Popular Hindi writer, playwright and actor Bhisham Sahni's stories have lived beyond his time and continue to resonate with the present times, according to veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah.
The 66-year-old actor was part of a theatre production titled "Bhishmotsav" featuring five of Sahni's plays staged here recently.
"I haven't read too many of Bhisham sahab's stories but these five are very relevant. I think the test of great writing is that it lives beyond its time. I have to admit that my knowledge of Indian literature is limited, but what he is talking about in these stories is very relevant," he said.
The production by Mumbai-based Kopal theatre directed by veteran theatre and film artist Seema Bhargava Pahwa, also features seasoned actors like Ratna Pathak Shah, Manoj Pahwa, Heeba Shah, Rakesh Chaturvedi, Vinay Sharma, Mayank Pahwa and Manukriti Pahwa.
The five enacted stories include "Oob", "Sir Ka Sadka", "Dholak", "Yaadein" and "Samadhi Bhai Ramsingh."
"The most important thing is that the stories are all of different moods. There are not many writers who have such varied styles with every narrative. If you see all these five stories, it is difficult to believe that a single person has written all of them," Ratna Pathak Shah said.
The selected stories comment on different aspects of society while driving home key messages, as they take on issues like superstition, education system, traditional rituals etc.
While one of the stories is a "nostalgic vignette" of two old women who are meeting after a long time, another is a satire on superstition; one is a character study of a typical Delhi Punjabi wedding, and another deals with relationships with an adulterous tyrannical person in a small town.
Among one of the fascinating tales is a story that will perhap stop being relevant, as Naseeruddin said, "only when children stop having examinations...When they can send their answers on mobile phones.
It is a stream of consciousness description of what is
going through an invigilator's mind while an examination is in progress.
"We have tried to bring in all the elements where we can make you laugh, cry and provoke you to think as well," Seema said.
The design team has chosen a contemporary approach where the performances include narrating the stories in the words of Sahni, a phenomenon that Naseeruddin said, "was new".
While three of them are majorly monologues, the other two include more than one characters.
"These stories have been presented in the form of stories and not plays. The narrative bits, which are the soul of the story, are depicted in the words of the writer instead of being translated into actions. We try to stimulate your imagination through the story," Nasseeruddin said.
According to Ratna, "What your imagination can do, can never be executed by us. You will travel places through your imagination. That is the special feature of these stories. That is why listening to a story is such fun and that is why all of us have been focussing on story telling so strongly."
The play which has been co-produced by Ishan Soni and Pranav Sachdeva, was first staged in Mumbai, in August 2015, to celebrate Sahni's 100th birth anniversary.
