HYDERABAD: The 11th edition of Hyderabad Literary Festival (HLF) will, as usual, even though held virtually will have Youngistan Nukkad, a section containing the melange of plays, workshops, book discussions for youngsters. As part of this, a 25-minute long audio play titled Haar Jeet will be performed on January 23 at 1 pm on the YouTube channel of HLF.
The play is about two journalists, who through their conversation, explore their professional journey. The play is directed by city-based theatre artiste Devika Das. She shares, “It’s a reflection on life and the choices we make. One of the characters in the play gains prosperity and receives an international award. The other journalist teases her saying that now since she is famous she’s achieved a glamorous stage in her career. The storyline explores what can be the recipe for a successful professional life.
The roles are played by Vikas Mishra and Akansha.” It is written by Marathi playwright Dinkar Bedekar. The plot revolves around the struggle faced by a female journalist and the various accusations of misconduct that she faces climbing the ladder in her career. The theatre group Navarasa, which is the theatre wing of Nation’s Rock Beat, is producing this play which is sourced from Gadyakosh, an online collective that boasts the archives of contemporary and classic Hindi plays.
Adds Devika, “This play is purely an acoustic performance with no visuals to look at. It is all about the dialogues, music and sound effects which make it interesting. The best part of this form of drama is that there are just as many visuals as the number of people listening to the drama at that point in time. The year 2020 has been tough for all with online classes, digital submissions, WFH and online office meetings. This audio-only based drama reduces strain on the audience as they can just close their eyes and go into the state of imagination and thereby directing their own visuals.”
— Saima Afreen saima@newindianexpress @Sfreen