Our journey begins at birth, travels through school, college and then drags to the office.
Time passes by but one rarely realises that between this and that, there lies a life which needs to be lived and cherished. The living becomes so routine that it gets difficult to differentiate between its existence and its need simply because one keeps breathing. Is not being dead the mere reason for living? This existential dilemma was explored by Atelier’s play Baaki Itihaas which was recently staged at LTG to pay a tribute to the renowned Bengali author and playwright, Badal Sircar.
Baaki Itihaas is an ordinary yet unusual story of the history of a common man who struggles to survive right from the time of his, through his childhood, during his education, in his job, marriage and until death. But it is also the history of mankind as it reflects fights, riots, wars, death, destruction, exploitation, molestation and lays bare the animal within the man!
Narrated in a gripping style alongwith the dramatic thaap of tabla, the plot had a couple, Sharad and Vasanti discuss their day’s plan on a Sunday morning. Both decide to go to their friends place but get caught up with the news of one Sitanath’s suicide. Sharad insists Vasanti make this incident a peg for her upcoming story and as she begins to write, the audience is shown the dramatised version of her penned thoughts. The story is interesting but this is just the first version. The second version is seen through Sharad’s words and his adaptation is even more thrilling. The audience reaches a nail-biting situation, only to realise that there is much more to come.
The third act includes Sitanath’s scary ghost who explains the reason behind his suicide to Sharad. He narrates the story of his life, which makes Sharad relate his own life with that o Sitanath, so much so that eventually he addresses Sitanath by his own name, Sharad. Sitanath account of his life falling into a routine and subsequently becoming aimless is the reason behind his suicide.
Thus the play explores how man - in the process of giving a meaning to his life, tortures the rest of mankind and how after reaching stagnancy in his own life, intentionally or unintentionally, discovers means for the destruction of his own kind. The references to pyramids of Egypt, Roman Colosseum, Arabian deserts, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, narrated the true relevance of the play’s title Baaki Itihaas.
Though most of Badal Sircar’s play was kept intact, director Kuljeet Singh was personally not convinced with the third act. “To be honest, I have problems with the text. Its third act is very distinct from the first two and is a complete play in itself,” shared Kuljeet.
However, the director uses his expertise to justify gaps left by Sircar by creating a stage setup which has pictures of Barack Obama and Osama Bin Laden among others, to give a contemporary feel to the play and to remind the audience of the brutal history that mankind has had.