Directed by: Dr. Mrinal Jyoti Goswami

Date (1^st Performance): 23^rd and 24^th December, 2015

Venue (1^st Performance): Sri Sri Madhadeva International Auditorium, Guwahati, Assam

Duration of the play: 1 hour 15 minutes (without intermission)

Language of the play: Multilingual (Assamese and Gibberish)

Presentation Style: Stylized

About the Play

Folktales which form a significant part of folklore are much loved by the society. A folk story namely Bagh Aaru Kekura (The Tiger and the Crab) is one of the most interesting folktales of Assam. There are two parts in this story. The first part contains the tale Baagh Aaru Kekura and the second part contains Rong Hinga, Khong Hingaa Kune Baai (Who Plays the Horn Pipes of Joy and Anger). The second part contains a description of how a Baaree-Konwar (young lad) eventually happens to be the owner of a wild herd of buffaloes and in the end intermingles with the respectable class and shakes hand with the royal authority, thereby fulfilling his greed and desire for power. In a similar vein, the contemporary socio-political scenario of Assam or the international reminds us and rings true of the same thing. A range of wide spread problems has been afflicting and perplexing the general masses and on the other hand, an opportunistic class of people or in other words, the affluent class has begun a hedonistic culture that has gripped the entire society. A socially or economically divided society, like a wide-open mouthed monster is gaining quick ground. These kinds of multifarious aspects are contained within the fascinating worlds of these stories.

Directors Note

Couple of year ago, I had read a write-up ‘Xadhukothar Xenduriya Aliyedi’ (Through the Silver line of Folktales), published in the Assamese magazine Katha, written by Mr. Dilip Phukan and a novel Yatra: Ekhan Axampurna Upanayaxar Barata Adhyay by Harekrishna Deka. When I went through the write-up and the novel, quite unknowingly I felt some characters of the folktales and the story line depicted in the novel have significance in today’s society. I felt folktales and the story illustrated in the novel function and serve as metaphorical representations of the day-to-day politics of the contemporary world. The most relevant aspect of such stories or folktales is that, through these stories the events of contemporary reality can be reflected. At that time I had decided to retell a folktale (Meta-narrative) from Burhi Aaiyer Xadhu in another format, i.e,. in audio-visual form. Therefore, with the help of some theatrical techniques we have adopted the non-linear approach to present our main themes in a stylized way.

Note: The show was initially performed as part of ” Uttaran Social Welfare Society.” Later, it was presented in different festival under the banner “AANK_A Creative Line.”