Loving the enemy
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"Kaafila", presented by Sparsh Natya Rang this past week at Shri Ram Centre, is remarkable for its pacifist message. DIWAN SINGH BAJELI
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RARE BOND: A scene from "Kaafila", a play with a message.
An English dramatist, Willis Hall's "The Long and the Short and the Tall" (1958) in Hindi adaptation by Shyam Narayan Pradhan as "Kaafila", which was presented by Sparsh Natya Rang this past week at Shri Ram Centre, is remarkable for its pacifist message, illustrating the need for humaneness towards war prisoners.
The adapted version is set in the North-east border of Assam where a group of soldiers is on a mission to curb militancy. Passing through the dense forest, they discover a dilapidated structure, stay there in combative position. Unable to establish contact with their headquarters, the group becomes desperate, obsessed with the fear of entrapment by insurgents.
The group has seven members, having different ranks. In this hour of fear and uncertainty, they indulge in discussions about discipline. In the process, their reveal their social background, their family, their love affairs and their erotic dreams. At times their conversation becomes so heated that they forget their army discipline. Some of them feel that they are fighting a war without a cause.
Suddenly the drama takes a serious turn with the entry of an enemy soldier. He is overpowered, disarmed and made prisoner. The soldier, under whose custody the prisoner is kept, gradually develops a bond with him. There are other soldiers who want to kill him. Those opposed to the barbaric act refer to the code that deals with the rights of war prisoners.
The play has been directed by Ajit Chowdhury. Essentially an actor who has worked under the direction of eminent theatre personalities and with Theatre-in-Education Company of the National School of Drama, this production marks his stage debut as a director. After watching his maiden venture one can hope that Chowdhury would produce serious and socially relevant plays in future with impressive results. Both as stage and music director he has been able to treat a military drama in an apt manner, evoking a sense of constant fear of death at the hands of enemy. The sets, lighting and offstage music and sounds crate an ambience to convey the message of the play.
Good performance
The members of the cast give a good account of themselves. Two actors - Shyam Sunder as Sudershan and N.K. Pant as the prisoner - deserve special mention.
A well-known actor of the Delhi stage, Shyam Sunder's soldier is angry, defiant and passionately human who is ready to protect the life of the prisoner even at the cost of his own life. N.K. Pant, a former actor of the Shriram Centre's Repertory Company, who is admired for his restraint and sensitive acting, portrays a convincing picture of a prisoner surrounded by enemy soldiers with arms out to destroy him.
Unable to converse with his captors in their language, he uses the technique of mime in a subtle manner to convey his agony, fear, and love for his family. The audience feel empathy for the plight of his prisoner and watch his death by a soldier with a heavy heart.
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