Thursday, December 29, 2016

MAKHAN LAL SARAF'S LATEST KASHMIRI PLAY " MOOL " OR " ROOTS "

                                         
                 


                                                                         

 FRAMES  FROM "MOOL" OR 'ROOTS ' ACTORS .. MAKHAN LAL SARAF AND KUSUM   TIKOO..

 (Photo Source .. Kamal Kishen Ganjoo )..


Saw " MOOL " or ROOTS, a play written and directed by Makhan lal Saraf. Saraf sahib himself performed the Lead role of Aasaar e kadeem Niranjan Nath Bamzai .

This Kashmiri play was staged on 26th December 2016 (At Abhinav Thatre Jammu) by Makhan lal Saraf’s BHOORANG FOUNDATION in the ongoing 10th drama Festival organized by Jammu And Kashmir Academy of Art Culture and languages .

Abhinav Theatre Auditorium was almost packed today .Wonderful play .Superb background music . Saraf sahib was in his elements inspite of his age. Agile , active , swift and distinctly audible . Kusum Tikoo ( As Old lady and Haar Maal ) also appeared versatile.

                                     

Other actors also deserve kudos .I was impressed by acting skills of Ashok Bhat and Rohita Razdan in their roles as Kidar Nath Badaam ( Kida ) and his wife Kusum Ji . These two actors changed the initial tempo of the presentation .

This Aasaar e kadeem Niranjan Nath Bamzai lives in a Government Building ( Temporary accommodation ) outside a crematorium. He is an Ex employee of the Department of Archives ; Hence the Aasaar e Kadeem Tag with his name .  A widower ,  Aasaar e Kadeem  Niranjan Nath Bamzai is from the  crowd of hapless  people who had to leave their homeland or birth place and  run for safety after  Armed militancy arrived in kashmir . 


In an alien  land , Aasaar e kadeem Niranjan Nath Bamzai discovers his childhood love Heemaal. A  widow and childless, Heemal lives in a temporary accommodation near in his neighbour hood. Their relationship revives and they become companions .

 And then suddenly ,  In a museum in srinagar city , two statues are stolen. These statues depicted a kashmiri Pandit and a Panditiani in a pheran.

In the meantime , Aasaar e Kadeem  Niranjan Nath Bamzai and Heeemal decide to go back to kashmir and join their roots . The Museum authorities  and people are surprised to see  walking statues in changed dress . They carry a book in their hands that details the story of their uprootedness from the land of their ancestors.

The final scene when Aasaar e kadeem Niranjan Nath Bamzai and Haar Maal turn into a stone after bleeding to death ( caught in stone pelting and gunfire ) was superbly conceptualized and presented on stage . I was reminded of Frenz Kafka's Metamorphosis and the transformation of Gregor Samsa into an insect .”



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A story woven in a warp and weft of comedy and tragic ordeals undergone by the characters .

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