INVC NEWS
New Delhi,
Day six gave the viewers the delight to watch Ila Arun’s version of Henrick Ibsen’s Ghosts. Peechha Karti Parchhayiyan portrays the struggles of a widow from facing the societal pressure to bringing up children. While rounding up on the theme that the ‘ghosts from one’s past will always catch up.’
Meet the director
Today the halls resonated with the discussions of plays that happened on Wednesday night. The discussion opened with the talk about Yamata Amasung Keibu Keioiba. Discussion then focussed on the international production Trojan Women by Vasilisa Tepliakova and Neelam Mansingh’s Gumm Hai. The discussion was threaded with questions about the plight of women as all three plays of day five had women at their heart. While master strokes of theatre techniques were also delivered as Vasilisa and Mansingh, opening on her usage of domestic props and making the familiar a surprise Mansingh gave a message that inspiration strikes anywhere.
Today’s Play
CHENGPUNG BORDER
A retired teacher of Chengpung village of Assam and Nagaland border, Mr. Dharmeshwar Bora has a small happy family- his wife, a goat and a dog. Although Mr. Bora has had a dream to be a car owner since he was young, his dream became stronger with the provident fund money he received on retirement. On being a car owner, he realised that it is not easy to survive in a bordering village, due to car-lifters, militant’s etc. Day by day Mr. Bora became very possessive about his car, to the extent that the fear of losing his beloved car took away his sound sleep. The story takes a turn when Mr. Bora tries to save his car from such circumstances (Border miseries seem to have no end…..).
PEECHHA KARTI PARCHHAYIYAAN
This is an adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s controversial play Ghosts which was first staged in 1881 causing quite a stir. This is the story of the family of late Maharaja KunwarViraj Bhanu Pratap Singh, whose death is shrouded in mystery, talked of in whispers, and hidden in the inscrutable eyes of his widow, Yashodhara Baisaheb. As the story unfolds, we see the causes of the break-down of families, symbolised in the destruction of the havelis they inhabit. Yet the ghosts of the past cannot be destroyed. The play deals with the issue of domestic violence and suppression of women, whose voices are silenced by tradition and society. The voices of Ibsen’s women, just as the voices of women all over the world, need to be heard.
GREASE YAKA RETURNS
The Grease Yaka (grease demon) myth describes scantily clad, grease covered men suspected of crimes ranging from voyeurism to rape to abduction and murder in Sri Lanka. Although no grease yakas were ever caught, grease yaka ‘sightings’ hogged the headlines from time to time, causing widespread alarm and panic, especially during the conflict period.
