Into a Lifeless Stone
Review of 'The Hungry Stones'

Ningombam Rojibala *

A scene from the Manipuri play 'The Hungry Stones' directed by Heisnam Tomba at Meghdoot Hall 2 of Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi on 10th January 2016

On 10th January 2016, I had the opportunity to watch the play "The Hungry Stones" (a Manipuri adaptation of the Bengali short story Kshudito Pashan of Rabindranath Tagore) directed by Heisnam Tomba, performed at Meghdoot Hall 2 of Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi during Natya Samagama the festival of contemporary theatre practices, traditions and diverse cultural expressions of India.

The poignant performance of the play has been occupying my mind for quite some time now which has pushed me to write this piece almost after two weeks I saw the play. Lush stage settings, exotic lights and powerful music contribute to the sense of wonder and fantasy that characterises Bhadralok's night in the palace.

To be precise about the story of the play, it is about an Arabian slave girl who was sold to a king by Bhadralok - an eminent, well versed, intellectual person (played by Kalakshetra Manipur's actor S. Brojen), who in spite of all his wisdom and knowledge failed to see the pain of woman and loved to enjoy his temporal life with women entertaining him. He longs for those Arabian nights which he enjoyed with Arabian girls. At the castle he seems to be haunted by the soul of that girl whom he had once sold to a king. Her soul seems to be waiting for Bhadralok to come and rescue her from the king.

While this serves as the overt story, the play simultaneously engages intensely with the pain of woman which is represented symbolically through body gesture/movement which captured the audiences. Every instance of the play is imbued with full of meanings which made the audience to contemplate on, as well as to question the existing norms and values, culture and tradition of our society.

A scene from the Manipuri play 'The Hungry Stones' directed by Heisnam Tomba at Meghdoot Hall 2 of Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi on 10th January 2016

One worth mentioning instance of the play is – Bhadralok's asking to the girl statues to remain as statues while in daytime but to come out alive and amuse him at nights, is indicative of suppressive norms of male-centric society which deliberately restricts the voice of woman.

The crazy man Meher Ali, a mad resident of the palace, hollering with his enigmatic "tafat jao, tafat jao; sab jhut hai, sab jhut hai" (Keep away, keep away; all is false, all is false) which can be indicative of the delusion of the world in which man lives as well as the delusion of the soul of the slave girl that Bhadralok would come and rescue her. This again is indicative of the wishes and hope of woman in general that one day they would be free of the shackles of male-centric cultural and traditional norms and values of the society.

The sequence of Bhadralok's dream of riding horse which is symbolic of sexual encounter further symbolises the governing repressive structure of male-centric society. The rebellion of one of the girls can be seen as the realisation of her female being that the décor of meekness and submissiveness is no longer to be worn but fighting for her being would give meaning (soul) to her life.

A scene from the Manipuri play 'The Hungry Stones' directed by Heisnam Tomba at Meghdoot Hall 2 of Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi on 10th January 2016

The puking gesture made by the girls mixed with delight while serving man (Bhadralok) speaks tons of pain - pain of being oppressed, pain of being helpless but to perform the expected and defined roles of her, though she does not want the kind of life, the kind of identity set for her by the man (society) which is symbolically represented by the embellishment of those statues with fine thin cloth.

The complex intricacy of the play mixed with powerful symbolic body movement opens to different interpretations of the play which both enlightens as well as creates a great impact in the hearts and minds of the audience who were no more mere spectators but became a spec-actor in the course of the play since they connect with today's lived world.

Though the play is spatially set in Arabian society and temporally of past centuries, one immediately connects to our own society today. The most astounding acting was the body gesture/movement of Badshah, the Arabian king played by L. Sunil. Without any dialogue, he has successfully caught the imagination of audiences how terrible and cruel the Monarch, or for that matter any powerful Man would be.

In the conversation between Bhadralok and girl statues, using of no particular names but addressing as Man to Bhadralok and woman to statue girls is significant. Bhadralok represents Man in general while the girl statues represent woman – "Hey man, what do you want from us?" (the statue girl to Bhadralok). It is human exploiting human and there remains no justifiable action which could appease her tormented soul.

Her reply to Bhadralok when asked about her wish, that she wishes nothing but the blessing to turn into stone is heart wrenching. Spectral and mysterious as the atmosphere of the play is; the heavy sounds of the whip ostensibly lashing the statues now and again is a recurrent motif in the play reminding us of daily doses of atrocities committed against women. In a world where humanity is fast fading away into oblivion, transforming into a lifeless stone appears to be a blessing for women indeed.