17 Yerawada Open Prison inmates practise for week, put up play called Sangharsh dealing with circumstances that push man to crime
17 Yerawada Open Prison inmates practise for week, put up play called Sangharsh dealing with circumstances that push man to crime
Sangharsh, a play staged yesterday at the Bharat Natya Mandir, was the official entry from the Yerawada Open Jail for the Rajya Natya Spardha, a state-level drama competition. The actors were murder convicts.
The play is about the journey of a man who strays from his path and commits a crime; it reflected the life of the actors to a large extent.
The play reverberated with the message that a criminal is not born a criminal, but thst it is his environment or circumstances that make him a criminal.
"We are sending a message to society that in a fit of rage we tend to commit a crime, but for this mistake we have to suffer for our entire life," Tanaji Ogale said.
Dhanajay Ramchandra Joshi, who played the part of a prisoner named Vinod, expressed gratitude towards prison authorities.
"This initiative gave us an opportunity to showcase our talent," Joshi said. "I wish my brother and sister were here during my performance."
Santosh Bahu Humane got a chance to be a police constable.
"We all repent our act, and this opportunity is like a medal for us," Humane said.
Sauri Raj portrayed an underworld don.
"It was a unique experience and I thank the jail organisation for giving me this opportunity," Raj said.
Sharad Mapankar also missed his family.
"I am happy to perform, but I would have been elated if there was a pat on my back from my near and dear ones on this occasion," he said.
Balu Ramdas Kadam also thanked the jail authorities.
"The feeling of breathing in the open air is so nice. We all thank the jail authorities for having given us this opportunity to project our hidden our talent," Kadam said.
Open Jail Superintendent Ramesh Kamble said the play had been put together in a week. "Seventeen inmates and three employees of the Yerawada Prison Press participated in this play," Kamble said. "They got only seven days to prepare. The dialogues and the actors were selected considering their inclination for drama."
Writer-director Sanjay Jeevane said it was a challenge doing the play.
"I initiated the process a month-and-half ago. For the last seven days we were rehearsing. We practised in
the open air, but when rain and extreme sunny conditions played spoilsport, we moved our rehearsals to a godown after temporary reshuffling the stacked material," Jeevane said. "It was an enriching experience as the drama not only talks about the problems but comes up with a solution."
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