Chupkatha

A pleasantly refreshing flurry of four performances touched the heart of every viewer at Tapan Theatre on the last day of November, this year. With three mimes (Chup) and a drama (Katha), the passion that was briskly crafted was truly addictive. The contrast was perfect with the mimes speaking through the silent performers and the drama, which was a talkie, resonating the silence of the souls that suffer the most.

Premiering in the City of Joy a day before, the presentation of the Bangalore based Ekalavya Performing Arts was uniquely styled in a superbly orchestrated medley of various facets of society.

The opening depicted the Puppeteer, glibly wielding command on his string of puppets, completely unaware that we are just the toys of destiny, fatefully dancing to the tune that the All Powerful has scripted for us.

This was followed by Web that unveils the darker side of the digital space as the viral addiction to the Internet cripples relations and threatens to destroy societies. The uglier face of this infectious network is revealed as users are entrapped, haplessly similar to the unsuspecting preys in the net that a spider weaves, away in a virtual world, stripped from those who were once so near and ever so dear.

The next was a mime with a difference, a solo performance by Bodhisatta Sarkar as he enacted the essence of Ei Mrityu Upatyaka by Nabarun Bhattacharya. A mime with a recitation in background - unique at least for me! Although I must confess that my experience of watching mimes is limited to a very few, but I cannot remember a drama like this being seen before.

With the mimes completing the phase, began the tale of harmony in a play titled Bhasan that ushered in a promise of life borne out of the tears for those that are untimely lost. Every instance that the evils fight, the motives being masked, on occassions, by religious pretences, the innocents always bear the brunt most severe, as humanity is immersed in the muck of hatred. But these naive and the sane are those that infuse hope, which gives meaning to life and guides to ensure that humanity prevails.

Scripting two of the mimes and the play and directing all four, Bodhisatta Sarkar leads a team of talents with a care to script the coarsest of society with the subtlest of artistic touch, his message being conveyed loud and clear yet keeping the enrire show enthralling and sober.

A great watch for all ages, the group will be eagerly awaited for future shows in the coming years.