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Barnaparichay : A theatre Review by Smita Chanda Roy

 


We are currently in the middle of a global pandemic and the world is reeling under its consequences. The internet has been our only source of entertainment for the last few months. Being an avid theatre lover, I have been missing the entire process of going to the theatre, excited to watch a play. Right now with a lot of time to spare, I started thinking about some of those performances which had given me immense happiness and satisfaction in the past. Needless to say, there were many. In this piece of writing, I have shared my thoughts on one such theatre-‘Barnaparichay’.


I remember reading a translation of Tagore’s work titled ‘Our Home Environment’, where he described in minute detail how life was during his formative years. He had explained in depth the atmosphere of his house, the artistic ambience, the enthusiasm among his siblings surrounding the evening jalsa which was a daily ritual and the intensity of love that his family members had for each other. His reminiscence had given me immense joy since I could relate with every emotion because my childhood was not much different. I felt as if a long lost sibling had paid me a surprise visit and in celebration of this union, we were reliving bygone days discussing sweet memories.
Debshankar Halder, through his performance in ‘Barnaparichay’ almost transported me back to those days.

I remember ‘The Kolkata Theatre Carnival’ kick started its fifth day on eighth of March 2017 in Sarat Sadan auditorium, Behala with the staging of the theatre ‘Barnaparichay’. ‘Barna’ in English translates to colour and ‘Parichay’ translates to acquaintance. In what better way could Bengalis have celebrated holi! Barnaparichay acquainted the audiences with the colours that dominate the life of each and every member of a traditional Bengali family. It could be your family; it could be mine. But the emotions ruling different generations of family members are quite the same. From your grandfather lamenting over his knee-pain to his grandchildren trying to hide their smouldering love affairs-some incidents remain constant throughout. The husband’s complaints about work pressure and the wife’s perpetual disgust over it are common occurrences in each and every household.

What was different in ‘Barnaparichay’ was the very approach towards these mundane happenings .What was refreshingly different was that the director Rajatendra Mukhopadhayay chose to narrate this ‘ghar ghar ki kahani’ like an ‘adda’ with the solo performance of Debshankar Halder. What was different was that our favourite actor portrayed the vibrance and vitality of each of the characters breaking the conventional monotony.
From the trademarked holi song ‘rang barse bhige chunarwali’ to the then latest craze ‘balam pichkari’, the background scores catered to the tastes of all age groups. What was missing indeed was a cup of strong coffee. The production team should have taken note. Jokes apart, the incredible performance of Mr. Halder and an entirely new approach to an overused idea had encouraged many to go to the theatre and watch ‘Barnaparichay’. The occasional changes in lighting to bring out the pathos in the emotional scenes and the colourful costume donned by Mr. Halder, matched the mood of the play perfectly. Trust me not once did i feel bored to hear the long monologues. Never once did i feel that the performance was monotonous.  If only you have a chance to ever catch up with this play anywhere, I can vouch for it that you will be enchanted and enthralled by its very format.

Contrary to the serious roles essayed by Debshankar Halder, this is a lighter one. But the body language, the voice modulations, the authentic expressions and the dexterity with which Mr. Halder emoted on stage proclaimed yet again his class as an actor.

Bio:-
I am an ex-student of Swati Ma’am. A writer by choice, teacher by profession and graphic designer by sheer luck, I try and give shape to complex emotions on paper. ‘Live and let live’ is my motto in life

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