Bhand Duhai
Channel: ALG culture society
Date: 05/06/2020

The Play open with Magun Learning about the murder of folk-actress Shamima would act as gupali in the performances of his troups. Are the gun-totters targeting his art too ? Are they bent upon destroying its tradition ? The thought agitates  his mind so much that like possessed man he calls all his actors and jesters, his musicians and dancers to his hut, signaly to them one by one by beating his old drum which was gathering dust in a corner. He is the gardian of his artand he will keep it alive at any cost whatever the terrorists do, he resolves. The irony is that his only son, Nunda has joined their ranks and has left home in a huff after an argument with him on Shmima’s brutal killing, taking his guns with him. As his men arrive, he surprises them by asking them to perform a play just for the heck of it. The folk theatre has got to b kept alive. The dead silence that has been chocking them for four years now has got to be broken, he explains. They decide to play the story of Aknandun, the lone son. They will play it for their own sake; they will be their own audience. Surprisingly, bhandbi, Magun’s wife offeres to play the part of Gupali, Which Shamima used to play and plays it in a superb manner as a tribute to her. Kemmu uses the device of play within a play , or rather two plays within play as they paly the popular tale of “Ashok Gosony” later, to present the best plays in the Bhand repertoire as well as to link the tale of Aknandun with the real happenings in the world outside.

Just then the sound of cross-firing is heard from outside and magun’s wife suspectes that her son Nunda must have een killed, And as the performance of “Ashok Gosony” is heading towards its Climax, she re-enters with an actor Carrying Nunda’s dead body on his back. The mourning and wailing in the play mergers with the mourning in real life as show in the main play with magun’s wife asking him to bring Nunda back to life as he brings Aknandun back to life in the play.”It’s all theatrical illusion”, Magun says in reply,showing how helplessa mere mortal like him is,”the curtain’s deception, which has been always deluding us!” and tears the curtains into two. And just then the masked terrorists who have shoot dead Nunda barge in looking  for the weapons they had given him. They leave only when the actor who had carried Nunda’s dead body inside retrieves the two guns from the spot where he had fallen. In the meanwhile Magun entres into an argument with the leader of the terrorists and they shoot him down too. Now the bhands have two to mourn –two gaurdians of their art: “the present Magun  as well as the Magun to-be”,as Magun’s wife puts it. But just as the mourning bhands think that all is left, Magun’s wife, Bhandbai, becoming an embodiment of courage, consoles them, offering them protection and leadership both to face the challenge posed by terrorism.