Telling of a Story

Staged in Pune on Friday,the play

revolves around a Brahmin historian who decides to write about the life of Shivaji. “It was written in the context of the attacks on the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute in Pune in 2003,

by a mob of self-styled Maratha extremist youth squad,” says Sumant,who

is currently pursuing a scriptwriting course at Film and Television Institute

of India in Pune.

Reports say that the vandalising mob was reacting to the help provided by the institute’s staff to Western writer Dr James Laine,who discussed the telling and retelling of stories about Shivaji’s parentage and life in his book. The mob had also damaged thousands of manuscripts and attacked a Sanskrit scholar who had explained some Sanskrit references to Laine. The incident provoked widespread reaction and many writers were disheartened to continue their works in this field.

“The project germinated in Pune University when my friend Alok Rajwade won the Damu Kenkre scholarship,which is given to young and innovative directors. While looking for a new play,Alok came across Shivacharita,” says Sumant.

He says that Act II was added to capture the evolutionary process that the cast and crew went through while working on the plot.

The first act revolves around an erudite historian’s script being destroyed by extremists,who think his version of the story of Shivaji is biased because he is a Brahmin and Shivaji was a Maratha. Act II delves into introspection by the actors who come on stage as actors,thus creating an illusion of a play within a play.

Directed by Rajwde,the 100-minute play also encompasses several powadas and a rap number. Sumant,who is happy with the reception of the play,now informs ecstatically that Shivacharitra — Ani Ek has been selected for the Pratibimba Theatre Festival to be held in August at National Centre for Performing Arts in Mumbai.