Monirath’s back-to-back productions of Sudagdha and Andha Yug (Mukta Angan, July 10) look at the lives of men warped and broken up by the horrors of war. But both plays make heavy weather of the theme, in spite of having the common thread of epic wars running through them. Sudagdha is a monologue that shows Cassandra, the daughter of King Priam and one of the tragic figures of the Trojan War, after she has been captured by Agamemnon’s forces. The sense of confinement is very real, but a bland portrayal, coupled with some inane lines, fails to recreate the tragic dimensions of her life. Andha Yug, in Hindi and based on the Mahabharata, is a spectacle of failures. Dazed characters race through their lines, the plot is completely nonsensical and a jarring slide show serves as an irritating backdrop for the play. But then, anything goes by the name of experiment these days.
Satadru Ojha
In ‘Rag-raginir surey Kathak’, at the Sisir Mancha on July 4, vocalist Shyamal Saha’s ambitious attempt to present a variety of classical idioms could not impress. The demands of a pliable voice, aesthetics of blending the ragas, proper enunciation and a good sense of rhythm were not satiated. Abhjit Roy and his co-dancers were accommodative. The keyboard and the percussion held the key positions in Swadesh Bichitro, based on some handpicked Tagorean oeuvre presented by ‘Krishnakali’. Saha did emerge as an able director. The chorus wore the halo of dedicated practice and coordination. Excellent interludes infused life in rather plain renderings.
Meena Banerjee
As the pre-recorded voice of Reba Roy Chowdhury, singing Suno hind ke rahane walon, caught the imagination of those assembled at Thema Boighar on Satish Mukhopadhyay Road (July 9), one felt the zeitgeist that characterised the Benoy Roy composition. The pan-Indian vision captured in the Roy lullaby had its choric counterpart in Prem Dhawan’s Jaga desh hamara that Ravi Shankar set to a rousing melody. Conceptualised by Samik Bandyopadhyay, the evening saw many archival recordings of IPTA songs being played, attempting a socio- musical evaluation of the IPTA music. Harin Chattopadhyay was played, so was Jyotirindra Moitra, Nibaran Pandit and one restless soul named Salil Chowdhury.
Anshuman Bhowmick
