CNN Central News & Network-ITDC India Epress/ITDC News Bhopal: On the final day of the Tagore Theatre Festival, an impactful stage presentation of storyteller Santosh Choubey’s noted story “Satah Par Tairti Udaasi” (“Sadness Floating on the Surface”) was held at Ravindra Bhavan. Directed by eminent theatre director Devendra Raj Ankur, the production was brought to the stage by Delhi’s Sambhav group. A book focused on celebrated theatre personality Habib Tanvir, “Rangalok Ka Mahanayak”, was also released during the programme. Renowned singer and theatre artiste Nageen Tanvir, actor-director John Bashir and Vinay Upadhyay were also present.
The story brings out the irony of relationships, where the destiny of some bonds is perhaps to reach nowhere. At the centre of the play are three principal characters: a husband, his wife and a friend of the wife. Despite an easy and good relationship between the husband and wife, the husband’s attraction towards his wife’s friend gives the story a complex emotional turn. The friend carries love in her heart, but there is no possibility of that love being fulfilled. This incompleteness becomes the cause of deep sadness in her life.
The play is set against the backdrop of Rajnagar city in Jharkhand. Along with personal relationships, the story also highlights the social and industrial environment in which the closure of a factory affects the lives of people there. The young woman had a lover who worked in the factory. During a struggle, he is shot dead. After the incident, the case continues and the factory also shuts down.
In this way, the play presents the contrast between a factory closing down on one side and life continuing on the other. Weaving together the breakdown of personal relationships, incomplete love and industrial decline, the story prompts the audience to reflect on human relationships and the changing social environment.
Writer Santosh Choubey, a poet, storyteller and novelist, is among the rare Hindi literary figures who have been equally active in both literature and science. His six short story collections – “Halke Rang Ki Kameez”, “Restaurant Mein Dopahar”, “Nau Binduon Ka Khel”, “Beech Prem Mein Gandhi”, “Pratinidhi Kahaniyan” and “Magar Shakespeare Ko Yaad Rakhna” – and four novels – “Raag Kedar”, “Kya Pata Comrade Mohan”, “Jal Tarang” and “Sapnon Ki Duniya Mein Blackhole” – have been published and widely discussed. His poetry collections include “Kahin Aur Sach Honge Sapne”, “Kona Dharti Ka”, “Is A-Kavi Samay Mein” and “Ghar Bahar”. His stories have been staged at several platforms, including Bharat Bhavan and the National School of Drama, New Delhi, and his writings have appeared in leading newspapers and magazines across the country.
Director Devendra Raj Ankur holds a postgraduate degree in Hindi literature from Delhi University and specialised in direction at the National School of Drama. He has directed productions with many professional and amateur theatre groups across the country. A founding member of the Sambhav group and the pioneer of “Kahani Ka Rangmanch”, Ankur has been associated with workshops across India as a teacher, camp director and theatre director.
He has translated plays from various languages into Hindi and has also written on theatre. More than seven of his books on theatre criticism have been published. Prof. Ankur, a recipient of the Tagore Fellowship, has served as director of the National School of Drama. He has been honoured with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for his special contribution to the field of theatre.
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