STAGE ADAPTATIONS OF TAGORE SHORT STORIES......a glimpse

STAGE ADAPTATIONS OF TAGORE SHORT STORIES......a glimpse

Though the theatre goers of Bengal have seen quite a few of Tagore’s short stories been adapted for stage productions in all these years, not many have been adapted on the 150^th year of the bard’s birth celebration.  Only a very few – 5 or 6 at the most – of the 100 short stories almost, that Tagore had written have been taken up by the theatre groups for stage presentations this year. There have been quite a few commendable productions earlier where a few others of the stories were adapted but the number had never been more than a dozen or so. However, in these earlier productions there was not much experimentation done and were almost faithful dramatisations of the stories. The presentations were not always of great standards but had the ardour of keeping to the original as far as possible.

 Lately, there has been a trend that tries to break away from the original structure of the story and, may be in the process, give the content of the story a different bend. Here, someone may ask, how devoted or loyal are they towards Tagore. Witnessing such productions one is sad to note that allegiance towards the writer in minimum. On the other hand, the productions which try to keep to the original as far as practicable with some minor modifications that are needed for stage are so aptly adapted that the viewers get the Tagore flavour. But this is, no doubt, a tough job and due to this reason, perhaps, not many Tagore short stories are found to be worked unaltered for stage presentations, if one compares it with respect to the number of novels that have been adapted. A significant characteristic of Tagore short stories is the paucity of words to convey the writer’s imaginations. The reader, on the other hand, can very well develop an imagery that is impossible to match any transcreation on stage. Apart from productions where the play has kept faithful to the story, there are productions where the basic structure of the story has been developed into a more elaborate drama. Then there are productions that drift into a different story with major alterations even to the perspective that acted as a background drop for the story. All these attempts are not always successful and, in some, have resulted in real disasters.

We would pick up five productions for our discussion which illustrate the different adaptations seen on the Calcutta stage this last year. First in line would be Sohan’s Manbhanjan, an adaptation of the story with the same name. The primary point that strikes the viewers is the diligence with which the group tried to present Tagore without any attempts of overstepping. It is a difficult job well done and requires a carefully crafted dramaturgy, done here by Ujwal Chatterjee that included necessary additions and alterations without tampering with the Tagore flavour. The director Anish Ghosh, with his imaginative improvisation and a commendable application of stage sense, has worked hard to maintain an honesty in spite of the limitations that is inherent in the group as in any other such groups. Nastaneer by Kalapi Natyamancha is on the other hand stands in bare contrast as dramatist-director Sekhar Samaddar could not get out of the grips of a work by Satyajit Ray which, no doubt, had a sweeping effect on the cultural thought process of post-1964 generations. This has immensely upset the stage adaptation of the story, so much so that, one is made to doubt whether it is but a stage adaptation of the film, Charulata excepting the end where Sekhar keeps to the story ending. The depictions of Amal, Bhupati and Charu are all affected by the screen portrayal of the characters. References of Dakghar’s Amal or of Kadambari Debi seemed completely out of place and only showed dearth of thoughts in play-writing.

It was interesting to watch two groups working out two different plays adapted from the same story. Muktir Upaye, a satire written by Tagore some 120 years ago has been adapted as Mukti! Mukti! by Sayak and as Robi Thakur o Puspamala by Kristi Sansad. This only demonstrates how Tagore has influenced the Bengali stage as neither staged the play as Tagore himself had adapted but have ventured to stage their individual versions of adaptations. Chandan Sen’s dramaturgy in Sayak’s production is worth emulating for those who works on transforming stories into plays, for here is an example of how the printed words can be given a definite shape on the stage, and that too not trying to transgress the imagery created by the story writer. Chandan has strived to uphold the true Tagore essence in building up the play which is not a true stage-copy of the story but a play based on the story by Tagore. He has taken the liberty to add to the storyline but these modifications have not extended beyond a limit and so Tagore is omnipresent throughout. He has brought in present day references through a surrealist character he has introduced in the play. This character which he calls Rasik is a prototype of a character that is found in many of Tagore’s works but in different names and also as in the same name in two of his dramas. This archetypical character is always seen as the central character manifesting the philosophy of the writer. Meghnad Bhattacharya’s directorial acumen needs little to be proved and in this production he has excelled both as an actor in the role of Rasik as well as in conducting a neatly orchestrated team on and off the stage. In Robi Thakur o Puspamala by Kristi Sansad one finds another adaptation of the same story. Sangramjit Sengupta has taken resource materials from Tagore’s different writings, letters, etc., and has developed a play that attracts the viewer’s attention because of its presentation. Puspamala is a character through whom the playwright unfolds the story on the stage. But in a few instances the basic nuances of the satire is missing or has been changed and that has resulted in the production not achieving the desired benchmark that it had promised initially.

   Another production that warranted attention is Ha-Ja-Ba-Ra-La’s Abagunthita. The play written by Chandan Sen has been developed on the short story, Tyag. The focus of the story had been the caste system that has spoilt the very fabric of the society. It shows how the caste variance can ruin a relationship and bring in enmity amongst people. This picture has not changed much even in the present times but Chandan has brought in another burning problem that is prevalent in our country – that of honour killing. Thus, a different drama is staged with the shadow of the Tagore story looming in the background. In order to give more credence to the problem the characters of the story have been presented in a coarser form with a few more characters added. The play ends in a far different way than that of the story. The playwright has taken this liberty as he has written a new play altogether and did not dramatise the story.