Tarabaji Lai Lai (ताराबाजी लै लै)

मोर्टन क्रोग प्रसिद्ध नर्वेली निर्देशक तथा अभिनय शिक्षक हुनहुन्छ । उहाँ ओस्लोस्थित नाट्य विद्यालयसँग सम्बद्ध हुनुहुन्छ । आरोहण र नेशनल थिएटर, नर्वेबीचको रङ्गमञ्चीय साझेदारीअन्र्तगत उहाँ नेपाल आउनुभयो र गुरुकुलमा नेपाली कलाकारहरूलाई दुई हप्ते अभिनय /निर्देशनको प्रशिक्षण दिनुभयो । हामीले सोच्यौँ, एउटा नर्वेली निर्देशकले नेपाली कलाकारसँग नेपाली भाषामा नाटक गर्दा कस्तो होला ? यो नाटक त्यही सोचको परिणाम हो । हाम्रा निम्ति यो नाटक एउटा नयाँ अनुभव हो । यो कुनै लिखित आलेखमा तयार गरिएको नाटक होइन । सुरूका केही दिन उहाँले कलाकारहरूका निजी अनुभव र कथाहरू सुन्नुभयो । तिनै अनुभव र कथाहरू यस नाटकको आधारभूमि बन्यो । केटाकेटीबाट हुर्कने क्रममा हामीले भोगेका क्षण र वरिपरिका वस्तुहरू यस नाटकमा समातिएका छन् ।

यसलाई यसरी भन्दा पनि हुन्छ, हाम्रा कलाकारहरूले आफ्नो जीवनका क्षणहरू यस नाटकमा प्रस्तुत गरेका छन् तर फरक शैलीमा । केटाकेटीहरूले सरल र हुर्केकालाई अचम्म र डाहा लाग्ने क्षण र वस्तुहरूको यो नाटक केटाकेटीको आँखा लिएर हेर्यौ भने केही भोगेका र केही छुटेका क्षण र अनुभुतिहरूलाई समात्न सकिएला कि ।
– सुनील पोखरेल

The play opens with Sarita’s announcement that this is the first day of her school life. She is very excited to go to school. Sarita meets a number of friends like Bhola, Pashupati, Saugat, and Mani in the school. Aruna, one of the teachers in school, teaches them English alphabet. The small children play with each other. Sometimes they, however, fight each other.  Meanwhile, Sarita gets angry with her friends when her pencil does not write well. After getting back home, she threatens her father not to go to school any longer. The father somehow persuades her to pursue her study.

       Slowly, the children grow up. They start playing different kinds of games. They start developing interest in adult things. For example, Mahesh and Samunna try out smoking cigarettes. They do some mischievous deeds. They go to Bakhri Ba’s garden at night in order to steal oranges. They are sexually matured as well. So the girls start taking interest in boys and vice versa. In this process, Bhola falls in love with his friend Sarita. He can not express his feelings to Sarita as he is an introvert person. So Sarita is unaware of his   feelings towards her. Their friends take advantage of Bhola’s precarious situation. When they find that Bhola has written a love letter to Sarita, they promise poor Bhola to help him in his mission. Bhola hands over the letter to his friends, who do not deliver the letter to Sarita. Instead, they write a letter on their own and deliver it to innocent Bhola in order to make him a big fool. Bhjola’s joys know no bounds. Bhola is encouraged to write her further. He keeps on writing love letters and his friends keep on writing back to him. When Bhola is sure of the fact that Sarita, too, loves him, he expresses his feelings towards her. Sarita gets angry with him. She slaps him on his cheek in her anger. Now Bhola is shell shocked. He shows her the love letters she has written to him. But Sarita does not know anything about any love letters. Only then Bhola comes to learn that his friends are fooling with him. Then he, too, makes a plan to fool friends. Sarita supports him in this plan. They pretend as if they are true lovers. As a result, their friends think that their plan has miserably failed. Then get jealous of love between Bhopla and Sarita. When they feel that they have fallen in the very pit they have dug for Bhola, they start fighting each other. Finally, Bhola and Sarita disclose the truth. Their friends realize their mistake. Then the play comes to an end with Bakhri Ba’s reminiscences over the childhood and profoundly philosophical words about life.

मलाई गुरुकुल एउटा ‘केन्द्र’ हो जस्तो लाग्छ । यहाँ साँच्चै गतिला गतिविधिहरू हुन्छन् । फरक–फरक कलाकारहरू भेट्न सकिन्छ । गुरुकुल साँच्चैको एउटा साँस्कृतिक  थलो हो । कुनै पनि लडाइँमा ‘थुम्को’ महत्वपूर्ण हुन्छ । ‘थुम्को’ कब्जा गर्नेले लडाईँ जित्छ । ‘थुम्को’ (उचाइ) का अरू अर्थहरू पनि लाग्दछन् । यी प्रतिबद्ध रङ्गकर्मीहरूले काठमाडौँको एउटा ‘थुम्को’ भेटेका छन्, यो ‘थुम्को’ नेपालको साँस्कृतिक लडाइँमा औधी महत्वपूर्ण छ । यी रङ्गकर्मीहरू चुचरामाथि पुगिसकेका छन् । सोह्रजना कलाकार, एउटा काम गर्ने ठाउँ र छ हप्ता एउटा सर्जकका निम्ति यति भए पुग्छ । मैले खाली कागजबाट काम सुरु गरेँ । अभिनेताहरूका आफ्नै अनुभव र कथाहरुबाट काम शुरु गरियो । त्यही नै यस नाटकको आधारभूमि हो । यस नाटकको मञ्चमा बालबालिकाहरू छन् र दर्शकले पनि बालबालिका नै भएर हेर्नुपर्ने हुन्छ ।
यहाँ हामीले आफ्नै जीवनका कथा भन्दैछाैँ । त्यसैले केही कथाहरू विद्यालय जीवनका हुनु स्वभाविक हो । त्यो समय जीवनको महत्वपूर्ण समय हो । त्यसपछि हामी बच्चाबाट अलिक हुर्कन्छाैँ, रमाइला खेल छाडेर गम्भीर हुन थाल्छाैँ, स्वतन्त्रता छुट्न थाल्छ र हामी नियम कानुनबाट, अपेक्षाहरूबाट बाँधिन थाल्छाैँ । अनि मित्रता सुरु हुन्छ, जुन हामी बाँचुञ्जेल रहन सक्छ । त्यसपछि प्रेमका अङ्कुरहरु पलाउन थाल्छन् । हामी सबैले यी समयहरू भोगेर आएका हौँ । नर्वेबाट नेपाल धेरै टाढा छ । तर सपनाका कुरामा, आशाका कुरामा हामी उस्तै छौँ । हामी उस्तै सपना देख्छौँ र समान आशाका निम्ति लड्छौँ । गुरुकुलमा तपाइँलाई स्वागत छ । तपाईको समय राम्रोसँग बितोस् । म गुरुकलका अभिनेता कलाकारको कामबाट प्रभावित छु । नेपाल मेरो दोस्रो घर हो । र, म फेरि आउँछु । यो ‘थुम्को’ लाई जोगाइ राख्नुहोला ।
—मोर्टन क्रोग

Gurukul seems to be a centre for me. Genuine activities take place over here. Various kinds of artists can be met over here. Indeed, Gurukul is a cultural place. The summit tends to be important in any battle. The group, which captures the peak, wins the battle. The summit, the height, may stand for other things as well. These committed artists have found a summit of Kathmandu; this summit is very important with respect to the cultural battle of Nepal. These artists have already reached to the summit.

This much is enough for a creator: sixteen artists, a place to work and six weeks. I commenced my work with a blank paper. The work started with the actors’ own experiences and stories. That is the foundation of this play. In this play, there are children on the stage and the audience has got to watch from the perspective of a child. We are telling the story of our own life. So it is very natural that a few stories are from the school life. The school life is one of the significant phases our life. After this phase, we grow up from childhood; we start to be serious by avoiding funny games; freedom forsake us and we let ourselves be bound with rules, laws and expectations. Then friendship starts and it can last throughout life. Then buds of love start sprouting. We, all of us, have undergone all these phases.

Norway is very far away from Nepal. But we are similar as far as our dreams and hopes are concerned. We have similar dreams; we fight for similar hopes. Nepal is my second home. You are welcome to Gurukul. May have a nice moment at Gurukul! I am impressed by the work o f the actors of Gurukul. And, I will come again. Please, keep this summit safe!

- Morten Krogh