Jonongondha Maya

The narrative of Jojongondha Maya unfolds in Lotiputi, a village much like any other in rural Bangladesh. Central to the lives of the villagers is the shrine of Kumirpir (the Crocodile Saint). In this play, the Saint’s spirituality is profoundly worldly; he speaks of the farmer’s right to sustenance and empowers them to claim their due. For the ‘crime’ of awakening the collective conscience, the Saint pays with his life. Yet, in death, he becomes an even sturdier pillar of courage. The latent revolution he left behind is carried forward by his disciples, igniting the hearts of the masses. Among them is Kurumoni, who leads a struggle to protect the land rights of all living beings surrounding the shrine, becoming the vessel for the Saint’s message. Unnamed revolutionaries like Kurumoni bridge the generations, their faces merging with the historical legacies of icons like Ila Mitra and Pritilata Waddedar, who fought from the front lines.

As generations pass, Kurumoni sends her son, Johor, to join the struggle as the times demand. Since that day, Kurumoni has remained a figure of eternal waiting—her face clouded by cataracts, her spirit weary with age. In her longing, she and the expectant community project Johor’s face onto Alfred Pahan, who arrives suddenly one morning at the banks of the Saint’s marsh, stirring the entire village. To the villagers—Kurumoni, Kajolbanu, and Dainsha Mia—Pahan arrives as a symbol of Johor, a manifestation of their hunger for rights and liberation. Yet, Pahan, Johor, and the symbolic buffaloes never return as victors. Kurumoni continues to carry the ‘thirst of illusion,’ yearning for one last glimpse of her lost son. While a human life has an end, waiting is eternal. Just as Kurumoni waits for Johpr, the people of this land wait for liberation—yet true freedom remains elusive. The songs of hope that rise at the end of every struggle ultimately herald dreams that remain just out of reach.

The play’s timeline weaves effortlessly between the Liberation War, the 2000s, and a period 120 years in the past, engaging them in a continuous dialogue. This is not a story of a specific era; it is a timeless tale of the ages. Jojongondha Maya is a tragic stage portrayal of the eternal conflict between the ‘tiger and the buffalo’—the oppressor and the oppressed—and the hope for change that has burned in the human heart for millennia.

Characters played: Kurumoni, Jinn Lotinoor, Lakshmirani