Patna:In memory of founder member of Bihar Art Theatre and Bihar Ratna awardee R P Verma ‘Tarun’, Bihar Art Theatre staged ‘Babuji Ka Passbook’ at Kalidas Rangalaya, Gandhi Maidan, Patna, Bihar on September 16.
The play, written by noted playwright Madhukar Singh, in a satirical way, lays bare the present situation prevailing in our society wherein the value of money takes centre stage, leaving little space for morality and the principles of humanity.
The playwright brings alive the dark recesses that we always wish to keep within the four walls.
After retirement, Babuji, who is also a freedom fighter, is treated as no better than any discarded furniture that are left to go waste at any corner of the house.
The little care his sons, daughters-in-law, daughters and sons-in-law take is an end in itself. They all set their eyes on the money he has in his bank passbook.
In the process, the love and affection between them give space to hatred and anger. The relationship between them turns sour. Soon they find themselves quarreling with each other, with all the family members trying various means to get the passbook.
As the play moves on, it becomes more engaging, leaving the audience glued to their seats.
At the end, they come to know that the passbook doesn’t have a single penny.
The selection of actors was excellent. They did justice to their characters. Pradeep Ganguly’s minimalist stage design, Upendra Kumar and Raj Kumar Sharma’s light design helped create the perfect ambience on the stage.
Suman Kumar needs special mention for conceptualizing and directing the play. The homework and the efforts went into it to make it successful were quite evident.
Before staging of the play, the invited guests offered floral tributes to the portrait of R P Verma ‘Tarun’. Among others, president of Bihar Art Theatre R N Das, vice-president Dr Nihora Prasad Yadav, secretary Kumar Abhishek Ranjan, Gupteswar Kumar and son of R P Verma’Tarun’ Dr Rajesh Verma and other theatre personalities attended.
By kalasanskruti
