A three-day ‘10th Bhishma Sahni Smriti Natya Samaroh,’ began with a Hindi play ‘Surya Ki Antim Kiran Se Surya Ki Pehli Kiran Tak’ at Ravindra Bhawan on Tuesday. The fest is being organised by Karwan Theatre Group, Bhopal to mark World Theatre Day which falls on March 27.
Conceptualised and directed by Jayant Deshmukh, the play is based on the ‘Niyog’ tradition which talks about women empowerment. ‘Niyog’ is a practice of selecting a mate for a woman incapable of conceiving from her husband. The story of the play set up in 10th century Malla kingdom portrays the subject of feminine sexuality, the trauma of the chief protagonists i.e. the king and the queen through the night of niyog with sensitivity.
It is a journey through one night — the night of Niyog and the upheaval it brings in the lives of impotent king Okkaak and the queen Sheelwati intertwined by a common fate when the queen is forced to undergo Niyog against her wishes by the governing council.
Three lives including the king, the queen and her lover are irrevocably altered as the sun sets and the moon rises. Besides acting of senior artistes in the city including Obedullah Khan as Okkaak, Jyoti Dubey as Sheelwati, Vivek Savrikar as Mahamatya, Uday Nevalkar as Rajpurohit, Bhupendra Sakkle as Mahatladhikrit and Jyoti Savrikar as ‘Mahattarika’, symbolic set and props were used which attracted the theatre buffs. Recorded classical music including Dhrupad was used in the play to showcase the moods of the play.
“Basically the play talks about the mental and physical freedom of women. Since the story of the play set up in 10th century, but it is still relevant. It also talks about women empowerment,” told Jayant Deshmukh to Free Press. He further said, “The first show of the play staged at Bharat Bhavan in 1990. At that time, Rajendra Gupta and Neena Gupta were in lead roles.”
