STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: ‘Piano Vaadak’ (Piano player), a new play in Hindi based on a Russian story of Anton Chekhov dramatised by Satyendra Sharat and directed by Neeraj Kant was staged here at Natrang Studio Theatre in its weekly Sunday Theatre Series.
The story of the play very beautifully depicted the situation and humiliation which the artists, who have not been successful in making name, glory and money, have to face. The callous materialistic society values the status of a person much more than his intellect, talent and ability. The play unfolds the condition of two genuine struggling artists (one writer and one musician) but it speaks about all those who are consistently trying to sustain their identity with lot of efforts but still could not muster the respectability and status which they deserve. The unreceptive circumstances force them to adjust in order to survive but this adjustment kills them from within and compels them to become clerks and subordinates rather than artists. The pianist is invited to perform in a very big party organised by a high status man for the high status gentry. He was belittled by one and all, not because he did not know his art well but because of his appearance which was too ordinary to be a part of that party. Some of the ladies approached him, showered fake praises and then embarrassed him at the same time with their true reflections about him. This insult shocks him deep as he was not expecting such uncalled for behaviour from those so called civilised people. He narrates the whole story to his writer friend in despair who is also in a miserable and pathetic condition as he is and they both console each other. The emotional quotient of the play was very well translated on stage by the young artists.
Those who performed in the play include Masood Qadir, Sachin Bamba, Ashwani Bali, Amit Raina, Namrata Chib, Juhi Singh, Kritika Singh Bhau and Deepshikha Sharma. The lights of the play were designed and executed by Neeraj Kant. The show was coordinated by Mohammad Yaseen while Sumeet Sharma did the presentations.