Ekti Projojana stages a play, Ram Dhakka, at the Bengali drama festival. Picture by Prashant Mitra

Ranchi, Aug. 25: The second and final day of the Bengali drama festival, organised by a theatre group, Majlish, witnessed a large turnout today.

Theatre lovers, mostly Bengalis, from different parts of the capital made a beeline for Mecon community hall, which had to put up a housefull board.

The first play, Ram Dhakka (Big Blow), was staged by the theatre group, Ekti Projojana. The play told the story of a sadhu (holy man) who predicted that the world would be destroyed by a falling star. However, he also knew a way to avert the disaster. The sadhu possessed three talismans, which if worn could protect a person from the falling star. The first talisman was extra strong, which meant if a person wore it, the star would not fall on him. The star would fall on a person wearing the second talisman — strong — but it would bounce back without harming him. The last one, known as ordinary, would make the star fall in front of him.

Several villagers approached the sadhu for the talismans. The majority of people wanted the ordinary talisman as they wanted the star to fall on the houses of their enemies. Finally, a women visited the sadhu and asked for all the three talismans. She said they were for her children and goat. She promised to give the sadhu her goat’s milk in exchange for the talismans. The sadhu blessed her and said the star will never fall on her as she wanted the talismans for others and not for her selfish needs. Babul Guha, who acted in the play, said: “The drama brings out different facets of human nature. We also wanted to portray the rural life of Bengal in the play, complete with their accent and body language. The response of the audience was a morale booster. The future of Bengali theatre is still bright.”

The second play, Paicho Chorer Pala, which was staged by Majlish, told the tale of a thief called Paicho who is directed by the king to kidnap the princess of a neighbouring kingdom. The play is action-packed and the audience was glued to their seats.

Ram Mohan Chattopadhay, one of the artists, said: “Majlish faced a lot of difficulties in reviving Bengali theatre. We are happy that we could present such a great show.”