In a First, Rabindranath Tagore's Play 'Raja' Performed in Assamese

Guwahati: Rabindranath Tagore's classic 'Raja' was performed in the Assamese language for the first time ever at the 4th Bharat Mani Naat Samaroh organized by Sankskar Bharti Poorvottar.

This masterpiece of Tagore is a globally acclaimed play. It was directed by Himangshu Sharma, a young social worker and a cultural activist. Besides English, this play has been translated into various other languages all over the world. 

Rabindranath Tagore was the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. He was a Bengali poet, lyricist, philosopher, social reformer and painter. His globally acclaimed masterpiece 'Raja' is loosely borrowed from the Buddhist story of King Kush. It is considered to be a 'symbolic' as well as a 'mystical' play, with the theme revolving around the secret dealings made with God with a human heart.

Young director Himangshu Sharma said that the play was adapted in Assamese by Prabhat Goswami, who recreated the original drama of three hours to just one hour and ten minutes using minimum characters without however altering the main theme of the play, which was not an easy task. 

He credited the actors for their splendid performance which resulted in the success of the play. He first mentioned the name of Snigdha Mahanta who played the Queen's character in the play. He also mentioned the name of Gargi Dutta, who played the role of Dasi and heaped praises for her commendable acting prowess. The name of Ratul Bhuyan, who played the role of Kanchi Raja, was also mentioned by director Sharma. 

Director Sharma mentioned that the most important character of the play was Koka-Deuta. "The character that was considered the backbone of the play was played by renounced and senior artist Jayanta Bhagwati. The makeup, dressing and ambience were beautifully controlled and coordinated for the best experience of the audience," he said. 

Directer Himangshu Sharma belongs to Hajo. He is a cultural activist and a social worker besides being an actor, director, academician and organizer. He has completed his masters in drama and is currently involved in research work in it. He is a recipient of the prestigious junior fellowship award from of Ministry of Culture, Government of India.  

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