Where the mind is without fear

Kaal is primarily Nimai8217;s life cycle. Labelled craven by his hunter8217;s clan for his non-violent ways, he is one who cannot hunt, who hates the sight of blood. But falling in love with Amori, who longs for a man to be male,8217; he gives in to barbarity. Almost. Hoshang, a wise ascetic, rescues him, telling him that the truly brave man does not destroy, but preserve. Not just that, Hoshang also converts the savage clan to his non-violent ideology. Nimai is no longer the object of ridicule. And the cycle of life brings in a new dawn.

But darkness creeps in as Amori falls in love with Hoshang, who does not reciprocate her feelings. When Nimai, flush with his love and new-found courage, tells Amori of his love, she rejects him and tells him about Hoshang. Nimai, unable to cope with this, turns in on his saviour, filling the clan with falsehoods of Hoshang8217;s vile and dissolute ways. Hoshang, taunted by Amori for his silence and unable to calm the anger in himself, faces Nimai in a duel.

But before Hoshang can take the third pace, Nimai cheats and shoots the arrow, but fails in his attempt. An enraged Hoshang promises revenge 8211; on his bidding 8211; and spares Nimai for the time being. Nimai, his conscience tearing at him, runs away. To emerge years later as another ascetic. The king, after much debate, anoints Nimai as the advisor. Only to see an embittered Hoshang march in and scoff at his choice. In the end, however, as the two face off in the ultimate duel, Hoshang rediscovers his inner voice and forgives Nimai.

Cast in a predominantly golden hue, the play has a competent set of performers backing its complex form. Nimai and Hoshang are quite brilliantly portrayed by the actors, who stretch not just their emotions and intellect but also their physical limits 8211; tumbling, falling, voices rising in tortured octaves8230; And then there8217;s Nimai8217;s conscience, that assumes a persona and is shrouded in black, alternately mocking and soothing him in deep rich tones.

Saurabh Shukla8217;s directorial effort, inspired by a short story by Anton Chekhov, is commendable. There are moments of introspection couched amidst raucous laughter, there is no hesitation in the performance and the robust music acts as a narrative almost, filling any blank left by entries and exits, drawing the play into a cohesive unit.

But the two-hour effort and quite an effort it was is somewhat undone by the mammothness of the endeavour itself, seeming to drag its feet in the first half. Amori is well-played later but the effort in the beginning seems too filmi. The slightly over-zealous humour in some parts, courtesy three old and lecherous men, did provide comic relief but appeared out of sorts with the structure.

But these slip-ups apart and notwithstanding the rather meagre audience, Kaal did make for compelling viewing. And maybe, just for two hours, time stopped at Tilak Smarak Mandir. Very nearly.