Aaguner Parashmani

Script, design & direction: Sudip Gupta

Aaguner Parasmani tries to present the fierce emotions of a freedom fighter in Rabindranath Tagore and how he fuelled the Indian independence movement with his works. Jorasanko Thakurbari was the place where Tagore grew up witnessing his elders take steps to promote Indian culture and things indigenous. Here, the Hindumela took place every year. The play begins with how imperialists came in India under the garb of carrying out business, but tried to suppress Indian culture and people.

Through his literary works, letters, etc, Tagore not only fearlessly spoke of British atrocities on common man, but also made the British fear of him!

A humorous note is struck in the play by showing how Tagore intimidated the British police so much that they put him on the list of suspected terrorists, spied on his whereabouts and were foolish enough to look for hidden messages in his drawings too. The play is woven with glimpses of Tagore’s journey from being an inspirational writer, to a protestor against the killings and tortures of nationalists in prisons when transported to Andaman Islands, to moments when nationalists embraced death sentence with Tagore’s words on their lips.

Tagore’s words accompanied freedom fighters of all kinds- be it believers in armed struggle or followers of non-violence movement. When the British created the Hindu-Muslim divide, Tagore started the Rakhi Bandhan, tying the knot of unity by coming on the streets of Bengal. The play bring alive this feeling as artists sing Banglar Mati Bangla Gaan and join the audience with Rakhis in hand.

Tagore rejected the honour of knighthood in the wake of the Jalianwala Bagh tragedy. Tagore’s revolutionary’s weapons against this tragedy and others were words and characters in books rather than guns on field. The play ends noting that India continues to draws inspiration from Tagore’s Jana Gana Mana Adhinayak Jaya Hey even today.

SCRIPT, DESIGN AND DIRECTION
SUDIP GUPTA