A musical twist to an old classic

The NSD Repertory Company presented a musical play Bayen by Usha Ganguly, Calcutta. The music in the play was evocative of tribal life and customs. With some of the lyrics composed by Usha along with some others composed on sets by music director Kajal Ghosh, the play was enacted on very effective sets designed by Sanchayan Ghosh.

The play is an expression of Mahashweta Devi’s thinking about the socio-economic disparities in Indian society. In her writings — short stories, novels and essays — she wrote about those living in the lower stratas of society like doms living in the darkness of crematoriums, the bagdis, dusaadhs, the manjhis living on the banks of a river and Santhals living in thick forests, deprived of the most basic human rights.

Designed to allow multiple acting spaces, the sets were very dramatic and also separated the jungle from the village. In Bayen, Chandidasi, who at a very young age is thrown into the work of burying dead children, is accused by the villagers of eating the children.

In her job, she was only invoking the responsibility towards the work of her ancestors. Chandidasi was played very convincingly by Bornali Borah. In a moment of weakness, she gives in and marries to a villager, Malinder, who works in a government crematorium. Their love story is very well-played. Despite love, Malinder decides to side with the villagers and also declares her a bayen. She gives birth to a boy, Bhagirath, a very sharp boy who interrogates everything that happens in their life.

He goes with a sari to meet his mother whom he really loves. She has been living on the riverside and continuing her profession after she was declared a bayen by the villagers. Despite pleading her to return to the house, she goes back into the river where you can hear her splashing for a little while followed by silence. This silence can be interpreted in two way — either she dies or she agrees to return to her family because of the very convincing arguments put forth by her son.

Thus, whether Bhagirath emerges as the carrier of change in the young generation and is able to ignite the spark of self-respect and dignity, or whether it’s Chandidasi’s determination to end her life in sleep is debatable because before Bhagirath’s entry, there is a group of women who come and sing this lullaby to her that is about finding peace in sleep.

This was a well done play and the group scenes were very effective. There were some interesting touches in the production like the first scene between Malwinder and Chandidasi, and the carrying of their baby on a thin blanket by all the village women, who sing a lullaby to him.