TURA, Jan 22: One of Garo Hills’ long-standing play, Du.kon, is going to feature in this week’s Angana North East Theatre Festival at Guwahati.
The three-day theatre festival is taking place at Sri Sri Madhabdev International Auditorium Srimanta Sankardev Kalakshetra in Panjabari, Guwahati, and will showcase other plays that received accolades including Charandas Chor and black and white plays of Assam.
Garo Hills’ Du.kon is slated for play on Sunday at 5:30 in the evening.
Directed by Pabitra Rabha and produced by A’chik Theatre of Tura, the play showcases contemporary social environment between the past and the modern era of globalisation where love and bonding, something that was cherished in the past, has been replaced by hatred and today’s avarice.
The name of the drama Du.kon is based on a mystical plant believed to reside in the Garo Hills.
The Garos believe that anyone who steps on the plant would lose track of their senses and drift without aim and direction.
The play has received rave reviews in the past and was conceptualised, designed and directed by Rabha, who is an alumnus of New Delhi’s National School of Drama.
It is also co-directed by Balsrame A Sangma, a product of Sikkim’s School of Drama.
Scenes from the drama depict the changing scenario of the lives between the younger and older generation in the fast-paced life of today. It shows the younger generation to be affected the most in the complex environment of modern life, which for many is neither acceptable nor avoidable.
While the older people dream of the good times of yesteryear, the younger generation clamours for modernisation leading to a widening gap between the two generations, which at times result in conflict.