CHENAB SE RAAVI TAK Play Review

Deepa Karmalkar	Host-A-Performance \| Schedule

Writer : Prajakt Deshmukh Direction : Sanket Patil, Sandesh Randive Cast : Ajinkya Nanda, Sanjivani Hasbe, Aniket Kadam, Sandesh Randive, Rushikesh Bagwe, Dyaneshwari Kadam

CHENAB SE RAAVI TAK Review

An award-winning play that has drawn a full house of young theatre buffs, the atmosphere is crackling with anticipation as seats are being grabbed and mobile devices are muted. If that isn't the power of theatre, what is? Is the hype worth a watch? Expectations are riding high and excitement is mounting as curtains go up and through the shadows emerges a makeshift refugee camp. Somewhere along the banks of river Chenab in Pakistan, Hindus and Sikhs are trying to cross over to river Raavi in India.

Darshan Singh, a young Sikh man is calling out to his missing wife, Shahani Kaur. The story begins at the end and whirls back in time. The set transforms rapidly in the dimming lights and lo behold, you have a train trundling in. The image of a train with escaping refugees on top of it is somewhere docketed in our distant memory. We are familiar with the horrendous genocide that followed the partition of India as migrants moved across the newly etched border between India and Pakistan. But to watch the train chugging in with huddled passengers on its roof is totally an astounding spectacle!

Shahani has her new born twins in her lap as Darshan guards her from toppling over. The infants are feeble and vulnerable and their exhausted mother is struggling to feed them for sustenance. The twins are a metaphor perhaps to the newly formed nations. A Sufi wanderer passes on water and life advice to everybody. Amidst the chaos of communal riots and violence, the train advances towards a safer haven in India. The journey is fraught with danger and death. Can the young couple make it across safely with their newborn twins?

Based on Gulzar's story Raavi Paar, the play has been cleverly adapted in Marathi by Prajakt Deshmukh, the dialogues have a smattering of Punjabi with Marathi. The narrative flows fluidly and it takes a while to register that this is a Marathi play. Director duo Sanket Patil and Sandesh Randive's narrative skill lies in the ease with which they lead us gradually to that forgotten past of loss and disintegration of societal norms. The cast brings alive the pathos through well-synched action and emotion.

The play is nothing short of a creative explosion" the hero of the play is the train. It moves, it burns and it carries the burden on its head with dignity and delivers refugees to safety. The art department deserves a big salute for their brilliant convertible set of refugee camp-turned- running train. The lighting effects depict arson with fearsome authenticity.

A compulsive watch for its humanitarian theme, historical reference and magnificent storytelling. It certainly deserves all the awards and the standing ovation it has been garnering!

Deepa Karmalkar
(A senior journalist, features writer and reviewer who is now a keen yoga trainer.)

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