Dasharupak’s play Kaalchakra, an intense take on phases of life, writes Shanku Sharma

Happiness was but the occasional episode in a general drama of pain
– Thomas Hardy

Drama – Kaalchakra
Script/ Playwright – Chitrabhanu Bhowmik
Director – Chitrabhanu Bhowmik
Production – Dasharupak

April 18: Dasharupak, a Silchar-based cultural organisation, can easily rest its head on the efficient shoulders of Chitrabhanu Bhowmik, one of the finest playwrights and theatre directors of Barak Valley. This man does not need an introduction. He mostly writes on social issues. His plays depict the ground realities of our lives. Under him, Dasharupak staged their drama (Kaalchakra) at Banga Bhawan in Silchar on April 11 (it was the last drama of the prestigious Naresh Chandra Pal Memorial All India One-Act Play Competition 2022).

Three personified characters (Basin, Toilet, and Chimney) act as metaphors in this soul-stirring one-act play. Kaalchakra is all about ‘as you sow, so you reap’. The proverb gets enlivened here through Chitrabhanu Bhowmik’s hard-hitting script and outstanding direction. Basin, played by Mishmita Nath Samajpati, Toilet by Nayana Choudhury and Chimney by Neha Chakraborty stand testimony to the decaying values of the members of the family in which they get installed. They are forever. They remain intact and permanent while their owners and caretakers die, decay and change.

Basin, Toilet and Chimney have been newly installed in a rich family. Since newly-installed, the family members maintain them properly (regular cleaning and washing). The owner of the family (Sandip, played brilliantly by Dr. Swapan Das) has an ailing father (played by Shibshankar Debroy) who lives in a remote place in their ancestral home. He is shown hoping that his son will at least visit his ancestral home some day or the other. But his son (the son’s wife and children) does not even bother to pay a visit to his ancestral house and see his ailing and aged father.

Sandip’s wife Shukla (played superbly by Mitali Rajkumari) remains busy in her daily chores. Their two children, (Surya – Arkajyoti Bhattacharjee and Babli – Sneha Das), care least about their parents. Mishmita, Nayana and Neha play their roles well (it is definitely difficult to act and emote from a seated position. They do not move since they are permanent parts of a temporary family/ house).

Time and tide waits for none, it passes. Children grow up and they settle abroad (this truth). Now, an ailing Sandip and his wife urge their well-settled children to pay a visit. However, they do not do so. Instead, they keep postponing their dates. In a nutshell, Kaalchakra teaches us the true meaning of the celebrated proverb – as you sow, so you reap. This is the message, which Chitrabhanu Bhowmik wants to convey through Kaalchakra. He too plays a character (Kaka) in the play. The simple man (Kaka) visits Sandip’s newly-built house and advises Sandip to pay a visit to his (Sandip’s) ancestral house. Though Kaka’s role is very small, he manages to capture everyone’s attention (body language, diction, dialogue delivery, and above all, stage presence – all very special. Chitrabhanu Bhowmik is a legend).

However, Kaka’s suggestions fall on deaf ears. Sandip and Shukla do not go there. There, Basin, Toilet and Chimney tell us (they converse) how life has changed and degraded. How parents avoid their parents and how these same parents are avoided by their children. In a brilliant scene, we see how an ailing Shukla urges her son to come back to India (he has shifted aboard with his wife).

Later, we see a contractor (a new house has to be built now), played by Shibshankar Debroy (he also plays the role of Sandip’s ailing father). Another good actor we see in the play is Kashi Biswanath Das. Debojyoti Roy’s lighting and Avik Sen Gupta’s make-up are excellent and perfect (never too much or too little). Also, there is a scene, which shows a landline being used by Sandip’s father (ancestral home).

Also Read: Osukher Utsav: A serious & melancholic play on our internet-driven life, writes Shanku Sharma