'Pakawaghaar' staged by Asha, Chhapara at Patna on 08.04.2017

(Prawin Smriti Natya Utsav, 2017, Kalidas Rangalay, Patna)

हिन्दी मे इस समीक्षा का लिंक: http://biharidhamaka.blogspot.in/2017/04/blog-post.html

‘Pakwaghar’ is again an exemplary play based on the story titled ‘Khula’ of Hrishikesh Sulalbh. Sulabh is a maestro of experimental play-scripts.  Md. Jahangir is also a virtuoso in directing such  difficult plays in which events takes place much more within the space of inner mind than in the outer world.     

A scene of pakawaghar drama 

 ‘Pakwaghar’ carries the insignia an open debate through dramatic presentation. The dialogues are just sentences of a thought-provoking story.  The main character plays tiny sequences on the stage with the help of others while the symbolic characters in the background shows beautifully the state of her mind. One of those symbolic character is bound tight with the ropes and binding process is continued till the play runs. The other such character is playing the role of a twig emerging from a tree fixed with the earth. One shows the different rules and regulations pouring in again and again from the conservative family against the natural development of female child and other shows the stagnancy of thought-process of the guardians of the girl disregarding completely the dynamic needs of today’s world.

    A young cultured Muslim girl wants to pursue her academic goals rightfully at the tender age of sixteen and her so-called well-wisher guardians are worried to marry her out. The parents just want to discharge their responsibility of marrying their daughter which suits their social reckoning rather than the natural interest and needs of their daughter. The daughter tries her best to get out of this net of retrograde bondage and makes effort to convince her guardians and negotiate with her lover to make her free. And the fate she meets is she don’t get any support from any corner in this big whole world. Ultimately she is married off against her will at the age of sixteen only and that too with a man she is not interested in. Just after the marriage, the husband goes abroad and returns after a huge interval of four years. The married girl is devastated. Now she musters her guts and proclaim that she wants ‘Khula’ (dissolution of marriage) which is fully allowed as per the religious and legal provisions. With a great alacrity, the writer puts forth two grounds on which the girl has  asked for ‘khula’ rightfully- one is that she was only sixteen i.e. less than eighteen when she was married.  Also she has second point in her favour and that is the absence of her husband for four years just after the marriage.

 

Very carefully the playwright illustrates that a person can claim justice for him/ her even in the most conservative set-up provided he gathers psychological strength for it.

The play was presented by ‘Asha’, Chhapara  and directed by Md. Jahangir who successfully depicted what the story meant to and goes further to create more effects in the theme with the help of symbolic characters in the background. The main character girl, her lover and all others made justice with their respective character. The set-design, make-up and lighting did their best possible in this symbolic play. And the selection of music-piece was marvelous. The sound of the following classical song used in the play still reverberate in the ears:

“Ye dil tha ki fir se bahal gaya

Ye jaan thi ki fir se sambhal gayi”

(This was my mind which again reconciled somehow and this was my life which again came to the track.)

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