A scene from the play, Maa- Nishaada, staged at Rabindra Bhawan in Guwahati on Saturday. Picture by Eastern Projections

The second play staged at the recent Brajanath Sarma Memorial Drama Festival was Maa Nishaada, written and directed by theatre activist Sinath Lahkar.

The play, staged at Rabindra Bhavan on September 15, is a strong criticism on the age-old, relentless oppression of upper caste people on the downtrodden, especially those belonging to the lowest rung of society.

Maa Nishaada deals with the contemporary social backdrop.

Drawing reference to Ram attacking Shambuk for his “audacity” of practising meditation and Dronacharya punishing Ekalavya for his thirst for wisdom, Lahkar has presented a picture of the social fabric through the eyes of Prabhavati, a young girl who hails from the lower strata of society.

Prabhavati yearns to be educated but the undisputed religious leader stands in her way.

Aditi, granddaughter of the religious leader, defies his diktat. She takes the help of her journalist friend Jabali and raises her voice against malpractices through the print media. But all their efforts are nipped in the bud by Aditi’s father, who is also a Member of Parliament. He uses his money and political power to influence Jabali’s employer.

Aditi launches an agitation and soon finds the masses responding to her.

Although the storyline of the play depicts resentment against age-old exploitation of the poor and people belonging to the lower caste, the theme gets a subtle treatment in the hands of Lahkar.

Madhusmita Haloi (as Aditi) and Bornali Talukdar (as Prabhavati) do justice to their roles. Lahkar, in the role of the religious supremo, delivers a commanding and convincing performance.

The play effectively portrays social maladies like religious fundamentalism, oppression of the downtrodden and, above all, the evil mental make up of politicians to wipe out moral values of society to gain political mileage.