Grim battle for acceptance

<g data-gr-id="32" style="display: inline; color: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important; -webkit-background-size: 0px 2px, 100% 2px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: transparent; background-image: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAA+gAAAACCAYAAADLlPadAAAABmJLR0QA/wD/AP+gvaeTAAAAKklEQVRYhe3OQQEAIAgEsMM6xrMb9SQGny3B6vb7AQAAAFad7QAAAACQDAGHAlfrnYEmAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC), url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAACCAYAAACZgbYnAAAABmJLR0QA/wD/AP+gvaeTAAAAEklEQVQImWNY/ejYfyYGBgYGABiLA1VQQvxSAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); background-size: 0px 2px, 100% 2px; background-position: 200% 100%, 0px 100%; background-repeat: no-repeat, no-repeat;">Land</g> where life is good, a theatrical offering by final year students of National School of Drama (NSD) raised similar questions. The play talked about the various identities that are enmeshed in the blanket of a single identity called ‘Indian’. It tried to look at the confusion that this exercise of assimilation has created in the minds of the present generation, especially in the context of Nagaland. 

Bhaskar Boruah, essays the role of Tako, a young Naga boy grappling with his identity. The play revolves around his life journey and his attempt to find his lost identity. It conveyed a palpable sense of people as living, breathing creatures who are far more complex than their words might seem to suggest. 

The conflict between old and the new has been told in countless movies and plays, but the treatment here was gentle and humane.

Director, Temjenzungba attempted to rediscover the true meaning of ‘Indian-ness’ and expressed his concern over the inability of cultural participation in the <g data-gr-id="29" style="display: inline; color: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important; -webkit-background-size: 0px 2px, 100% 2px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: transparent; background-image: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAA+gAAAACCAYAAADLlPadAAAABmJLR0QA/wD/AP+gvaeTAAAAK0lEQVRYhe3OMQEAIAwDsA6DHPh/ZoTJ2JMoSPW7PwAAAMCqsx0AAAAAkgHerQKHq3BtYQAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==), url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAACCAYAAACZgbYnAAAABmJLR0QA/wD/AP+gvaeTAAAAEklEQVQImWP4vGvnfyYGBgYGABl4A2hm/SKhAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); background-size: 0px 2px, 100% 2px; background-position: 200% 100%, 0px 100%; background-repeat: no-repeat, no-repeat;">so called</g> mainstream culture which leads to the seclusion of certain groups. Naga tribes being the classic example of such behaviour, face racial discrimination.

The show may have lacked epic grandeur but by the end the audience understood the travails of these people to fit in. 

The show, in all, was a delightful combination of dance (showcasing dance of different states), drama, humor and emotions which managed to strike the right chords with the audience.