Shadow Correspondent
Jammu, Aug 11:
‘Ripped’ a play based on a poem ‘Sabse Khatarnak’ by one of the major revolutionary Punjabi poets, Avtar Singh Pash, popularly known by his pen name ‘Pash’, was staged here today at Natrang Studio Theatre under its popular Sunday Theatre Series. The play was presented by Natraj Natya Kunj Cultural Society, Jammu, scripted by Karan Mehra, designed by Aaditya Bharti and directed by Abhishek Bharti.
A humanitarian and resolute reformer ‘Pash’ was a poet of conscience who fought for the rights of the credulous masses, articulating their pain in his poetry. His poems centred on the oppression faced by the common masses mainly the farmers of Punjab. He freely expressed his strongly left wing views in his poetry and provided Punjabi literature new idioms. ‘Pash’ is counted among the world-famous and appreciated poets like Nazam Hikmet, Pablo Nairoda, Faiz Ahemad Faiz, Garcia Lorka, Maxism Gorki, Railf Faks, Christopher Kadvel, Astrovaski, Muktibhodh and Dhumil.
The play inspired from true events carries the varied moods like grief, nostalgia, dismay and revolt. As the play progressed actors were seen bringing alive the poet’s protest against anti-human forces, social evils, metaphysical dogmas and anti-human prejudices. The play mirrors the society wearing blinkers to avoid the reality. This play is based on the form ‘The Theatre of the Oppressed’ which was started in the west in 20th century by famous theatre practitioner Augusto Boal.
The unvarnished candidness of Pash’s poetry, his passion, isolation or whimsical enthusiasm about life and society were interwoven between various scenes by the scriptwriter, Karan. The play is full of beautifully designed images by Aaditya Bharti, remarkably adding to the beauty and meaning of the play.
The director of the play, Abhishek Bharti, delved deep into the profound depth of Pash’s poetry for its experimental and vivid dramatisation. The actors who with their powerful narrative skills and eloquent stage movements kept the audience spellbound and glued to their seats, include Tejan Bharti, Arun Bral, Manpreet Kaur, Chanda Pandey, Ritik Mahajan, Daksh Sagoch, Shivam Chib, Vaibhav Sagoch and Pratham Sharma. The lights were done by Aaditya Bharti & Shivam Singh where as the music was rendered by Abhishek Bharti. The show was coordinated by Mohd. Yaseen.
