What's in a Name!

Unnamed Play ( I forgot the name)
Genre – Light Comedy
Language - Hindi


This play would be remembered for the minor smirks that it brought on mine and her face. The story line is pretty simple. A patriarchal ( resembling Prithiviraj Kapoor )octogenarian recounts his youth during the British Raj. He had an elder brother who was of the real studious kind and was a firm believer in the premise that learning can only be imparted through a religious study of texts, scriptures and the epics. He himself, on the contrary was more gifted, hence could produce better examination results despite devoting majority of his time to “frivolous” activities like cricket, gulli danda and aimless wandering with local boys.

The elder brother’s characterization is that of a dim-witted but hard-working hardliner who does not change his belief despite his repeated failures. He is one of those who would burn the mid-night oil just to cram a page of text and forget it all in the morning owing to lack of proper sleep. The younger brother manages to catch up with and later on even get ahead of his not-so-gifted brother in number of years of education completed.

Moreover, quite practically, the play also depicts the urgency on the part of the elder brother to master the revered mystery called “English”, quite a contrast from the all-pervasive presence of English in the world of Upper and Middle class India today. Then, fluency in spoken English and authority in written comprehension were not qualifiers, but order winners, as far as bagging a job with the prestigious civil services was concerned. T

The entire essence of the play seems to be,” Bookish knowledge is not everything in life, education acquired by alternative means is as important and could prove decisive if coupled with the right attitude”.

Not really a must watch, but the light comedy would go down well if you can stand the long and winding sentences of the octogenarian( also the anchor of the story ) which sometime bore you because of their inaudibility.

Rating : 5/10