A seamless weave of chaos and complacency

PANAJI: Based on Girish Karnad’s Kannada original ‘Benda Kaalu On Toast’ (Boiled Beans on Toast), the play’s Marathi translation ‘Uney Purey Shahar Ek’, opened at Day Two of the Sadir theatre festival at Kala Academy.
After celebrated plays rich with Indian folklore, Karnad moves to writing yet another work of genius, a contemporary play that speaks of the nuances of a metro.In this fast-paced world, he questions mundane situations of day-to-day life and the incompleteness of people in society.
Following the plot, the Marathi adaptation ‘Uney Purey Shahar Ek’ explores the comprehensive city of Pune. The paradox, however, is that though the city keeps solidly growing, the characters feel hollow.
The playwright juxtaposes every individual soul to society and slaps the bitter question of existentialism on their face. The story, thus, brilliantly captures issues of the upper middle-class and exasperation of people living in the slums who dream of leading a better life in the city.
The play unfolds in an episodic manner yet the plot is non-linear. Nearly 20 characters of varying ages belonging to different strata of society are shown in 16 different locations with finesse. Together, they try to present an incompletely complete society; gradually leading the play to its denouement.
A mere shift of blinds and stage lights changes the setting from a swanky apartment to a rundown shanty. Subtle humour, tongue-in-cheek responses and even the minute-long silence between dialogues kept the audience constantly glued to their seats. A lot of attention has been paid to detail in terms of language; the Marathi dialect of characters differs from one another on the basis of the class and region they represent. The impeccable acting of the characters just add another cherry to the cake.
What the viewer takes home is that despite the chaos of the complicated lives of the city’s inhabitants; despite the different shades of grey, a rainbow somewhere keeps the metaphorical ship sailing.