BHOPAL : A hilarious play ‘Refund’, underscoring that what we are taught in schools is hardly useful in our practical life, was staged at the Antarang Hall of Bharat Bhawan on Saturday – the eighth day of the ten-day 34th anniversary celebrations of the multi-arts complex.
Based on Hindi adaptation of Hungarian playwright Fritz Karinthy’s play of the same name, the farce was directed by Avneesh Mishra and presented by Rangshila Theatre Group, Mumbai. Karinthy, a dramatist, poet, journalist and translator, was the proponent of the six degrees of separation concept, in his 1929 short-story, ‘Chains’.
He remains one of the most popular Hungarian writers. He was the father of poet Gábor Karinthy and writer Ferenc Karinthy.
Among the English translations of Karinthy’s works are two science fiction novellas that continue the adventures of Swift’s character Gulliver. ‘Voyage to Faremido’ is an early examination of artificial intelligence, with a pacifist theme, while ‘Capillaria’ is a polished and darkly humorous satire on the ‘battle of the sexes’
‘Refund’ is the saga of the protagonist Buddhisagar, 40 who returns to his old school and demands refund of tuition fees paid by him 18 years back saying that the education given to him was good for nothing.
The play depicts this middle-aged man walking up to the Principal of his school and openly admitting that he was a failure in life because his teachers had not taught him well, for which the school and its teachers should take the blame. And not just that, he demands that the school should ‘Refund’ his entire school fees along with interest.
The play takes an interesting turn when he demands that there be a re-examination for him in all subjects. He is determined to ‘fail’ the exam while the teachers are hell-bent on ‘passing’ him even after giving wrong answers to retain the prestige of the school. At end of play he has to return empty-handed.
Realistic set, costume, lights and music as well as acting entertained the theatre buffs a lot. A song ‘Teachron ne aisa padhaya phir bhi kuchh samajgh na aaya…,’ highlighted the theme of the play .Songs were composed by Gopal Dutt Tiwari and music was conducted by Monika Mishra.
