Viewer's Comment on Natya Mela - 2008

Name	Comments
Anju, Folsom	Another successful Natya mela!! Wonderful!Missed the first play. Rest everything was so good.
Sabornee, San Jose	Pradosh, you surprized me!!We met in the MBA class and you never revealed that you are a playwright and director. We used to tallk about music and also I know that you are a renowned Tabla player but I did not know at all about your theatrical side. I saw your name in the flyr and decided to watch your play. It was such a nice play. I am really moved by the story. So sweet yet so piercing. Your group delivered it very successfully.I wanted to meet you but someone said you are very busy. I left a message with the ushering lady, Patricia. If you did not receive that, let me tell you - CONGRATULATIONS!!
Asish Sadhukhan, Tracy	It seems it was 50th birthday of Sudipta Bhawmik yesterday. What could have been a better way of celebrating this special moment than staging such a stunning play in a Natya Mela? We are indeed fortunate to be the spectator of such great moment.I felt it was worth driving to Pleasanton from Tracy for this event. What an acting! I missed the first 15 minutes of "Meemangsa". Director Mr. Sarkar also deserves a huge pat on his back for his creation. I was spellbound! Yesterday was a D-day for all the drama lovers in the Bay Area. Wish many happy returns of this day.
Enamul Milon, Belmont	This is the first time I went to see Natya Mela. It was such a wonderful event in a very reasonable price.I am very to see Bangladesh community's active participation.Maar Kacche Sona was a cute production by our children. Other child drama was also good with lots sound and light effect. All the nice little kids tried their best. It is very entertaining to see how they are struggling to manage their costume, dialog and other tools. But if these kids understood a little of what they were telling, Natya Mela's mission would be successful. Abu Kamal's drama was in a last slot. His play started with a soft note but the long pause in between the scenes were disturbing. He tiouched on a very interesting and yet real issue that is true for not only Bangladeshis but all immigrants. Acting should have been little more forceful. Mimangsha and Taconic are also very good. Very dramatic. Very appealing. It was on the whole a very good event.
Jagat Bandhu Das, San Francisco	Hello, every year after coming back from the Natya Mela I decide to send few words just to appreciate the great effort that you have undertaken. This year it was a joint partnership and I thank both organizations to give us the opportunity to watch such wonderful plays. I am getting old. My health is very fragile now. But ever since Natya Mela has started, I have been driving 45 miles from North of San Francisco to Pleasanton to watch this event. I took couple of my close friends this time. I told every one of them that this is one event I know which runs on perfect schedule. You don't want to be late even by 5 minutes and take a chance. I very much appreciate this devotion for punctuality. Bangladesh children performed a small skit - their 'mukti juddho'. It is a very sentimental issue for Bangladesh. It keeps coming back in their art and creation. I only hope that these children will be able to get to their root. Lokkohoner Shoktishel made me younger by at least 30 years. I want to be like them. Is it possible for me now? May be not, but you little angels, you helped me shed off my fragility by your sheer vigor and acting prowess. I bless all the young kids from both plays. I was familiar with Pradosh Sarkar's production. He did not disappoint me. Rather it was yet another quality show that he delivered. His story always moves me. My hair has turned gray as of the 'Ostaad's in Mimangsa. I have seen a lot in life. Ostaad's heart wrenching dialog was more than a simple dialog. Those are the extracts of a real life. No less than philosophy if philosophy is nothing but the inner voice of a human being. Ostad, to me , was that inner voice whose only ammunition was the music. Sudipta Bhawmik is rather established in theatrical area. That's what many told me there. I built up lot of expectation from this play. And, I got more than I expected. I can not thank the committee enough to bring this production all the way from New Jersey. We were totally engrossed. I can not mention any single moment as great. It was so seamless. The dramatic turn at each moment was just like a hide and seek. At the end what you get is a pleasant surprise. American Dream brought us in front of another reality that we all are aware of but deny all the time. Kamal's story once again reminded the hard reality of an immigrant's life. He put a lot of effort in stage detailing. His actors did not support him most of the time and help build up the story to its proper height. Nevertheless, the story demands a place in every immigrant's life. It is rather a long feedback. You are free to edit it but I could not stop myself from conveying my appreciation for this great events and the people behind it. May god bless all of you. -JB Das, San Francisco.
Arshad Hossain,	After two years I went to Natya Mela again. Nothing changed except a play from New Jersey and joint hosting by Bangladesh community. Of course it was very good to observe that both communities are working together for a festival like this. My appreciation goes to the kids who delivered beautiful shows. They are lovely. It is slowly growing into a perfect venue for serious plays. There is no scarcity of 'adda' also. I noticed ladies are chatting outside on the grass if they are not interested in that particular play. The mood was very upbeat. Long live Natya Mela! Thanks, Arshad
Debarati Sen, Livermore	Bay Area-te eto sundar natyanushthan hochhe char bocchor dhore amar dharonai chhilo na. ami amr bachhake niye giyechhilam. jodio pouchhote ektu deri hoate bachhader duto natok-i miss korechhi. amar bachha tate jothesto hotash hoyechhe. kintu boroder natok dekhe amar modhye je hotashar bhab-ta toiri hochhilo ta kete jete deri hoy ni. New Jersey-r natok ekebare tan tan. Dipak ar Sarika ki bhison ujjol. Dipak bodh hoy sobaikei chhariye gechhen. Sarika-keo jothesto bhalo laglo. kintu Dipak-er pashe ektu onujjol hoye gelen ki? Ki jani! Nirdeshok bhabun se kotha. Monosij-ke khub maniyechhe choritre. Tobe songlapheen obosthay stage-e thakle tokhon ki kora uchit se byapare ar ektu monojogi hoar dorkar bodh hoy achhe. Amra jokhon natok shikhechilam Kolkata-i, tokhon esob diker jonyo alada kore monojog deoa hoto. jani na ekhon esob ar dorkar achhe ki na. Tobe byapar-ta boro kore dekhar moto kichhu noy setao bole rakhi. emon thas-bunot-er natok to kotodin dekhi ni. Golper ki othapora! Ki bandhuni! Golper gambheerje Mimangsa-i ba baad jay kothay? Meyetir choritro thikthak phute uthhechhe. kichhukkhoner jonyo mone hocchilo ami oi choritre mishe jachhi. Announccement hoyechhilo - somporker tanaporen-er natok. somporker tanaporen oboshyo chot korei ek onyo matra peye jay Guruji-r gobheer jibon bodh-er kotha theke. Sobcheye bhalo laglo, rocking chair-er proyoge. baba na thekeo achhen ei onusongo ante nirdeshok anlen chair-er duluni ebong stage-er baire theke shobdo prokkhepon! Besh bhalo. Ma ebong Guruji-r biswasjogyo obhinoy natok-ti ke ek bhalo jayga-te tule diyechhe. Chokher jol goriye jaoa thamano jay ni. bhabchhilam eta 'play' na 'verse'? khub lyrical mone holo. besh bhalo obhiggota hoyechhe dorshok hisebe sundar erokom projojona dekhe. Bangladesh community-r natok-ti golper jonyo bhalo. tobe obhinoy-e onek khamti theke gechhe. antorikotar obhab hoyto chhilo na. Natya Mela-r udyogta-der ojosro obhnondon janai sundar sob projojona dekhar sujog kore deoar jonyo. porer Natya Mela hoyto ar miss hobe na. Bhalo thakun sobai.. Debarati Sen, Livermore.
Pijush Dey, Sunnyvale	Thanks to the Natya Mela committee for including a team from other state. This definitely gives us a scope of watching quality play from other areas. Please do this always - every year.Tired of watching Bay Area actors and actresses:). Just kidding. Natya Mela rocks...
Tuli Shahnaz Chowdhuri, Palo Alto	Very excited to see that Bay Area has been hosting such a beautiful event for the four years. It is even more satisfying to see that Bangladesh community actively participatd in the festival. I think they were one of the hosts. I do not want to be a critique of the adult plays. Good effort. Kids were fascinating. They overwhelmed me. Maar Kachhe Shona and Lakhoner Saktisel - both. Keep it up all the cutie pies! Congratulations to their director as well for putting such an effort. A very nice Bangla Onushthan, close by hand. Thank you organizers!
Arup Chatterjee, San Jose	Hello, you the organizers definitely deserve a big applause for organizing the natya mela. fourth year was different from the past in that we could watch a very good out of state performance. You know, when I thought about it, it came to my mind that is this a mere coincidence that both Mimangsa and Taconic Parkway touched upon the deep father-daughter relation? Dipak's strong feeling for his daughter in Taconic and Imon's total love and respectful feelings for her departed father (Mimangsa) somehow took the center stage. Ofcourse, similarities between these two plays end just there. Both plays veered towards entirely different direction there after. While Taconic was loud and full of excitement, Mimangsa dropped us into a somber, lyrical mood. Both plays cast such a spell that was difficult to get rid of right after it was over. I had to leave after that. I did watch kid's shows. They have to keep it up. The organizers truly deserve appreciation for such an undertaking. Thank you, Arup, San Jose.
Sukanya Sarkar,	It was great to see some awesome plays in the Natyamela. The kids did a great job and both the plays (which I saw) by Prodosh Sarkar and Sudipto were fantastic. It was an evening for artistic endeavor well spent! However, I was amazed to see how the mistress of the ceremony kept changing her saree every now and then. It was funnily noticeable (which I am sure she had intended to). She was way too verbose and wasting audience's time. I wish she spoke less and stuck to her job to introduce programs before it started rather telling telling us stories. It was a bit irritating!
Preetha Nandi, San Jose	May be it is too late for a feedback on the Natya Mela. No doubt it was an enjoyable evening in all respect. It was rather a long day. It is really difficult to watch more than 3 plays in a day. That too such good plays. Pradosh Sarkar's Mimangsha and Sudipta Bhawmik's play - Taconic Parkway excelled in all departments - plot, music and acting. Abu Kamal's play was little weaker than these two but nonetheless his message was delivered. The dance sequence in between was distracting. Both of the kid's plays were fabulous! I definitely hope that Natya Mela will come back with such great performances year after year. It can even be made a 2 or 3 days festival like Durga Pujo. Then the days won't seem that long. Thanks, Preetha Nandi, San Jose.

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