TWO SHORT plays—- Shatrugandh and Apne Apne Dayre— both directed by noted theatre artiste Rajeev Varma were staged at Bharat Bhavan on Saturday.
Shatrugandh depicted the loneliness and feeling of dejection of an aged couple. Gopinath (Ashok Bulani) and Sandhya (RitaVarma) feel the pain associated with old age.
Their only son lives abroad and life becomes a burden for them. Gopinath even starts feeling guilty of having not taken care of his own father.
‘This could be the reason, why I am also suffering’, he reasons. The suicide by their neighbour aggravates their depressive mood and triggers them to take the suicidal plunge. Thankfully all this eventually turns out to be a dream. They wake up to ride on the road of life and are filled with fresh zest. The message—- there are many good things to do even while growing old. Accept ageing as a part of life..
The other play Apne Apne Dayre, a short comedy, unveils the problems of widening generation gap. It is about an old couple who look after their granddaughter. Their conservative outlook comes in the way of the granddaughter’s fast paced independent lifestyle.
When her male friend comes to meet her, ‘Dadi’ protests vociferously, ‘Why can’t it be a female friend?’ Finally ‘Dadi’ succumbs to the changed times and also befriends her granddaughter’s male friend. She looks at him as a good match for her granddaughter. To her dismay the man turns out to be married.
When her male friend comes to meet her, ‘Dadi’ protests vociferously, ‘Why can’t it be a female friend?’ Finally ‘Dadi’ succumbs to the changed times and also befriends her granddaughter’s male friend. She looks at him as a good match for her granddaughter. To her dismay the man turns out to be married.