Volume II,Issue IV, March 2026
Volume-II, Issue-IV, March, 2026 |
Received: 25.03.2026 | Accepted: 27.03.2026 | ||
Published Online: 31.03.2026 | Page No: | ||
DOI: 10.69655/atmadeep.vol.2.issue.04W. | |||
নারীহৃদয়ের জটিল সমীকরণ: বাদল সরকারের নাটক ড. পাপিয়া সামন্ত, অতিথি অধ্যাপক, বাংলা বিভাগ, মহাত্মা গান্ধী বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়, পূর্ব মেদিনীপুর, পশ্চিমবঙ্গ, ভারত |
The Complex Equation of the Female Mind: The Plays of Badal Sircar
Dr. Papiya Samanta, Guest Lecturer, Department of Bengali, Mahatma Gandhi University, Purba Medinipur, West Bengal, India | ||
ABSTRACT | ||
After the World War II, modern Bengali theatre began to move along a new path. It shifted from the confined stage of proscenium theatre to open-air, free stages under the influence of the people’s theatre movement and new theatrical forms. In this context, during the 1960s and 1970s, playwright Badal Sircar emerged on the Bengali stage, introducing an absurdist, existential theatrical trend. Using the purposelessness of life as his central theme, he created a number of significant plays that came to be known as absurd theatre. In the course of his dramatic career, Badal Sircar produced several notable and popular plays, where themes of frustration, exhaustion, conflict, sorrow, and alienation from life repeatedly surface. Alongside these, he vividly portrayed the intense conflicts within human life, especially the inner struggles of the female psyche. In particular, in plays like Jodi Aar Ekbar and Pagla Ghora, his depiction of the conflict-ridden female mind is truly remarkable. Although women may not always occupy the central role in these plays, almost all characters and events revolve around women. Through diverse emotional and psychological states, a series of vivid images emerge, giving form to the complex and often unknowable world of the female heart. In “Jodi Aar Ekbar”, the playwright primarily portrays the meaninglessness of life. Especially when the female mind is in a state of indecision, it becomes incapable of making the right choices. Enchanted by illusions, it wanders aimlessly, chasing mirages without direction. In reality, the female heart repeatedly ignores harsh realities and seeks refuge in the realm of imagination. However, even upon reaching that imagined world, it fails to find peace, becoming increasingly restless and suffocated, ultimately longing to return to its former life. On the other hand, in “Pagla Ghora”, the playwright presents a profound philosophy of life. He suggests that “perhaps only by witnessing death can one truly understand life,” and emphasizes that “it is never better to die than to live” and that “as long as one lives, everything remains possible.” Through this, the play presents the conflicts, despair, fatigue, and sorrow of the female psyche. At the center of the play is the dead body of a woman, around which revolve four other female identities. Each expresses their own pain, conflict, frustration, and suffering. These varied female forms appear as different manifestations of a single feminine essence in the lives of different men. Although the playwright presents life through the lens of death, he skillfully gives language to the unexpressed pain of the female heart. | ||
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