| |
| A scene =
from the=20
play, Aath Ghante, staged at Seagull =
Theatre in=20
Guwahati. Picture by Eastern Projections=20
|
Hardly had the hangover =
of=20
Naseeruddin Shah=92s spellbinding act in Ismat Apa =
Ke=20
Naam faded, than Guwahati found itself enthralled =
by New=20
Delhi-based Aakar Kala Sangam with their Hindi play =
Aath=20
Ghante.
Designed and directed by =
theatre=20
activist and associate professor of National School of =
Drama=20
Suresh Bharadwaj, Aath Ghante, staged at =
Seagull=20
Theatre Auditorium on August 22, turned the spotlight =
on some=20
new elements of modern theatre. For an audience fed on =
a diet=20
of placid, tried and tested formulas, the play was a =
breath of=20
fresh air in terms of content and execution.
Aath Ghante is =
the story of=20
two typists, Batra and Verma, who spend eight hours a =
day=20
working at their busy Connaught Place office desk, =
completely=20
cut off from the world outside. Alone and aloof, they =
go on=20
working relentlessly, sharing a closeness born out of =
the=20
proximity of their office seats. They share personal =
and=20
professional trivia, and quarrel just as often as they =
sympathise with one another.
They carry on thus for =
26 years,=20
detached from the outer world but reassuring =
themselves all=20
the while that their lives carry more meaning than =
others=92=20
do.
Authored by space =
scientist Sujit=20
Saraf, Aath Ghante depicts the conflict between =
human=20
values and the mechanical life modern man leads.
The director displays =
subtlety and=20
superior skill in establishing the love-hate =
relationship=20
between the two characters whose sensitivity gradually =
wears=20
out. In the course of the play, mundane everyday =
objects like=20
the telephone, tiffin boxes and wastepaper baskets =
become=20
metaphors to project the theme. However, the bits =
where the=20
two men exchange gossip could have been handled better =
or=20
omitted altogether.
Bharadwaj is ably =
complemented by=20
some mature acting by NSD alumni Ramesh Manchanda as =
Batra and=20
Anurag Arora as Verma. The actors were impressive with =
their=20
voice modulation and restrained use of gestures but =
the one=20
thing that stood out in the two-hour show was their =
passionate=20
involvement with their craft. And that was enchanting, =
indeed.=20
| ![3D"The](3D"http://www.telegraphindia.com/images/logo_new.gif"=20){kind=logo}
![](3D"http://www.telegraphindia.com/images/dotline.gif")
![3DJobsMart=20](3D"http://www.telegraphindia.com/admin/html/banners/197200721jobs.jpg=)
![](3D"http://www.telegraphindia.com/images/transp_line.gif"){kind=spacer}