Twist your tongue in four ways
13 Feb 2013 4:45 AM IST
Organised by Shoelace productions, Chauraha offered an interesting intermix of four plays in different languages including Punjabi, Urdu, English and Hindi. Intermingled with music, stark humour and social critique, each of these plays stood out splendidly.
Confessions of a Poet, Kutte, Unit Test and Majh were the four short plays staged as part of Chauraha at the Akshara festival of 4 Languages. Except Unit Test (which was directed by Tarun Singhal), the other three have been directed by Deepak Dhamija. Confessions of a Poet made for an interesting watch. It narrated the problems a shayaar (poet) has to face to pursue his love for poetry. During the course of the play, he narrated his life in couplets and poems about exemplifying his love for poetry, going against all social pressures.
Kutte was a fabulous production, complimented by Harpreet Singh’s superb musical performance, making it a gripping watch. It was in Punjabi, and probed the relationship humans share with animals, in this case dogs, the kind of attachment we built over a period of time with them. How intrinsic even the existence of stray dogs who bark at night become solely connected to a man’s existence. Unit Test had great performances. The cast had a new face this time, Amol Parashar, who performed the central role making motivative changes in the play. Enacted in English and Punjabi, the play focused on an examination being held for class six, and encapsulated the spirit, nervousness and excitement which students face during exams.
Majh had musical performances by Zakir, Vipin and Jigyasa and good performances by Maheep Singh and Nitin Sukhija. In Punjabi and Hindi, it was a serious critique of social and political issues juxtaposed with the love one possesses for a buffalo. It raised the question, can loving the animal be compared to loving your nation?
Confessions of a Poet, Kutte, Unit Test and Majh were the four short plays staged as part of Chauraha at the Akshara festival of 4 Languages. Except Unit Test (which was directed by Tarun Singhal), the other three have been directed by Deepak Dhamija. Confessions of a Poet made for an interesting watch. It narrated the problems a shayaar (poet) has to face to pursue his love for poetry. During the course of the play, he narrated his life in couplets and poems about exemplifying his love for poetry, going against all social pressures.
Kutte was a fabulous production, complimented by Harpreet Singh’s superb musical performance, making it a gripping watch. It was in Punjabi, and probed the relationship humans share with animals, in this case dogs, the kind of attachment we built over a period of time with them. How intrinsic even the existence of stray dogs who bark at night become solely connected to a man’s existence. Unit Test had great performances. The cast had a new face this time, Amol Parashar, who performed the central role making motivative changes in the play. Enacted in English and Punjabi, the play focused on an examination being held for class six, and encapsulated the spirit, nervousness and excitement which students face during exams.
Majh had musical performances by Zakir, Vipin and Jigyasa and good performances by Maheep Singh and Nitin Sukhija. In Punjabi and Hindi, it was a serious critique of social and political issues juxtaposed with the love one possesses for a buffalo. It raised the question, can loving the animal be compared to loving your nation?
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