Tasher Desh: Overview of the Production, Direction, and History

Tasher Desh

‘Kon Nutaneri Dak’ (Tasher Desh) is based on Rabindranath Tagore’s play Tasher Desh or the Kingdom of Cards. A social satire written in the early 20th century, it was dedicated by Tagore to freedom fighter Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. The play appears as a caricature of the caste-ridden stratified Hindu society based on the Brahmanical value system. The story follows a prince and his friend on a voyage to an exotic land bewildered by inflexible disciplines and unyielding dictums. The advent of the new prince brings change, breaking class and caste hierarchies and social segregation as the prince leads the way to dismantle the rigid order.

Director

Since 1998, Jonaki Sarkar has been an assistant to Dr. Manjusri Chaki Sircar in choreography at the Dancer’s Guild, with training in Navanritya, Bharatnatyam, and Kathak. After the demise of Dr. Manjusri Chaki Sircar and Ranjabati Sircar, Jonaki took over as Director of the Dancers’ Guild in 2000, leading the group in national and international festivals.

Director’s Note

Choreographed and conceptualized by Manjusri Chaki Sircar, the fantasy tale of Tagore’s Tasher Desh was reinterpreted as a text of feminist resistance against the patriarchal state. Manjusri dramatized collective protest as a revolt against caste-based hierarchy, using masks to define the hidden identities of people in Card-Land, with women taking the lead in rebelling against customs.

Writer

Rabindranath Tagore was a polymath and central figure in the Bengal Renaissance, and the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913 for Gitanjali. He composed the national anthems of India and Bangladesh.

Translator/Adaptor

William Radice studied English literature at Oxford and Bengali at SOAS University of London, publishing several volumes of translations and works related to Bengali literature and Rabindranath Tagore.

Group

Founded in 1983 by Dr. Manjusri Chaki Sircar, the Dancers’ Guild is an institution dedicated to promoting Indian dance globally through ‘Navanritya’ or new dance. The group has received recognition for productions exploring social oppression, ecological destruction, and images of women, and continues under the directorship of Jonaki Sarkar and guidance of Parbati Gupta.