Programme at India Gate Lawns, on May 13 and 14, 2023, by West Zone Cultural Centre (WZCC)
Two puppet plays will be presented –Kabuliwala and Swami Vivekanand.
Written and Directed by Dr. Laique Hussain
Presented by Bharatiya Lok Kala Mandal, Udaipur
Kabuliwala is a Bengali short story written by Rabindranath Tagore in 1892 – it is a tale of a heart-rending friendship between a 5-year-old Bengali girl Mini and an Afghan moneylender, Abdur Rahman or Rahamat. The story beautifully ties a bond of mutual affection and the unconventional relationship between the two. Rahamat is a fruit seller and money lender who visits Calcutta every year. The poor man leaves behind his family to earn a living in India. Profoundly homesick, he befriends the five-year-old girl, Mini, from a middle-class aristocratic family, who reminds him of his own beloved daughter back home in Afghanistan.
The main theme of this story is that humans, no matter what their nationality or background, are all the same, as symbolised by filial affection—the deep love that fathers have for their children. On one of his visits, he had a physical altercation with a person while collecting debts and was imprisoned. After several years, he was pardoned and was released from jail. He returned to meet Mini at her house on her wedding day, but she had grown up and did not recognize him. Her father, however, gave him some money so he could visit his own daughter.
Born as Narendranath Dutta on 12 January 1863, Swami Vivekananda is considered one of the chief saints of India. The prime disciple of 19th-century Indian mystic Ramakrishna Paramhansa, he reintroduced the Indian philosophies of Vedanta and Yoga to the Western world. Swami Vivekananda was intelligent since childhood. An avid reader of various subjects, including religion, history, social science, art, and literature, he also had a profound interest in Puranas, Vedas, and Upanishads. He travelled to the West introducing Indian heritage, culture, and philosophy to the West. Of his many lectures, the one in Chicago at the Parliament of the World's Religion is the most revered. Here, he gave a brief speech representing India and Hinduism. With his introductory speech, satrting "Sisters and brothers of America", Swami Vivekananda earned a 2-minute standing ovation from the crowd of seven thousand. Swami Vivekananda attained Mahasamadhi on July 4, 1902.
A curious child, he never accepted anything without adequate proof. Many incidents from his life, showing his intelligence and greatness will be depicted through the puppet play.