Bongaigaon: Drama ‘Anath’ strikes emotional chord at National Drama Festival

OUR CORRESPONDENT

BONGAIGAON: Highlighting the growing emotional distance between generations, the Assamese drama ‘Anath,’ written by Pankaj Sarma and directed by Samar Jyoti, deeply moved the audience on the second day of the Bongaigaon Drama Festival organized by All India Drama Competition Committee in memory of Late Biswajit Ghosh Dastidar.

The play sensitively portrayed the harsh reality faced by elderly people who are often left behind as the younger generation moves away in search of career growth and survival. In many families, old age is seen as a burden rather than a phase that needs love, affection, and constant support. The story revolves around three elderly men, once successful in life, who are abandoned by their families and ultimately take shelter in an old age home.

For nearly an hour, the drama kept the audience spellbound as the three men pretend to be happy in the beginning, masking their pain behind artificial smiles. Gradually, their true stories unfold, exposing how they were neglected and treated as useless by their own family members. The narrative takes a heartbreaking turn when the son of one elderly man, now a successful businessman with political ambitions, visits the old age home to donate money for political interests, only to realize that his own father is residing there.

The son, who had been living abroad for a long time, believed his father to be dead due to years of broken communication. The drama delivers a powerful final twist when it is revealed that the son was actually an orphan, lovingly raised by the same man he later abandoned. The play concludes by raising a profound question about the solution to the growing conflict between the older and younger generations in today’s society.

Staged by Nabajeuti Club, Bongaigaon, the drama featured compelling performances by Pankaj Sarma, Sankar Sarkar, Krishnanta Das, Umananda Pathak, Sanjib Adhikari, Preeti Tamuli, Daisy Saikia, Nabashan Kalita, Jathartha Pratim, and Tanmatra Tathagat. Their realistic and emotionally charged acting brought life to the stage and earned warm appreciation from the audience.

‘Anath’ emerged as one of the most impactful presentations of the festival, urging society to reflect on its moral responsibility towards the elderly.

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