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On the occasion of its 22nd anniversary, Sarasa
Navarasa conducted a three-day festival of multilingual
plays.
 The
festival opened with a 25-year old Telugu playlet Manushu-lostunnaru
Jagratta written by Yendamuri Veerendranath and
presented by Sarasa Navarasa. Directed by Nagaraj
Rao, the play was suitably updated for modern times.
It depicted the travails of the helpless youth and showed
how situations provoke the animal in them. The grim
story was put across with lots of finesse.
Jaam Gaach (Jamun ka Ped) - (Bengali): A newly
formed theatre group Spandan, for their first
theatrical venture, chose Kishan Chand's Urdu story
Jamun ka Ped and staged its Bengali version.
While adapting the Urdu story, Director Dr P. Goswami
made imaginative use of songs and dances to symbolically
depict the snail-paced movement of files in government
offices. The playlet opened with an arresting scene
in which a man is trapped under a fallen Jamun tree.To
remove the tree from government land and save the man
involves an elaborate bureaucratic system. The satire
in the play was effectively brought out by its 18 characters.
 Parde
ke Peeche - (Hindi): Hearteningly, an all-ladies
play, this was a delightful skit on what happens just
before a group of women are about to stage a play. Directed
by Geeta Rao and staged by Sarasa Navarasa,
the cast was mostly made up of Telugu speaking artists.
It consisted of Pushpa, Aruna, Suneeta, Chitra, Vasudha,
Geeta Rao and child star Shravani. The gentle
humour, the bickerings and each woman's fancies kept
the viewers amused.
Mera Bharat Mahan - (Telugu): Directed by Holagundi
Rama Mohan and staged by Nishumbhita, this
Telugu play gripped the audience right from the beginning
when 'Gandhiji' walked from amongst them on to
the stage. A huge, well coordinated cast reflected social
and political concerns that are plaguing our day to
day lives.
Sabse Sasta Gosht - (Urdu): Presented by Koshish
Theatre Group from the old city, the play directed
by Holagundi Rama Mohan and enacted by children,
depicted how politicians and outsiders create rift and
enemity between peace loving people and how a situation
arises that makes human flesh (gosht) the cheapest.
Gardha-bhaandam - (Telugu): Written by Tanikela
Bharani, this play dealt with the machinations of
a corrupt and cunning  minister.
A satire and several humorous punch lines regaled the
viewers. A Nishumbhita presentation, the play
was directed by Holagundi Rama Mohan.
Saiyya bhaye Kotwal - (Hindi): Originally written
in Marathi by Vasant Sabnis, this play has already
received wide acclaim from all corners of the nation.
Directors Vinay Varma and G. Bharadwaj
staged the Hindi version on behalf of Sutradhar School
of Acting. Done in a folk style, the play farcically
depicted how a hawaldar, for the sake of Mainawati,
his lady love, tries hard to become the Kotwal of the
kingdom. Jennifer as Mainawati and Vinay Verma
as the ambitious hawaldar, with an excellent support
from the entire team made the play an enriching experience.
Deta ka Aadhar - (Marathi): A Rangadhara
presentation, this two-character humourous sattire was
written by Dasu Vaidya and directed by Bhaskar
Shewalkar. "Damodar Nagurkar" who arrives
in a town to participate in a Drama Competition suddenly
finds himself left in the lurch. However, he teams with
God Krishna and is determined that the show will somehow
go on. A twist at the end and the poser to the audience
made the play not only enjoyable but also meaningful.
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5:57:23 PM 
