companionship of the husband. Her loneliness, passionate and intense love for Amal leads to the tragic break up of her home.
Sharmila (1933) of DUI BON silently lives in her lonely space watching her husband having an affair with her own younger sister. She has always been the motherly caring wife whose life centers around her husband.
Mrinal(1914) beautiful and intelligent breaks free from marital ties of fifteen years. It is Bengali literature's earliest depictions of the bold emancipation of women. The heroine Mrinal, the wife of a typical patriarchical Bengali middle class man, writes a letter while she is travelling (which constitutes the whole story). It details the pettiness of her life and struggles; she finally declares that she will not return to her husband's home.
The three stories have different situations and the characters of Charulata Sharmila and Mrinal are different but they are woven by the common thread of LONELINESS. The unequal relationship between a married man and woman was common due to the difference in age and level of education. The role of a woman was that of a housewife and mother and the man had to earn to maintain the family. A fact that can be noted here is that none of these three women had children .Had these women become mothers then, perhaps, there would not have been such a void in their lives. Sharmila and Charulata never conceived and Mrinal's baby died immediately after birth, thus she suffered the pain of childbirth without the rewards of motherhood.
The play HIKKA EE DHAAGE MEIN PIROYAL(THE COMMON THREAD) weaves these three stories of Tagore. I have done the adaptation and screenplay and am directing the same. Baidyanath Chakravortyji is the technical director.
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Charulata and her soulmate Amal played by Lavisha and Dinesh Israni |
Sasank and Sharmila played by Ramesh Bachani and Reeta Rohira |
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Charulata is standing next to her husband Bhupati played by Moti Mehtani when her soulmate touches her feet and walks out of her life |
Sharmila devasted by the irony in her life when she learns her husband is in love with her sister |
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Mrinal with her brother Sarat played by Gaurav Singh |
Mrinal finding comfort in the cowshed with her companion Bindu (Sangeeta Bapuil and Barkha Gulrajani) |
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Mrinal's dream sequence of a daughter |
Mrinal shattered after her Bindu's death |
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Mrinal's time to renounce the world |
THEATRE LOVERS
Theatre lovers was established in 2006 with development of Sindhi culture and language as its main objective--------UTSAV - the annual event is one step taken forward each year in that direction.
UTSAV 2007 –YATRA A JOURNEY FROM SINDH TO KOLKATA- a documentary film was made about partition, migration and the journey of Sindhis who migrated to Kolkata-their struggles and achievements. A fashion show depicting the changing Sindhi attire from prepartition days till the present.
UTSAV 2008 – CHHEJ NIGHT
A colorful beautiful evening at MIRANIA BOATING RESORT where LAAL LOI was celebrated for the first time ever in Kolkata and Chhej was performed by children and adults. Choreographers attended workshops at Ajmer, Jaipur and Kalyan and taught improvised versions of Chhej to children and adults.
UTSAV 2009 – BAITAN JO BAGICHO
Children were taught Sindhi rhymes (Baita) and Sindhi songs during a workshop conducted with Amit Roy, which were presented during the programme.
SINDHU DHARA AT JAMUNA BANQUETS NOV 2009 -with Sindhi Punjabi Panchayat.
VRINDAVAN MEIN JASHN –DEC 2010 AT KENILWORTH HOTEL—an evening to honour and welcome DADA VASWANI
UTSAV 2010 – SUHINRA SINDHI
Presentation of CD of Sindhi songs SUHINRA SINDHI by Sindhis of Kolkata after a 15 day workshop.
Dec 2010 - KOHIYARI where more than forty participants aged between 5 to 55 learned Sindhi songs and dances which were performed at GYAN MANCH - ORGANISED BY DIDI DURGA where a 9 day workshop for participants was conducted by Girish Sadhwani & Sangeeta Bapuli.
Feb 2011 in association with the Sindhi Panchayat Kolkata a dance drama SINDH JO LAL JHULELAL---WITH LIVE MUSIC AND DANCES written and directed by Sangeeta Bapuli.
Aug 2011 –SINDHI GAALAYO PEHENJEE BHASHA BACHAYO – a presentation of the spoken Sindhi classes and the roman script---ORGANISED BY MURLI PUNJABI AND VASHDEV BAHRUNANI
Theatre Lovers are actively involved in training children for the Sindhi elocution contest held every year by Sindhis of Kolkata in association with Jamuna Banquets. They have tried to give to Sindhis of Kolkata------a look into their history, their costumes, dance forms, songs, bait-a (rhymes), skits, roman Sindhi script, language being learnt by the little ones and now Tagore. These shows do not have professional dancers singers and performers because the objective is to let every Sindhi and every person who has a passion for Sindhiyat to perform. All these Sindhi classes and Sindhi workshops for song dance etc are free.