Dhaka Drama Festival 2004
A glimpse of the colourful Dhakaiya Culture
On July 16, at the Experi-mental Theatre Stage, Theatre Art Unit stagedGolapjan, the most colourful play of the Dhaka Drama Festival 2004. The play hinges on the.tragic biography of aDhakaiyawoman Golapjan. SM Solaiman's playGolapjanpresents the change in the traditional lifestyle ofDhakaiyaswith the advancement of technology.
The global explosion of the technology has been hitting Dhaka from the middle of 1950s. The traditional carts have been replaced by rickshaws and then three wheelers; ghughni, bakharkhani by snacks and chocolate. As a result, the Dhakaia people are losing their trades as well as their typical lifestyle. However, once they were the original ancestors of the city dwellers.
In Golapjan, Solaiman has included some traditional Dhakaiya sports such as Hakrain (kite fighting), cart culture and others. For the dialogue of the play, he has successfully used typical Dhakaiya language (a blend of Bangla and Urdu).
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. SM Solaiman's approach to the play is unique. Through the nostalgia of Golapjan he has unfolded the story of the play. Solaiman has used many artistes on the stage to represent a community, but only one character Golapjan delivers dialogue. While remaining silent, the other artistes support her as her co-performers. Using popular Hindi film songs and choreography, he has effectively presented the emotion of the character. In this sense the play is a solo performance of Rokeya Rafiq Baby who performed as Golapjan.
Baby has performed in all the roles of the characters of the play like the child Golapjan, the teenage Golapjan, her husband, her son and even the aged Golapjan. Most of the times, her gesture and body movements suited well with the role she was performing. Her enthusiastic performance as Golapjan's son during the kite fight scene was really enjoyable.
Set designer, Kamaluddin Kabir has used a few replicas of a mosque and a house on the stage to create the atmosphere of the old Dhaka.
Thandu Raihan's colourful light design reflects the theme of the play well.
Thandu Raihan: Making a mark in light design
A regular member of Aranyak Natyadal, Thandu Raihan is a popular light designer. He designs for his own group and for the other groups as well. So far he has designed light for 350 stage plays. Thandu said, 'I joined Aranyak in 1982, and learned light designing under Jamil Ahmed, the well-known designer of the country. And later I learnt light designing from Indian designer Tapas Sen, known as the magician of light.'
'I design my light effects considering the directorial demand of the play. I usually use colour effects and light-shadow effects for my compositions. However, I prefer light-shadow effect to colour effect,' Thandu added.
He further said, 'Light designing is not an easy job. People do not understand much about the creative work. We usually try to focus on the emotion of the artistes through our compositions which require technical understanding. As a result, people do not show much interest to work as the designers in the theatrical groups. '
Thandu is enthusiastic about all his works. However, he thinks that his best designs are in the plays Jay Jayanti, Mayur Shinghashon, Shiddhidata, and Golapjan.
Ershad Kamol