Pranjal K. Saika’s Play: Chengpung Border

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Playwright & Director: Pranjal K Saikia
Group: Team Indipity, Guwahati
Language: Assamese
Duration: 1 hr 30 mins

The Play
A retired teacher of Chengpung village of Assam and Nagaland border, Mr. Dharmeshwar Bora has a small happy family – his wife, a goat and a dog. Although Mr. Bora has had a dream to be a car owner since he was young, his dream became stronger with the provident fund money he received on retirement. On being a car owner, he realised that it is not easy to survive in a bordering village, due to car-lifters, militant’s etc. Day by day Mr. Bora became very possessive about his car, to the extent that the fear of losing his beloved car took away his sound sleep. The story takes a turn when Mr. Bora tries to save his car from such circumstances (Border miseries seem to have no end…..).

Director’s Note
Every border (national or state) has its own stories to tell. Living in a village of Assam and Nagaland border, I have experienced the border that has fear, relentless mountains and way-faring rivers. The border that has tasted blood, militant movements, illegal arms, cannabis (Ganja), banned pseudoephedrine tablets etc. The common and innocent people of bordering villages have endless miseries; their dreams are meant to be shot. This play deals with the struggle of their survival, aspirations, dreams and downfall.

The Director & Playwright
Pranjal K Saikia is a commerce graduate from Guwahati University and holds a diploma in Dramatic arts from the Himachal Cultural Research Forum, Mandi (Himachal Pradesh). Since then he has worked as an actor, theatre director, script writer and also theatre trainer in different parts of India including Delhi, Bhopal, Meghalaya, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura. Few of the important plays that he has acted in are Lower Depths, Andher Nagari Choupat Raja, Gaatha- the 1st text, Ashaad Ka Ek Din, Yatra Subha Houk etc. His major directorial works are Badal Sircar’s Ballavpur ke Rupkatha and self-written Bhumura, Status Complicated, Indipity, Bhou, Kiri Daloi (Jaintia Play) etc. Apart from these he has worked with different NGOs on different social issues in Madhya Pradesh, Assam and Tripura. One of his plays Indipity was selected for the 8th Theatre Olympics, 2018, and his Play Bhou was selected for the inauguration of 20th BRM, 2019 at Dibrugarh. Both of these plays were written & directed by him.

The Group
Established in 2012 at Guwahati, Assam Team Indipity is a group of young and energetic Theatre Artists. Team Indipity conceived with the idea of raising consciousness about social and psychological issues through meaningful theatre activities. Right from its inception the group also conducts theatre workshops, street play in all over north-east. The group is dedicated towards establishing new practices of art forms in the drama world and to articulate talents both physically and mentally. The group has performed in various theatre festivals including 20th Bharat Rang Mahotsav.

Cast & Credits
Dharmeshwar                               Bora Monuj Saikia
Sakuntala                                     Rimjhim Deka
Naga Militants                              Arup Jyoti Rabha, Gokul Mipun, Utpal Hazarika
Goat                                             Monalisha Rajbongshi
Dog                                              Suraj Das
Villagers/Body Movements          Abhijit Chutia, Abhijit Roy, Kulumoni Bharali, Rijumoni Deori                                                                      Jyotishman Kaushik, Sanjiv Das Rakesh Bora, Bhaskar Dutta, Rinku                                                           Bora, Bidyut Bikash Borah, Desh Adhikari, Nandini Das, Achurjya Bora

Light                                            Tapan Borua
Music                                          Mandeep Mahanta
Costume                                    Rijumoni Deori
Production Manager                   Achyut Saikia
Assistant Director                      Gokul Mipun and Bhaskar Dutta

Playwright & Director                 Pranjal K Saikia

Contacts
Director, Team Indipity
Ivy Enclave, Flat No – 404, Bye Lane No. 9
Dr Zakir Hussain Road, Sorumotoria
Down Town, Guwahati – 781006
Assam, P.O- Dispur
M: +91 8638846349, 8638002401
E: teamindipity@gmail.com

Manohar Khushalani

Manohar Khushalani

Prof. Manohar Khushalani is a former Visiting Faculty at Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology, Delhi. The courses he taught were: Animation & Graphics, Non-Linear Editing for Film and Radio and Theatre Appreciation.  He has won a total of nine Excellence in Teaching awards for all the courses he has taught at IIITD Earlier he retired from Government of India as Director Environment Management, Central Water Commission and held many senior positions in the Government Based on a Belief that Culture and Environment are the two keys to global sustainability , Manohar Khushalani has launched two portals: A Portal on Environment and Water called One Vorld at url: www.onevorld.org and two Ezines on Culture called Stage Buzz at url: www.stagebuzz.in He has taught extensively in varied subjects such as Dam Safety, Instrumentation, CAD, IT, Animation, Theatre, Newspaper Editing. He has conducted Courses on Environment Management, Water Shed Development, Team Building and Personality Development. He was an Expert Member of Prasar Bharti’s Committee for Grading & Short listing Films for Telecast on all channels of Doordarshan.  He is a Radio Anchor for All India Radio and has moderated several programs for the Rajdhani Channel He is a well-known Theatre Actor/Director and Critic, has been involved in theatre since 1977. He has worked as an actor in over 50 plays with almost every leading director/Actor in the Country including Badal Sircar, Feisal Alkazi, Amal Allana, M.K. Raina, Anuradha Kapoor, Maya Rao, Manohar Singh, Prasanna, Rati Bartholomew and Sushmita Mukherji. He has been active in the social sector as a street theatre activist. As a member of Workshop Theatre, Theatre Union and Prayog, Khushalani has participated in street plays taking up major social issues such as dowry, bride burning, Sati, banned medicinal drugs and communalism. Dario Fo’s Accidental Death of an Anarchist and Can’t Pay Won’t Pay, both directed by him, received rave notices from critics and audiences alike. Other plays directed by him include Badal Sircar’s, Sagina Mahato and Boris Vian’s Empire Builders for Ruchika Theatre Group. Khushalani has also acted in a few films such as Sudhir Mishra's Hazaron Khwaishen Aisi , Shoojit Sircar’s Madras Café and Pradeep Krishan's Annie Gives Those Ones. He is an Animator & Graphics Designer and has directed a number of documentaries. He also held a number of Honorary positions and was President of North India Films Association, He was the Chairman of  Jury for UGC CEC Educational Films Competition and has been on their Preview Committee since last many years. He was on the preview committee of Door Darshan Channel 3, was a visiting Professor at National School of Drama, New Delhi, and Film & Television Institute of India, Pune, AJKMCRR, Jamia Milia Islamia and Professor in Media at FICT, Delhi  He has judged a large number of Drama Competitions and conducted a number of Theatre / Management Games Workshops with Institutions such as AIIMS, NTPC, CWPRS, NWA, Karve Nari Prakshishan Sansthan, FICT, IIT, MAMC, Gargi College, KNC, Tagore International School and Vivekananda School. He is a Theatre Critic for IIC Diary, has also been a Columnist with Midday and Pioneer Daily and wrote Column's Called Culture Cocktail and Footlights Respectively. He was also the Guest Editor for an issue on Folk Theatre of ICCR Journal Horizons. He has written for Times of Indian, Hindustan Times, Blitz, Hard News, Hindu Business Line, Theatre India & Art Times. He has designed dams and hydraulic structures for the Government. He is a programmer and has developed Engineering design software in Fortran. He is a co-author of Irrigation Practice & Design (Vol 1 to5 - 1500 pages) published by Oxford & IBH and sponsored by National Book Trust. He has been a Director, Environment and Sociology, at the National Water Academy, Khadakwasla and Director, Environment Management Directorate, Central Water Commission and Member Secretary, National Environmental Monitoring Committee for River Valley Projects. He was also Director of Instrumentation Directorate in the Dam Safety Organisation. He was Chief General Manager and Head of Water Resources at Scott Wilson and is an accredited consultant with numerous other organizations He is a Delhi Public School, BITS Pilani, IIT Delhi and FTI Pune Alumini. He was also the President of BITS Pilani Alumni Association, Pune.

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