Sarangthem Rajen’s adapted play “The Bear” staged

Imphal, Oct 12: Manipuri theatre has always been a tool for societal reformation. Human natures sometimes are out of control and the wrong that one committee is often failed to recognise by the committers. When the kind of happenings is shown in an aesthetic nature using the beauty of Manipur culture as well as the talents of the artists, sometime people are made realised to the kind of mistakes and provided a second time to correct their behaviour.
On the evening of October 9 this year, the proscenium theatre auditorium of Aryan Theatre, at Wahengbam Leikai Jiri Parking was packed with enthusiastic theatre lovers. Eminent Scholar and Sangeet Natak Akademi Awardee Lokendra Arambam and Dr. N Premchand, Director EMRC, Manipur University and also member of the Manipur State Kala Akademi were among the audience. The two prominent figure graced the inaugural function of the play as President and Chief Guest respectively.
 A Manipuri Adaptation play of Anton Chekhov’s “The Bear” was staged. The play was directed, designed and adapted as Manipuri Play by noted theatre director Sarangthem Rajen. The Play Originally is a jest from Anton Chekhov’s play “The Bear” and was translated by O. Mangi
The play depicted man’s inmate nature of suspicion and chauvinism towards women and women’s inner prejudice of man’s frailty and indecisiveness which pushed them even to the brink of a high tension conflict grounded firmly on their self-esteem and pride.
Five main characters rolls on the 55 minute play without making the audiences blinking their eyes. The adapted story begins with a male character, Somokanta coming to ask his money to a woman, whose deceased husband borrowed the money from him. The woman – Tamphasana instead of paying the money tried to divert it by telling him stories at which Somokanta refuse to buy it. Instead he insisted immediate payment. During the course of time Somokanta employed his own brand of insistence for the payoff by hurling humiliation tirades towards Tamphasana which pushed them to the brink of physical confrontation, scuffle and brawl. This finally turns on them with re-ignition of the supposedly dormant carnality in their persons.
The play is produced with the financial assistance of Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India, New Delhi.
Corrigendum: Imphal Times wrongly reported the play as a Production of Aryan Theatre in our yesterday’s issue. When further enquiry it has been learnt that the play is n individual production of Sarangthem Rajen .