Mukherjee in action. Picture by Suman Tamang

Pagla Jhora (Kurseong), July 15: Inspired by the cascading waters of Pagla Jhora, a stream near Kurseong, Rabindranath Tagore had penned one his finest plays Muktadhara or the Free Current in 1922. Eighty-one years down the line, a young theatre personality performed the play today at the site of genesis.

Project Muktadhara was staged in open air by Parnab Mukherjee, currently pursing a fellowship in Alternate Media and Theatre with the US-based Interact Foundation, before a select group of audience of journalists and theatre aficionados here today.

He was assisted by Rajan Dewan, a student of Melody Academy in Darjeeling, who provided the background score.

The play sought to interpret the relevance of Tagore’s work in the 21st century and explain how the aspirations of a man cannot be suppressed for long.

Muktadhara, described by the poet as “a representation of a concrete psychology”, was translated in English by the Nobel Laureate himself in 1922 and published with the title The Waterfall.

The play revolves around an embankment built by the king to stop the waters of Muktadhara, a stream originating in the mountainous region of Uttarkut, from reaching the plains of Shiu Tarai. The crown prince, Abhijit, opposes the embankment and launches a mass movement. The protagonist believes that he shares a spiritual relationship with the waterfall and is convinced that he has a message to deliver to the world. It is this idea that leads him to sacrifice his life in the attempt to prevent the waterfall — an allegory for the spirit of the people — from being dammed.

Mukherjee, at the end of the 55-minute performance, said the play had proved “prophetic” for the people of the region. This was evident from a number of agitations against different projects in the hills.

Tagore had a special bonding with the hills and frequently visited places like Mungpoo, and Kalimpong, he said. “He was no stranger to the socio-economic conditions of the Hill people,” Mukherjee added.

Tagore had delivered a speech live on the Air India Radio from Kalimpong.

Mukherjee said “site performance” was a fairly new concept in India, though it was already an accepted form of performance in the West.