THE PLAY “MAHAMANVI MATA JANAKI” STAGED, CAPIVATED THE AUDIENCE

THE PLAY “MAHAMANVI MATA JANAKI” STAGED, CAPIVATED THE AUDIENCE

27-NOV-ENG 3

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

PATNA---------------------------"Kala Jagran," Patna, a vibrant and well-known cultural organization in Bihar, with the support of the Department of Arts, Culture, and Youth, Government of Bihar, successfully and effectively staged the religious Hindi play "Mahamanvi Mata Janaki," written by Dr. Kishore Sinha and conceived and directed by Suman Kumar, at the local Premchand Rangshala. Music direction was by Saroj Das, and lighting was by Rajiv Kumar.

The play was inaugurated by lighting the lamp by the chief guest, renowned senior stage director and artist, cine artist and playwright N.N. Pandey, Kanhaiya Kumar, stage director Suman Kumar, playwright Dr. Kishore Sinha, and the organization's president, Madhuresh Narayan.

The play culminates with the public chanting, "Mahamanvi Mata Janaki ki Jai." "Victory to Sita, victory to Sita, victory to Sita, daughter of Janak, victory to..." The play's narrative is based on the events of Rama and Sita, based on the Valmiki Ramayana, in which Sita is glorified as an embodiment of gentleness, compassion, and patience.

The play's main feature is that in "Mahamanavi Mata Janaki," the character of Sita is portrayed as a great woman rather than a goddess, presenting a remarkable, noble, strong, courageous, cultured, inspiring, and exemplary personality.

After marrying King Janak's daughter, Prince Ram, the karmayogi, the supreme man, and possessing a captivating personality, Princess Sita, the queen of Ayodhya, could not enjoy even a single day of royal pleasures and, fulfilling the role of a companion of her husband, Rama, prepared to go into exile.

Not only this, during her exile, even the dark shadow of Ravana could not shake her body and mind, could not touch her. Yet, after returning to Ayodhya, she had to undergo the fiery test of chastity on the orders of her husband Ram, and she succeeded. But see the irony of fate, even after this she did not find peace. Marital happiness and royal happiness were not written in her destiny. Therefore, they both did not meet and, influenced by the people, Ram did not keep his wife... his life partner... his better half, Sita, with him and despite being pregnant, she was sent back to the forest by Lakshman and abandoned. Finally, tired of the repeated tests by her husband, Sita entrusts the two sons - Luv and Kush, born in Valmiki Ashram, to Ram and calls out to Mother Earth for shelter. Upon hearing his plea and request, Mother Earth bursts open, and Sita falls into his lap. The playwright's greatest strength is his successful attempt to prominently portray Sita's greatness, vigor, and devotion to duty. ... Sita is never defeated anywhere, ever. Despite being accused, Mother Sita is not even slightly harmed.

The play's second strength is that, through the play's narrator, the playwright has successfully connected Mother Sita's plight with the identity of women in today's context.

In the play, Ravana, disguised as a sage, was only dressed from the neck down. His entire face, including his crown, was visible, detracting from his sagely appearance. He should have appeared before Sita with the cloak covering his face in such a way that King Ravana's face was not visible.

The acting of almost all the actors was strong... but Mahima (Mata Janaki), Akhileshwar Prasad Singh (Valmiki), Nishant Singh Rajput (Ram) and Sutradhar Neeleshwar Mishra and Muskan Sharma captivated the audience with their acting.

Other actors were - Umesh Kumar (Hanuman), Preeti Kumari (Kaikeyi, Trijata), Ajit Gujjar (Viswamitra), Abhishek Kumar, Aman Kashyap (Prince), Saurabh Kumar Singh (Ravan), Prince Raj (Lakshman), Vishnu Dev Kumar (Janak/Agni Dev/Vibhushan), Dheeraj Kumar (Dashrath), Ranjan Thakur (Rajguru), Aditya Dev (Luv), Shaurya Pratap (Kush), dancers were - Aasma Kumari, Mansi Raj, Rachel Kumari, Sweety Kumari. The voice cast and vocals were Neeleshwar Mishra, Abhishek Pathak, Aparajita Chatterjee, Shubhavrat Chatterjee, Tashvik, Santosh Kumar, and Kanhaiya Prasad Nandlal Singh. Rajiv Kumar's lighting design was impressive and suited to the scene.

On this occasion, Professor of Physics at B.N. College, Patna University, former stage director, stage artist, cinema and stage artist, playwright Prof. (Dr.) Narendra Nath Pandey, former stage artist Kanhaiya Kumar, director Suman Kumar, Rohit Kumar, playwright Dr. Kishore Sinha, senior poet, litterateur, and journalist Dr. Bindeshwar Prasad Gupta, along with many other prominent professors, artists, and cultural figures from the city were present in the auditorium.

There is no doubt that the powerful acting of the actors, Suman Kumar's strong direction, and Saroj Das's melodious music elevate the play to its peak. ......The couplets of Ramcharitmanas fill the entire auditorium with Rama and Sita, due to which the entire presentation keeps the audience spellbound and mesmerized.

Hence, the 'Mahamanava' of 'Kala Jagran' It would not be an exaggeration to say that the staging of the play "Mata Janaki" was a success.