Bhubaneswar: The ongoing Ajit Natya Mahotsav, being organised by Abhinaya Jagruti Institute of Theatre (AJIT), concluded Wednesday with the staging of Bengali play Atma Ghati at Rabindra Mandap here. The play, directed by Debesh Roy Chouwdhry, portrays the life of a forest guard posted in a remote corner of a large forest for 15 years. The story revolves round protagonist Ravi Majumdar who has been guarding the forest and protecting rail tracks in no man’s land. After working for 15 years in solitude, Ravi develops amnesia and forgets his home and family.
A television set is his only companion in the forest. He lived in an imaginary world. Suddenly, Ravi is alerted about a terrorist ambush to destroy the railway track near him. He swings into action with the warning about an anticipated attack by a suicide bomber and gets a girl arrested. But the suspect later confesses her plot to blow up the tracks ahead of the incoming Rajdhani Express train. Ravi recalls his past while interacting with the girl. Ultimately, when the commandos reach the outpost, they find Ravi had committed suicide. Speaking to Orissa POST, dramatist Debesh said,
“The guard represents a system which has been protecting the society oblivious of the need to safeguard the Mother Nature. The girl, in the guise of a suicide bomber, virtually is the outcome of the protagonist’s weird imagination.”