A scene from the play Agnibristi. Picture by Eastern Projections

To stage a drama of epic proportions, that too written by a Jnanpith Award-winning playwright like Girish Karnad, is both a dream and a gamble for any serious theatre troupe.

The high expectations of the audience and the critics do not make it any easier for the director and actors to enact it on stage.

For the serious theatre audience in Guwahati — who are most of the time offered mediocre productions by the local troupes — the news of an Assamese adaptation of Karnad’s immortal classic Fire and the Rain came as a rejuvenating shower on parched land.

Though the Assamese version of the play — titled Agnibristi — and staged at Rabindra Bhawan on April 23 and 24 — failed to live up to heightened expectations, it left a mark in the hearts of the audience, thanks to the serious attempt stitched together by the director and the artistes.

The play — Karnad’s own interpretation of a lesser-known chapter of the Mahabharat titled The Myth of Yavakri — revolves around a tumultuous family saga of epic proportions.

The plot depicts a seven-year-long mahayagna, which is being performed to appease the raingod in the drought-hit land. Most of the action revolves around a rift in the socio-religious hierarchy between Paravasu, the chief priest of the mahayajna, and his cousin, Yavakri, a great sage who tries to claim his superiority over the priest.

While greed claims Yavakri, Paravasu, too, loses his moral standing for inadvertently killing his father and then putting the blame on his younger brother Aravasu.

Aravasu, who has fallen in love with a tribal girl, Nittilai, and plans to marry her in violation of the Brahmin tradition, is torn between his duties and his love.

After many events seasoned along the lines of a Greek tragedy, Aravasu’s goodness finally triumphs and god grants rain to the land.

The characters intermingle in their attempts to fight their way into establishing individual superiority, but they finally fail to escape destiny. Moreover, Karnad’s deep insight has unfurled the grave outcome of following social norms and customs blindly.

The remarkable aspect of the entire production, directed by the experienced Giyasuddin Ahmed, was the performances of the artistes, especially Ratul Das as Aravasu and Arup Bora as Paravasu.

Seasoned Navadeep Deka, as Yavakri, remained somewhat unconvincing. Barnali Puzari as Vishakha tried her best, but she lacked the required visual appeal.

As Nittilai — probably the most complicated character in the play — Zerifa Wahid was lively and lovely but she failed to emote the passion or intensity that the character demanded of her.