Violence or non-violence, enmity, or amity what can give the mortals the way of salvation? Though both the ways lay apart leaving the questions unanswered so far. Whether means justify the way or the way justifies the means? The answer remains elusive. Human beings from their very beginning have travelled long in both the ways with the same mission of human emancipation. The war begins and ends only for a while unless a new war unleashes. People shed blood, kill, and die, the passage of tears melt in the ocean vast. Here the war is the metaphor of a bigger struggle, that not only happens on the visible ground, but at the invisible level torment us also, where the defeated soldiers are the womenfolk dear to us. Their cries seldom reach our ears; their sacrifices remain unheard. They live in different names like Bimala, Nandini or Anu, the protagonist of this play. The play is set in the backdrop of early 70s Bengal. The land became the battlefield of two warring forces. The rebels with their weapons of revolution and the authority with the weapons of suppression, grew wild, the earth drenched with blood. And during this great chaos love with its blessings of peace and non violence comes in the guise of Nandini, who wants to accept all, and embrace both and waits to see when Ranjan will come out by breaking the shackles of Yaksha Puri.
Director
Sanjoy Banerjee Started his journey with Bohurupee theatre group in 1987. He started working under the leadership of renowned theatre personality, Sri Kumar Roy. An Engineer by profession, he has been active in Bohurupee productions like Kinu Kaharer Theatre, Nabanna, Sinduk, Muktadhara, Ek Din Ek Raat, Rajdarshan, Mr. Kakatua, Nishiddha Thikana, Dhritabanishi, Ayna Harin etc. In 2023 he along with Sri Krishna Kar directed the play Sakharam in Bengali based on Vijay Tendulkar’s original Marathi Play “Sakharam Binder”. His directed play Nandini Ebong premiered on 1st May’24 at Academy of Fine Arts and was well appreciated by the audience.
Director’s Note
In this present time the whole world is facing cruelty and intolerance making us inhuman. So, to make us empathetic and human again we need to address the issues which are against mankind. Taking a step forward to address this, to free the mankind and restore the beautiful world and make the society liveable for the next generation is at the core of Nandini Ebong.
Group
Bohurupee, the oldest surviving theatre group in India, with an uninterrupted creative journey since 1948, was founded by the legendary director and doyen of modern Indian theatre, Sri Sombhu Mitra. Bohurupee uniquely holds the distinction of nurturing three national and internationally felicitated artistes — Sombhu Mitra, Tripti Mitra, and Kumar Roy. With a repertory of nearly eighty major productions, comprising original works and adaptations, Bohurupee has played a decisive role in shaping the cultural identity of Bengal. The group is widely acknowledged as a pioneer in successfully staging the plays of Rabindranath Tagore, Rakta Karabi, Visarjan, Raja, Malini, and Muktadhara, thereby dispelling the long-held belief regarding these as read-only texts and not fit to stage. Bohurupee has also presented works of Sophocles, Ibsen, Chekhov, O’Neill, Brecht, Anouilh, Sartre, and the Sanskrit classic Mricchakatika, alongside plays by eminent Indian playwrights including Badal Sircar, Vijay Tendulkar, Manoj Mitra, and Girish Karnad. The group’s present repertoire includes plays like Phullaketur Pala, Chanch Bhanga Murti, Sakharam, and the latest production Nandini Ebong amongst many. In addition, Bohurupee Theatre Journal, the most prestigious Bengali theatre periodical, has long served as an authentic chronicle of contemporary Bengali and Indian theatre.