Natak Samagra 4 by Bratya Basu [Hardcover]

*"How long was the ‘final night’ of Creusa the Queen or Mir Jafar? Did a drop of remorse ever well up in their hearts? Entangled in this web of illusory thoughts, Ami, Anukulda ar Ora binds us in a shared Hridaypash (bond of hearts). Suddenly jolted from the past into the present, we feel that even if there’s no Love in the Time of Corona, someday Ekdin Aladdin (One Day Aladdin) will come, and with the touch of his magic lamp, Lakshmi will preside over our tiny world of trade. From the corridors of history to the inner realms of personal life, from the entanglements of politics to the reverberations of urban life, there is one playwright in modern Bengali theater whose pen ignites both resonance and explosion—Bratya Basu. For nearly three decades, his effortless journey from one subject to another, and from one deep feeling to another, has captivated us.

The profound impact of his plays, their surprising structures, and poignant dialogues continue to astonish us. Prior collections of his earlier plays have been published in three volumes. This is Bratya Basu’s fourth theatrical collection, comprising nine select plays from recent years. Arranged in chronological order, this volume includes the plays Banijye Boshotey Lakshmi, Hridaypash, Anusochana (Remorse), Ekdin Aladdin, Ami, Anukulda ar Ora, Mir Jafar, Antim Raat, Creusa the Queen, and Coronar Dingulite Prem (Love in the Time of Corona). Except for two, all of these plays have already seen successful stage productions.

Included in this volume are the three plays—Mir Jafar, Ekdin Aladdin, and Ami, Anukulda ar Ora—for which Bratya Basu received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2021. Just as in the previous three volumes, this fourth collection of nine plays promises readers a captivating reading experience, offering them the unique pleasure that Bratya Basu’s work consistently provides.*