Shrutisandhya An Evening to Remember
Joydip Sur
Sukalpa, a Calcutta based voice drama group recently hosted a series of audio plays at Abanindra Sabhagriha, located within the Nandan premises, known as the cultural hub of the City of Joy.
On Saturday, April 6, coinciding with the 93rd birth anniversary of the enigmatic actress Suchitra Sen and 34th memorial day of actor Shekhar Chatterjee, Sukalpa embraced the philosophy of ‘let’s walk together’ as they presented an enchanting evening of recitations, audio plays, and songs at Abanindra Sabhagriha. This special event was curated and hosted by husband-wife duo Rina Bhattacharyya and Shankha Bhattacharyya of Sukalpa.
Keeping the recent events like Basantutsav (March 24th & 25th), World Poetry Day (March 21st), and World Drama Day (March 27th) in mind, Sukalpa chose to organize a mini audio drama festival called Shrutisandhya in collaborations with other esteemed audio play groups such as Anusha Cultural Academy, Kathashruti, Rashikeshu and Shalpiyal.
The event kicked off with a humorous theatrical presentation of “Dambol,” a comedy play by Sanjib Chatterjee and audio scripted by Urmimala Basu. Bipasha Bhattacharya and Sushanu Goswami left a lasting impression with their performances in “Dambol,” while the music was skilfully handled by Aritro Bhattacharya.
Following this, Purbasha Datta showcased her musical prowess and recited poetry with finesse leaving the audience yearning for more.
The second presentation came from “Shalpiyal.” Led by Mauli Basu, the artistic group regularly presents theatrical performances across the city. Mauli Basu and Somnath Basu presented two delightful plays, “Toponbabu O Sei Indurta” and “Ki Mushkil,” captivating the audience with their performances. The music was well assisted by Pranab Dutta.
The third presentation of the evening was the play “Bhut Bhavishyat” by Anusha Cultural Academy, based on the script written by Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay and directed by Anjanta Chakraborty. Swagata Bhattacharya, Moumita Banerjee, Alokh Metia, and Rahul Raychowdhury performed in this remarkable play, with Swagata Bhattacharya leaving a lasting impression in her role as the mischievous ghost.
Next up were a recitation of original poems written by Aloke Dutt, Anjana Dutt, and Sunita Srivastava, which were well-received by the audience. Aloke Dutta, also known as today’s Dadathakur, curated and presented the Poetry in a collage format with his fellow performers.
The fifth presentation was the play “Teen Prithibir Galpo” by Katha Shruti, written by Dhananjay Ghosal and performed by Kalyani Biswas, Mrinal Bandyopadhyay, and Sudipta Choudhury. It was a psychological exploration of a dramatist and his group theatre, with commendable performances by the entire cast which won them loads of accolades.
The final presentation was another entertaining play called “SO CUTE,” written by Trina Mitra and performed by Smritimoy Ghosh, Chhanda Banerjee, and Pubali Ray. The play depicted the dire need for domestic help in today’s society and had the audiences in splits.
Distinguished personalities who attended the program and felicitated the performing groups included poet and playwright Chanchal Bhattacharya, doctor and literary figure Shankar Nath, and journalist Joydip Sur. The entire event was meticulously moderated by Rina Bhattacharya and Shankha Bhattacharya, the director-actor of Sukalpa.