Na-Moron which means ‘no death’ is a Bengali play that set some 150 years ago. With a folk-fairytale format, Na-Moron tells the story of a husband and wife who get the boon of immortality from the Lord of Death, Yamraj. This play is set to be staged on July 29
Na Moron is a play quiet unlike any other as the team tries to revive the traditional manner of staging a drama. What you can expect from this play is a grand musical with loads of colour, live music with various instruments like the tabla, drums, flute, harmonium etc and dance forms like Kalari Payattu. Explaining the concept, Amitava Baksy, the director says, “Every human wants to live for forever. But youthfulness is associated with longevity. We all have a natural cycle where we create, grow and die. When this cycle’s rhythm is interfered with, things become a mess.” This play tells the story of a family who is gifted with the blessing of immortality from Yamraj, but what follows is utter chaos. He adds, “Yamraj along with the blessing of immortality gives them a potion of youthfulness and love that they have to drink. While the wife drinks it, the husband forgets. The potion is drunk by a vagabond in the village who is also a family friend.” The themes discussed in the play, Amitava feels, is very releva
nt today. Through this play, they want to remind people that it’s not necessary to overdo things, as one is going to die and we need to accept this fact. The play has been staged many times in the city for the past four years. Amitava adds, “We have limited ourselves only to the city as it is a Bengali play, and we feel that Bengali theatre in the city is weak. Therefore, we try to limit it to the city.”
This play has three main characters the husband, wife and vagabond friend. Indrani Baksy plays Mukto an intelligent and strong woman who is barren. She adds, “Mukto is a level-headed woman with both immortality and youthfulness. Mukto falls in love with Gokul who is a family friend and has an extra-martial affair. She is torn between a husband who has immortality and Gokul who has only youthfulness.” How does Mukto prove her love for Gokul? Watch this play to find out. Gokul’s character is a drunkard, and Subhadip Paul who plays Gokul says, “He lives in the village that suffers from hunger, but lives in his own world. He is a very care-free guy who shares a good relationship with other people in the city. Gokul drinks the youth portion so his body is young but his age, increases rapidly. That’s where the dilemma and crisis lies. “This character proves that the blessing of longevity is actually a curse. Yamraj is one character that adds comic relief to this play. Souvik Bose adds, “Yamraj portrays the charac
ter of a politician. He controls the drama and provides comic relief to this heavy weight play.” Amitava avers that the play has been a huge hit with audiences, who are keen to watch it again. This 55 cast play is said to be their grandest show in original form.
The play will be staged at Kengal Hanumanthiah Kala Soudha on July 29.
