Playtime

Uttam Chand,chief administrative officer (construction),retired from Western Railway at the end of June. His colleagues staged Jago Re at the headquarters auditorium,with the performers ranging from peon to officer.

The play depicted a series of happenings around two passengers waiting for train on a platform. It was written and directed by Vikramjit Singh Sachdev,assistant engineer in the department.

“The incidents shown depict the hypocrisy in our society. The commuters become sole witnesses to a terrorist planting a bomb on a platform. Their first reaction is to run away but they eventually succeed in defusing the bomb and save the lives of many people,” Sachdev said.

He dedicated the play to Uttam Chand. It is his third,after Maharaas and EMI.

Dada Parsnaik directed the music for the play,with the songs sung by Kiran Sachdeva,Vikramjit Singh’s daughter and the winner of a national singing hunt contest on Doordarshan. The lighting was done by Bharat Mer.

The play had 18 actors,17 of them first-timers. Their ages ranged from 24 to 54. The director divided the play into nine scenes with nine small groups,enabling him to work individually with each actor. They rehearsed for 20 days before going on stage.

From section Ajay Kumar,Ajit Kumar and Pathan,to peons Parab and Praveen,and senior clerk Aparna,the team united as actors to express their affection for their retiring boss and their concern for the safety of commuters.

Shobha Chandnani,chief personnel officer for WR,organised the show. She belongs to a famous literary family and arranged everything from funds to costumes. “I liked the play and on top of that the enthusiasm of the artists inspired me to work here,” she said.

Kiran Choithani,office superintendent of electrical department,played a small role as a journalist and a major one as assistant director. “This was my first play. We decided not to call artists from cultural committees. As we are sentimentally attached with our head,we thought we would act ourselves,” said Choithani.

Sachdeva himself has a theatre background,having acted in plays such as Amina Bikti Hai’ for Prithvi Theatre. He loves writing and direction. He has done Andhere Ujale and Baj Gai Ghanti and is currently writing Bas Jara Sa.

“Chhoti chhoti batein bahut maine rakhti hain.” General manager R N Verma showed his appreciation for the function by giving an award of Rs 10,000 to the artists. “I was so very touched,” said Sachdeva.