Noorie: ‘Accidental’ playwright & ‘Amateur’ dramatists create ripples, leaves audience spellbound

8 June, 2019, is a date which will indeed go down the annals of cultural history of this valley for calling spade as a spade. On that evening, “Ganasur” staged a drama at Banga Bhagwan, Silchar. Ganasur is a socio-cultural organisation ,whose main objective is to disseminate valuable social message of fraternity and amity to the masses through creative presentation in the form of drama ,one act play etc.

The drama entitled ‘Noorie’, written by Arijt Aditya and directed by Subrata Roy, depicts the upheavals during the armed revolution in Assam and the subsequent social unrest with the pertinent portraying of the prejudiced NRC process targeted towards particular linguistic community which very aptly been able to capture the entire gamut of the issues afflicting the state of Assam and especially Barak Valley.

The drama essentially revolves around the trials and tribulations of two families, one at Barak Valley and the other from Brahmaputra Valley belonging to two different religious and linguistic background culminating in the triumph of humanity and brotherhood prevailing over fundamentalism and fringe elements of the communities.

The drama begins with a patriotic song by the children and some teachers in a school in Guwahati when a bomb explodes creating a dreaded silence around. Every one died instantaneously as a result of the blast. The lifeless  bodies lie scattered in a pool of blood. Then the scene shifts to a Muslim family at Silchar.  The family consisted of a couple and their loving daughter Noorie who happens to be the nucleus of the reason for their meaningful existence .Their happiness and ego revolves around her when one day, an unknown mobile call to their family interrupts their otherwise peaceful existence. They were reminded of the fact that they had adopted Noorie from an orphanage in Guwahati some twelve years back.

Then the scene shifts to the Assamese couple at Guwahati, where the husband happens to be a powerful minister of state .They were childless and their repeated attempts to conceive failed .The killing loneliness takes a toll on the mental health of the woman.and she was yearning for a child all the time. At a later time, the rebel surrendered and in the course of time became a powerful minister of the state cabinet.

The heated and argumentative conversations between them which takes them down to the memory lane when the minister of state who was then a part of armed rebellion for independent Assam and involved in an affair with a girl. Facing the heat from the police and intelligence agencies, the rebel fled the pregnant lover, promising her to return as the situation normalises. In the meantime, she gives birth to a girl child. Given her unmarried status, her parents left the baby to the orphanage for obvious reasons of avoiding social stigma.

The minister uses his influence to get in touch with the Muslim man at Silchar, trying to get back their child whom he adopted through legal means. Somehow a reporter comes to know about this meeting. The drama beautifully choreographed the ethical journalism wherein the present era of materialism was given a damn challenge. .Considering the sensitivity of the case, the reporter decides to put the news under wraps for a larger social cause.

As the communal situation worsens ,the Muslim couple residing in the Hindu majority locality faces threats from the Hindu fanatic elements of dire consequences, should they refuse to vacate their place .Sensing trouble, they decides to hand over Noorie, their adopted daughter whom was the pearl of their eye to her biological parents.

As the couple arrives at Silchar to take Noorie  to their custody, a stark reality dawns on them as the daughter refuses to accept them as parents and expresses a sense of aversion.for them. At this, their sense of reason prevailed and leaves Noorie to her adopted parents. All the characters are blended with the roles in such a majestic way that I must say that each of them have done justice to the script and the spectators were all left spell bound. It was indeed a memorable evening to be cherished.