Aarshinagar to stage Hermann Hesse’s play ‘Siddhartha’

Popular theatre troupe Aarshinagar is all set to stage one of their crowd-favourite plays, "Siddhartha". The play, which is the fourth production of the troupe, is adapted from German-Swiss writer and playwright Hermann Hesse's novel by the same name.

Zafar Alam translated the text of "Siddhartha" from German, and Reza Arif adapted and directed the play.

The troupe will showcase six shows of the play in five days between January 26 and January 30 at 7pm every day at the Experimental Theatre Hall of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy.

The play revolves around a young Brahman, Siddhartha's journey into self-discovery. Siddhartha, the protagonist of the play, leaves his home and belongings in pursuit of wisdom and new experiences. He, along with his friend Govinda, makes a journey to join the Samanas, a group of wandering ascetics, to search for the meaning of life and truth.

After three years of strict ascetic practice, self-denial, fasting and physical torture, Siddhartha leaves the Samanas after coming across the mystical wisdom of Buddha and his thoughts. However, initially pleased with Buddha, he does not accept Buddha's discipleship as he realises that Buddhism will not give him the answers he needs.

Siddhartha leaves Govinda and begins the search for the meaning of life again. In his new journey, he meets with a ferryman, and the play progresses toward an impactful ending.

"In the play, Siddhartha grows older, and he starts to realise that there is no single path to self-discovery, and no one formula to live a meaningful life. In the river, he finds that embracing one and rejecting the other never leads to enlightenment. I hope the audiences will love our efforts in deciphering the eternal truth of life," said the director of the play, Reza Arif.

"The appeal of Hermann Hesse's novel Siddhartha is universal. It is mainly a character-based production. Sometimes, it follows the narrative style focusing on the life experiences of Siddhartha," said Reza, adding, "We have brought the production to the stage without any changes."

Quazi Nawshaba Ahmed, Wahid Khan Songket, Partha Protim, Ishnain Ahmed Zim, Nazmul Sarkar Nihat, Maeen Hasan, Shahadat Noman, and Prince Siddiqui played different characters in the play, amongst others.

Jeenat Jahan Nisha and Nusrat Jahan Jisha designed the costumes, Anik Kumar designed the stage and lighting, and Nusrat Jahan Jisha and Akash Sarkar did the choreography for the play.  

Formed in 2012, Aarshinagar Dhaka has received acclaim from theatre lovers for its productions, including "Rahu Chandaler Har", "Se Rate Purnima Chhilo" and "Jakhan Surabhi".