Selim Al Deen’s ‘Chaka’ staged in Srimangal

On an autumnal evening, when everyone else was exhausted from the heat, a group of people worked relentlessly to set the stage where the work of one of the country's greatest playwright's work would come to life.

On Friday night, the play Chakha, written by Selim Al-Deen, was staged in Mohsin Auditorium in Srimangal Upazila town in Moulvibazar.

Directed by Jewel Kabir, the drama was staged by Prantik Theatre.

The play revolves around a cart carrying a dead body. The story begins when the carman and his accomplice deliver the corpse to the wrong address. Together, they set on a journey to take the lifeless corpse home.

The theme of the play revolves around how the state is imposing the responsibility of an unjust death on marginalized people.

The story goes on with the wheel, as the carman and the dom continues their search for the identity of the dead man. They search and they search, stumbling upon one wrong address to another, yet cannot find the dead man's home.

Eventually, the body starts to rot, inviting ants and mice. The stench from the corpse makes his presence even stronger. Yet, the carman and the dom are determined to protect this nameless cadaver, despite their own poor lifestyle.

They mourn for the corpse and the dead man's predicament.

In the end, it turns out all their hard work were in vain, as they are buried alongside the corpse without ever finding his address.

The actors of the play include- Nilkant Deb, Prasenjit Roy, Pulak Chakraborty, Anik Kumar Bhattacharji, Mrinal Kanti Deb, Aparajita Deb, Nilima Rani Deb and Jhumma Akhter, among others.

Shelly Sutradhar, Pranab Kumar Chowdhury, Partho Das, Malli Dutta, Badhan, Turja, Tridib were among the instrumentalists and musicians in Chaka.