The actors are gearing up to showcase their histrionics in a play, 'Endharor Majot Jonak' or 'A Full Moon Beam in Darkness', which will be staged on Thursday. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/guwahati/Blind-actors-to-take-the-stage-by-storm/articleshow/48149119.cms Lending support to their rendition will be a group of visually-impaired musicians.
Directed by Manab Singha, a Goalpara-based drama teacher who is part of a group, Physical Challenge Organization (PCO), the play is an attempt to show the suffering of, and the challenges faced by, the visually-impaired. It aims to make a strong statement against social evils like rape, witchcraft and ostracism and hopes to present the helplessness of people in the face of natural disasters. Carrying the play on their shoulders are three men and five women. Except the protagonist, who is blind, the other characters in the play are 'normal'. The plot revolves around the plight of Nabanita, a poor blind village girl who is raped, ostracized and branded the daughter of a witch. "I was thinking of writing a story about the blind and their daily struggles. Later, I decided to touch upon other issues that plague our society. I got in touch with the actors and told them I wanted to involve them in my play," said Singha. To lend his story a more authentic and traditional feel, Singha roped in four visually-impaired musicians to compose the background score. The team worked under tremendous financial constraint. It ran from pillar to post in search of a place to rehearse. To rent a hall was not viable for the troupe. Finally, however, the Guwahati Blind School gave them a place to practise their lines. Working with people with a physical disability was no cakewalk for Singha. Actors who cannot see need to be directed scientifically and staging, placing, measuring and performance timing have to be synchronized to perfection. Besides, the director had to be extremely sensitive to ensure that the actors did not feel out of place. This was the biggest challenge for Singha. "The eight actors had to be convinced a lot to be part of my team. It is their first performance and I respect their artistic temperament," Singha explained. -- Avinash Shahi Doctoral student at Centre for Law and Governance JNU Register at the dedicated AccessIndia list for discussing accessibility of mobile phones / Tabs on: http://mail.accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/mobile.accessindia_accessindia.org.in Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ To unsubscribe send a message to [email protected] with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in Disclaimer: 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails sent through this mailing list..
