Epistolary love story a timekeeper of change

A series of five love letters were written by two soulmates, but were never posted or exchanged between them. Over a period of five years from 2005 to 2009, the missives were penned but never sent to their desired addresses.

Instead, they remained locked inside each other's hearts and consciousness. So they never reached their supposed destination.

But if one reads them out, one can easily understand the transformation that the city at the backdrop had underwent during this particular period, and can also see a lot of changes which appeared on its socio-political map.

In this case, the metropolis under the spotlight is Kolkata as the narrative takes place there with a slight shift to the capital Delhi in the end.

Recently, the production titled Baatil Chithi (discarded letters) was performed at Kolkata’s Padatik Little Theatre by a cast of talented duo for close to an hour.

Presented in an intimate format, the play was fed with crowdfunding and whispering campaign to spread the word around and stand on its own merit. Hosted by a group of performers who came together to coordinate for this specific project, they made it quite sure with a formal announcement after the play’s enactment that they were not bothered about ads or sponsors to pool resources and mount their stage-rendition. They felt their own concerted efforts, audience support and help from the theatrical hubs are enough to ensure their relevance and success.

Directed and scripted by Gulshanara, the cast comprised the very prominent face on the artscape — Sujoy Prosad Chatterjee, and Gulshanara herself.

Credits for production control and execution go to Aritra Naha, music and light by Samik, while photography courtesy by Swati Roy.

Creative design by Ekta Bhattacharjee and visualising too by Samik lend a different dimension to the play.

Costume was designed by Sonali Sen and the stage floor space was eye-arrestingly set by a young team comprising Arijit, Priya, Subhro, Srijita and Soumen.

The moment the viewers walked in to take their seats, they were welcomed with an array of articles and props strewn all around and meticulously positioned to mark the performance area.

Pebbles picked up by the female protagonist (unnamed in the script) from river banks or shallow waterbeds as mentioned in her letter written to her lover Tatan (the male protagonist), dry leaves, glossy pictorial magazine cuttings, newspaper bits, post cards, laptop, bench, sitting-blocks, kites stuck on electric wires, a ladder with a red saree half wrapped around and hanging — all these objects create a montage of sorts to build up the nature of relationship between the star-crossed lovers.

The play opens with a barrage of news headlines and conjures up a parallel track of the lovers’ struggles and their respective lives.

Each day, a letter is read and each day, the corresponding headlines come to the fore. Reference to forceful land acquisition, conflict between agriculture and industrialisation, a possible change of guard in the power corridors from Left Front to Trinamul Congress, the infamous Rizwanur Rahman case who was allegedly murdered in connivance with the state machinery, noted Indo-Pakistani author Saadat Hasan Manto’s literature exemplifying Thanda Gosht, all this and much more surface through monologues in the play where the lead characters speak to their lovers through letters in turns.

The actual listeners, however, are the silent spectators watching the play live in near proximity, blurring the line between proscenium theatre and the auditorium-gallery.

Some of the questions have though been left unattended as to what had impelled Tatan to commit suicide or why his lady love gets trapped in an abusive affair with another man called Amiyo who, by her own admission, frequently tortures her and is excessively possessive. But she could at the same time never forget her ex-flame.