Synopsis
‘Bandish’ literally means ‘that which binds’, that which brings separate things together. So this is a bonding, a composition. Bandish is about individuals. Five persons of different generations, sexes, professions, attitudes and ideals wrestle with each other continually with compassion. Somebody is depressed, somebody aspires, somebody is carnal, somebody cerebral, somebody understands. They get depressed and they desire, they are possessive and they give, they think and they feel…
This does not mean that it is not about society. These individuals do not live in an idyllic world or belong to an absurdist universe where communication is essentially impossible; nor are they a choiceless part of any neo-deterministic ‘post-modern condition’. Here, people express, understand and help; they communicate, collaborate and change. Their concerns and anxieties are due to themselves, but not only of their own making.
Transcending Time is what man continuously tries to do…The concept of time is at the crux of the play. Remembering, forgetting, nostalgia about & refusal of the past, curiosity & anxiety about the future, confronting the present, and being almost obsessed with ‘memory’.
It is an alapi elaborating the persona and puzzles of these five people followed by an intense taanchakra of thoughts and emotions filling up the space between individuals within not much time. The first half of the play is like an asthayi and the second is like an antara. Only that here the octave is of emotions, thoughts, rasas and relationships.
But the question remains that is the space so limited and the time so finite…?
About the Playwright
Dr. Rajeev Naik is an acclaimed scholar in the subject of Linguistics and respected personality in Indian Theatre. His creative works include short story collection, full length plays as well as one-act plays for Experimental and Commercial theatre. Since 1996, Dr. Rajeev Naik is a visiting Professor in Lalit Kala Kendra (Centre for Performing Arts) in Pune University where he teaches Theatre History and Aesthetics. His last play was hugely acclaimed ‘Sathecha Kay Karaycha?’ and his new play Bandish comes after a gap of 15 years.
