Jammu, Jan 28: Natrang presented a new Hindi play ‘Yamraaj Ka Nimantran’ here on Sunday at Natrang Studio Theatre in its weekly Sunday Theatre series under the direction of Neeraj Kant.
The play ‘Yamraaj Ka Nimantran’ is the story of an arrogant king who is used to hearing false praises and who feels that if he is not around, his subjects will become orphans, majority may go crazy and may commit sucide by jumping into the sea.
The play begins in the court of Raja Abhiman Singh where he wants to know from his minister what the people think about him. He asks the queen about herself and what kind of man she thinks the king is. He wants to know from Royal Pandit Gungani as what kind of king he is? All three shower praises him. On this King Abhiman Singh says that this means that he should rule the kingdom for another hundred years. With this the court is adjourned.
In the next scene, the king, who was sleeping at night, gets startled by the arrival of Yamdoot, sits up on the bed and asks Yamdoot who he is and why he has fallen into the clutches of death like this. When Yamdoot tells that he has come to take him to hell on the orders of Yamraaj, the king tells that he himself is Prajapal, Lokpal, Mahipal, Dandpal and Mahakaal on earth. Doesn’t Yamraaj know this? But Yamdoot starts carrying the king with a rope around his neck. The king shouts a lot but Yamdoot does not listen. In the end, Yamdoot and the king agree that if even three people love the king, then Yamdoot will leave him here and will return to Yamlok empty handed. Yamdoot asks the king to lie down and puts a white sheet on him and then the queen, the Minister and the royal Priest are called individually. But since these three praise the king falsely, none of them want that the king’s life should be spared and he should live longer anymore. The queen says that after the king’s death, her son will become the king and she will become the queen mother, hence the king must die. Minister and Pandit who are tired of giving false praises and are now satisfied that they will not have to tell any more lies.
After everyone leaves and after listening to their thoughts, the king finally requests Yamdoot to take him to Yamlok and the play ends. This is how the king comes out of his falsehood and is exposed to the real world. The play carries a very relevant social message and the artists were successful in portraying the same very effectively.
Natrang young artists who performed in the play included Sanket Bhagat, Vishal Sharma, Chaitanaya Shekhar, Vandana Thakur and Kushal Bhat. The lights and the music of the play were executed by Neeraj Kant whereas the show was coordinated by Mohd. Yaseen.
