Behular Bhashan

A scene from the play

The artistes Tania Sultana, Nahida Sultana Swati and Farida Akhtar Lima, former students of the Department of Theatre and Music of Dhaka University, staged Behular Bhashan based on the six commandments of Padmapuran or Manoshamangal.

The narrator begins her tale of a traditional 600-year old rural myth of Manoshamangal with a modern connotation. After the devotional song, Akkhanbhashya (excerpt from the myth) depicts more than a mere ritual of goddess Manosha, which the rural bards present in their pala-gaan to demonstrate the conflict between religion and power. Narratives, written in verse form, portray the bitter experiences of a loyal wife, Behula, at the hands of society.

Behula's journey with the corpse of her husband Lakhindar, who died on their wedding night due to the conflict between her in-law Chand Sawdagar and goddess Monosha, on a boat has an inner meaning.

During the journey, Behula comes face to face with seven evil male-characters who symbolically represent the wicked instincts of masculinity, including lust, cruelty, hypocrisy, extravagance and pretension. And Lakhindar's resurrection represents his giving up of these evil instincts. The aim in the play is to show the union of two innocent human beings. Selected songs from Padmpuran Gaan and Padmar Nachan and other indigenous trends have been used in the play.

As the director of the play, Jamil Ahmed's approach is radically different from the traditional directors who basically follow either the European drama form or mixed art form. In Jamil's experienced hands, the decaying rural art form--Monosha Pala--has achieved a more polished and aesthetic shape. He has unfolded the play through a narrator. The narrator introduces every new experience that Behula undergoes in her journey.

The most interesting part of Jamil's indigenous art trend is the smooth transitions of different sequences. No 'blank space' was found during the transformation of narration to characters. The acoustics of Dohars (chorus) and Bayens (orchestra) and body movements of the artistes created a variety of sequences on the empty stage. Set designer Kamaluddin Kabir has made an aashon (a square shaped empty space) in the middle of the theatre hall and the audience sat at the four corners of the stage.

White general light wash has been used throughout the play.

As the story-teller in the play, Lima's high-pitched voice modulation was praise worthy. Tania as Behula fulfilled the demands of her character. Swati's representation of seven evil men--who symbolically represent the dark sides of men--was enjoyable. Swati's body language was perfect, particularly in the sequence where Behula faces the vulture.