THEATRE “Rumi, Unveil The Sun” is Suhaila Kapur’s best work so far. ROMESH CHANDER
DIFFERENT A scene from the play “Rumi, Unveil the Sun”.
Some time back the Red Rose Society presented at the Habitat Centre in the Capital, Amrit Kent’s new play “Rumi, Unveil The Sun” directed by Suhaila Kapur. The presentation looked a bit raw, technically uncoordinated and under-rehearsed. But the play was repeated recently at the Hungry Heart Festival recently and one can say it is Suhaila Kapur’s best work so far.
The play projects the philosophy of love in a language that has a unique stamp of Indianess in its rhythm, choice of words, and construction of sentences. . Kent builds her play around same true incidents and encounters between Rumi and the wandering mystic, Shamsuddin Tabrizi in 13th Century Turkey, in Konya. Rumi was a respected religious scholar and a family man who inherited his father’s madrassa. Despite being a confidant of the ruler and loved by the people, he was not happy for he felt that there was more to religious life than intellectual knowledge and rituals.
Jalaluddin Rumi
As the lights fall on the stage it shows winter. The ground is covered with snow. Yusaf, the shopkeeper who is also the story teller in the play is opening his shop. He sells halwa, shorba and naan. He looks a little sad. We hear a loud cry and a man runs on to the stage; he is searching for some one. Six men follow him on stage and form a semi circle, whispering to each other. He goes up to each one of them and scrutinises each face but does not find the face he is looking for and he collapses sobbing. “Shamsi, Shamsi, Shamsi”. Yusaf steps towards him and then turns to the audience and asks, “Do you recognise him? He is Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi. Once, there was not a heart in Konya that did not beat for him... his madrasa was the finest centre of learning. I loved visiting the Madrasa – what does it matter if I never learnt to read? I just loved the smell of those books... But today the madrasa is as empty as a dead man’s shoes....”
Aroon Das as Rumi and Dhruv Jagasia in Yusaf’s role hold our interest. The play unwinds several incidents narrating Rumi and Shamsi relationships. In one of them, once, while Rumi is away Shamsi picks up a rare manuscript and throws it into a small water tank in the room. There is commotion all over. When Rumi is told that Shamsi had thrown the Asrar Nama in the tank, Rumi commands him but humbly: “Out! And don’t darken my door again”. Shamsi seems unconcerned, smiles, and pulls out the book from the tank and places it in Rumi’s hand. The book is completely dry. Rumi asks “What is this?” Shamsi repeats Rumi’s favourite words “Een cheese ast ke tu nami dani” (Not something that you would understand).
Interesting choreography
And as we came close to the end of act one, a dancer dances to a beautiful composition. Oroon Dass as Rumi and Danish Husain in Shamsuddin Tabbrizi’s role play with commendable control over their movement and gestures creating interesting choreographic patterns.
Act two opens in the Court of Vazir Nusratuddin. Every one is waiting for the scholars to arrive for a seminar. Risaluddin (Dhruv Jugasia), the Vazir’s courtier confides to his master what Rumi and Shams are propagating amongst the people in the name of God is in reality, a rebellion against him.
As Shamsi and Rumi arrive there is complete silence. Rumi sits where the others have left their shoes. “Your place is in the centre”, says Vazir, “The Centre is where the shoes are”, replies Rumi.
The scene is important but the presentation is a patchy and needs more rehearsals. The same is true of the next scene at Rumi’s home but Padma Damodaran as Rumi’s wife to an extent saves it.
As we reach towards the end the scene between Gohar and her son Sultan needs a second look by the playwright for it seems it is there just to fill the time. The playwright rounds up the play in Rumi’s madrasa with Chalpi writing Rumi’s masnavi-e-manavi, a compendium of human thoughts. Rumi is dictating to Chalpi: “I found treasure in the form of a maker of gold leaf, Zarkob. His gold hammer spoke to me. “Lift the darkness, it said, “Unveil the sun. For ShamsI is immortal. ShamsI is with me forever”.
Despite minor ups and downs “Rumi, Unveil the Sun” is one of the best plays in English that we have seen on the Delhi stage.
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