Dr. Amartya Mukhopadhyay Directs Centenary Production of Rabindranath Tagore’s Natir Puja

Natir Puja is a dramatic adaptation of Rabindranath Tagore’s epic poem Pujarini, which draws inspiration from a Buddhist legend found in the Pali text Avadhan Shatak. The story follows Srimati, a royal dancer and devout Buddhist in the royal household who defies a royal decree forbidding unauthorized worship. She continues her devotion to the Buddha, places her offerings at the palace's Buddhist stupa, and is subsequently intercepted and killed by royal guards. Her act of devotion ultimately transcends death.

Rabindranath Tagore wrote the play, bringing revolutionary changes to Indian theatre by introducing symbolic plays, integrating music as a narrative tool, and replacing literal scenery with suggestive backdrops. As a director, he pioneered the Nritya-natya (dance-drama) genre and broke early 20th-century social taboos by encouraging women from respectable families to perform on stage at Santiniketan.

Dr. Amartya Mukhopadhyay, Assistant Professor of Drama at Sangit Bhavana, Visva-Bharati, and a specialist in Tagorean performance, is directing the centenary production of Natir Puja. Marking 100 years since its 1926 debut, Dr. Mukhopadhyay is staging the play at its exact original location.

According to the director's note, the play serves as a meditation on prayer, peace, and purity, carrying a musical melancholy and quiet pain that leads to inner fulfilment. The production's cast consists of undergraduate and postgraduate performing arts students from Sangit Bhavana, Visva-Bharati.