Dasharath Manjhi comes alive at ‘Rangullas 2020’ theatre festival at Kalidas Rangalay in Patna

‘When the going gets tough, the tough gets going’. This popular saying goes well for Dasharath Manjhi who single-handedly carved a path through a mountain and became famous as ‘Mountain Man’.
The second evening of three-day long theatre festival ‘Rangullas 2020’ at Kalidas Rangalay, Patna, Bihar, offered the theatre connoisseurs an opportunity to meet and interact with the Mountain Man through a play titled ‘Dasharath Manjhi’.
Prayas Rangamandal, established in the year 1984 and presently regarded as one of the best theatre groups in the state, staged the play ‘Dasharath Manjhi’ on November 6.
The play opens to a village named Gehlaur in Bihar. Here lives Dasharath Manjhi, who earns his livelihood by working as a labourer.
There is a mountain and like many, Manjhi too treks the treacherous mountain to reach the other side of it to till land for his employer. At noon, Falguni Devi, his wife, brings him food and water.
One day, she is climbing up the mountain with a water pot on her head balancing with one hand and carrying the food wrapped in a piece of cloth in the other hand. While trekking, she loses her balance and falls off the mountain. She suffers severe injuries.
Yet, she reaches where Manjhi is working. Seeing her injured and bleeding, “What happened?” Manjhi asks her. And she narrates the incident.
Later, she falls sick. To reach the hospital at the other side of the mountain, all the villagers had to take an indirect route which is time consuming. It is when Manjhi is taking her to the hospital that she succumbs. The death of his wife makes him determined to carve a path through the mountain. He picks up a hammer and a chisel, and the rest is history.
Uday Kumar Shankar’s choice for the eponymous character was a perfect one. He portraying the character of’Mountain Man’an’ left nothing to be desired. And all the other artistes were equally good. Their powerful performances left the audience hooked to their seats all through the play.
While the play was directed by Mithlesh Singh, Padmashree Prof. Shyam Sharma’s stage craft, Rajiv Rai’s brilliant light design and Sanjay Upadhyay’s music largely contributed to the success of the play.
Image Art Society, inn association with Ministry of Culture, Government of India, organised the three-day long theatre festival’Rangullas 2020′. The festival was held in adherence to all the COVID guidelines.
By kalasanskruti.