A scene from Humdumdeo. Picture by Eastern Projections

A complex storyline narrated by sutradhars adds strength to the passionate prose of the dramatised version of Hudumdeo, a critically acclaimed Assamese short story.

Based on the recent work of Imran Hussain, it was staged at Rabindra Bhavan on April 30 by Nagaon-based theatre troupe Rangalaya.

Folk elements added to the colour and unfurled the essence of the play.

Old and ailing Bhanubala, like all other villagers, has been a silent and helpless victim of unabated oppression by the zamindar throughout her life.

Her only son, who had led a peasants’ uprising, went missing several years ago. People said he was still alive and in the zamindar’s captivity.

Bhanubala’s daughter-in-law, Behula, a woman with a reformed mindset, plays a trick to lure the zamindar into revealing the whereabouts of her husband.

In an intimate moment, the zamindar tells her that she could easily marry him because her husband had been killed on his orders. Stunned, Behula strangles the intoxicated zamindar with his pillow.

The stage props included a number of lanterns, showering different colours to portray the different moods and moments in Bhanubala’s life.

The man and woman who function as sutradhars (narrators) carry a lantern each to add intensity to different parts of their narration.

Hudum puja, a ritual practised by the Rajbongshi community to appease the rain gods at the time of drought, is a significant metaphor of the story and the director left no stone unturned to project it with intelligent use of lighting and music.

The choreography was innovative during the scenes depicting the peasants’ uprising, rituals relating to marriage and hudum puja.

While the overall direction was compact, a few scenes detracted from the production’s merits.

The scene depicting the village women spreading rumours of an immoral relationship between the zamindar and Behula was unacceptably loud.

Moreover, Bhanubala was shown as speaking in varied accents and dialects.

While Padmalochana as Bhanubala and Kabita Bora as Behula were impressive, Prashanta Goswami as the zamindar was consistent.

Anjal Bora and Amrita Kaur, as the sutradhars, came up with a refreshing performance.