As its 10th anniversary celebrations, Srijak presented Bratya Basu’s Mrityu Ishwar Jaunota at Madhusudan Manch on October 10. The challenges of this deeply philosophic play were awesome, said director Debashish Basu. Philosophical and psychological experiences are the substance of the play. Conventional depiction of time is discarded because the three human experiences — of love, death and god; here associated with morning, evening and night — can spark off insights at any given moment.

Sutradhar (Gautam Sadhukhan) introduces the three social misfits consumed by an apparently meaningless quest: Shokal (played by Raktim Dutta), Bikel (Pijush Ganguly) and Ratri (Ashesh Sengupta). Unconventional costumes, long robes of black for the Sutradhar, green for Shokal, deep saffron for Bikel and dense brown for Ratri, extend the symbolism. Shokal, here, stands not only for carnal passions but imagination, sensuousness, intuition and love. Jaunota, we are told, burns us to ash. So transcending the senses, we can discover god and godliness. Mrityu or Ratri links all three sections together by equating cremation to love.

Mou Bhattacharya gave a skillful performance as the three different versions of the ideal companion. Innovative score by Satrajit Sarkar, sets by Dipendra Pal and lights by Sudip Sanyal enriched the experience.