2nd October, 2018 was well spent by watching a play Rajgati at Shivaji Mandir , written & directed by Manjul Bhardwaj , Initiator & practitioner of Theatre of Relevance philosophy.
The play ” Rajgati ” very beautifully recreated the pre independence fighting for freedom struggle & post-independence happenings in chronological order to show the deteriorated state of affairs in AZAD India. During freedom struggle each and every Indian fought against the Goras & their only agenda was to free the country from the clutches of Britishers. The people …. Men, women, young boys & young girls of all religion/caste & strata fought equally to achieve the common goal. Then how cum today the country stands divided into man, woman, different religions, castes fighting against each other.
It is really sad that generation today cannot differentiate between Bhagat Singh, Gandhi ji & B.R. Ambedkar. It is then understood that they don’t know the who’s who of the country’s freedom fighters & what roles did they play in freedom struggle against Britishers. Who is Karl Marx? Why Understanding of his theory is important. Is Karl Marx relevant today? Is this the time to review the implementation of his theory to improve socio -economic situation of the country or world?
India was always an agricultural based country. So lot could have been done if right policies were introduced. Farmers are going hungry inspite of having their own farms. The play highlights the plight of farmers. How globalization is a conspiracy against Indian farmers, youth & development. Generations passed by without jobs. Literacy levels dropped & moral values eroded.
What is patriotism???? Is the most asked n confused question!!!
The women empowerment needs to be redefined now and after 72 years of being independence, women face the worst…. lack of opportunities, rapes, violence & still economically dependent.
Is this the India, we fought for, for so many years & suffered!
This 90 minutes play is very well written & directed, will help today’s generation to understand the political journey of 72 years of free India from time to time, changes & changing faces of the politicians & the politics.
The cast Ashwini Nandedkar, Sayali Pawaskar, Komal Khamkar,Yogini Chowk, Tushar,Swati Hrushikesh Patil, Prasad Khamkar,Priyanka Kamble & Sachin Gadekar were very energetic throughout the play and these young performers so good in memorizing the lines and delivering range of characters at ease were in sync with the director’s vision.
The format of the play is not stuck with rudiments of typical theatrics & enables it to perform anywhere.
I am sure Manjul Bhardwaj will take this political reformative play to the Young generation, student’s community & create awareness for rightful thinking about Politics to save the idea of India!!!
Audience Review by: -Sangita Kheora Thakur
