Damer Madar: Explanation and Review

The drama – Damer Madar – roughly translated as “Breath Bender” is a Realistic Musical Drama which is heavily dependent on various instances of Symbolism and Surrealism. The drama is co-written by Sadhana Ahmed and Irin Pervin Lopa and directed by the latter. The drama was staged in Mohila Shomiti on Baily Road starring Shishir Rahman, Parvin Paru, Shuvashish Dutta Tonmoy and so on. The stage and lighting were designed and choreographed respectively by Junayed Yusuf.

Subject

The story is focused mainly on the internal conflicts of the main characters all the while representing an ancient art form on the verge of extinction, that is, the Fire Dance of Madar. The main characters include Jarina, who was an embodiment of the legendary Madar herself, her young granddaughter – Nur, who is supposed to take Jarina’s place and her unintentional love interest, the lead vocalist – Harun. Another additional important figure is Choudhurir Beta who is shown to be the villain figure, however, he is not the real antagonist.

The main conflicts portrayed in the play were sense of morality and responsibility that grows from religious orientation as well as the interpretation of various religious matters. At one hand, we have the cult of Madar, who praises the Lord through singing and dancing and sees the light of God within the mortals. On the other hand, we have Choudhurir Beta, who follows religious scriptures accordingly but has a pure one-dimensional evil mind. None is given more priority or righteousness over the other. The playwright does imply only one medium to be the best. The play masterfully shows both the right and wrong outcomes of both methods.

Now, who is Madar? Apparently, Madar is a legendary magical figure whose roots come from various Islamic mythology. It is said that the Lord Almighty himself granted her tremendous supernatural powers through the symbolic Light or Noor. She possesses the power to control one’s Breath. It is said in the drama that – life prevails as long as one can Breath. Hence, this powerful woman is called Damer Madar, meaning, Breath Bender. It is also implied in the play that this special Light is transferred to another woman and she, then, acts as the Wayfarer for the occultists.

In the beginning of the play, we see that Jarina is the current embodiment of present-day Madar who is training her young granddaughter Nur to be the next one. The opening sequence involves dancing and music which simultaneously tells the story of the origin of Madar as well as her connection to the main storyline of the drama. 

In the following scene, we see a conversation which takes place between Choudhurir Beta and Jarina where the former criticizes Jarina’s method of prayer. There occurs a slight religious argument where it becomes apparent that the main clash between the two is regarding the wedding of Nur. Jarina wants her granddaughter to be a lifelong celibate dedicating her entire life to the Madar whereas Choudhurir Beta wants to marry his handicapped grandson to Nur.

As the drama progresses, we also find the romantic tension between Nur and the lead singer – Harun. They are both in love, however, Nur struggles internally to choose between her love for Harun and her divine responsibility towards Madar. Throughout the drama, it is evident that Nur loves Harun back but cannot confess it as easily due to her sense of responsibility and morality which is spoon-fed to her from her early childhood by Jarina.

It becomes apparent that Jarina had been in love, had married and had given birth, meaning that, she herself had enjoyed various events which involves love and lust. However, due to her own agenda, she refuses Nur all the pleasures of a love life.

In the climax, we see that, Choudhurir Beta attacks the land where Jarina and her group regularly meet for prayer sessions. Jarina and her group goes to counter attack but Nur finds Harun singing alone. This angers her and she demeans him by calling him selfish. She also questions whether he actually loves her or just lusts for her. Later on, we learn that, Jarina and her group were successful in recovering their land. But unfortunately, Harun dies in the event. It implies that, Harun’s sacrifice is the reason behind their success and he was plotting to help all the time. Nur misunderstood him all along.

Nur is devastated at the news and feels terribly betrayed by the Madar. She complains that she has devoted all her life to Madar’s worship and at the end, this is the pain she receives in return. The event makes her go into a mental frenzy and as a result, she chooses to commit suicide as an act of revenge.

When Jarina returns from the battle and learns about Nur’s suicide, she questions her own beliefs and lifestyle. She even goes as far as saying – what’s the point of believing in something that we cannot even see. But, her followers goes on to refute her and convinces her that no matter what happens, this is the will of Madar and that they must keep believing her because this is what Jarina has been teaching them all along. Hence, the worship of Madar still remains intact.

Acting Opinion

Each of the actors were brilliant and they did a tremendously good job of portraying each of the character. First of all, hats off to them for memorizing all the lines accordingly especially in a dialect that we do not use daily. The storyline of the drama is so inter-connected that there is no scope of improvisation. You need to memorize each line verbatim and for an hour-long play that is a humongous job. 

The main characters – Nur, Harun and Jarina – each portrayed their characters on point and each of them were very relatable. It is evident that their voice register and observation skills were of very high level. With that being said, I must say my favorite character has to be Choudhurir Beta. This character is a handicapped character and the way he acted his role made it very realistic. It actually felt as if he actually had a bodily dysfunction.

Now, I would like to point out a few scenes which stood out the most to me, especially because of the combination of not only acting but music and lighting as well.

The scene where a random woman comes up to Jarina to seek some comfort after her child’s untimely death is short but very touching. The acting felt genuine and she actually looked like her heart was breaking. The audience can relate to this scene from an emotional level.

The scenes which include Choudhurir Beta was very efficient in catching and portraying his evilness. His expressions as well as body movements were very powerful and even though he was shown to be handicapped, the audience could still feel the fear he radiates through his dialogues and attitude.

Throughout the drama, the audience has seen the calm and cool nature of Jarina but near the end, when their land is attacked by the villain, we can actually see how fearsome she can be. The way the actress flips open her bun into long luscious locks of hair stood out a lot to the audience as it not only added a shock value but also gave more depth to the character of Jarina.

Lastly, I must mention the suicide scene in the climax, since I found it to be very masterfully choreographed. Instead of feeling sorry for Nur for committing suicide or feeling pity for her for losing her love, the audience instead feels her strength. The suicide is not there to make the audience upset, but it is there to show everyone how love makes one strong and what a strong woman Nur was. She has transformed into a powerful woman from a naïve little girl just like a butterfly blooming free from the cocoon of a caterpillar.

So, all in all, the acting were on point. But I also must include that the actor playing Nur made dialogue mistake twice. But for an hour-long drama, I suppose it’s forgivable. Also at some parts, the dialogues were a bit hard to understand but I suppose that is a technical issue and not the actors themselves.

Elements of Drama

Stage: I personally found the stage design very interesting. We have a half-moon curved pedestal between the upstage and the middle stage and a circular pedestal between the middle stage and the downstage. The set-up not only represented the Islamic symbol of Moon and a Star but also helped to highlight the places the audience is supposed to focus. The curved upstage also created a focal illusion, guiding the audience’s eyesight. At the same time, the pedestals acted as a respectful place of worship. Hence, I personally think that Junayed Yusuf has done a very good job of designing the stage.

Light and Music: These two elements are the most vital elements of creating the perfect mood for the drama. Red light teamed up intense music portrayed anger or argument. At the same time, blue light and sweet music in the background portrayed love that is bitter because it is forbidden. Absence of light and music created anticipation in the audience while presence of various lights and heavy music created an organized chaos on the stage, keeping the audience hooked throughout.

Costume and Make-up: This drama did not require heavy make-up but I did notice the actors, especially the characters of Nur and Choudhurir Beta wearing heavy eyeliner to make their eyes pop. I believe, it was crucial to show their facial expressions and the simple use of eyeliner did a great trick and the audience sitting further from the stage can also see their expressions.

The costumes were equally simple and to the point. Personally, Nur’s simple green sari stood out the most to me. Green is an important color in Islamic culture. It is a belief that people who will achieve heaven will get to wear green clothes (not confirmed). Green is also the symbol of youth and freshness and the same time, chastity. Not only that, the Prophet Muhammad (sm)’s grave is also drapped in green cloth in Madina. Hence, I believe, green sari for Nur is heavily symbolical of all these. 

Psychological and Social Effect

From psychological viewpoint, this drama deals with moral duty and the heartbreak that stems from lost love. Throughout the whole play, we see Nur struggling constantly to decide between her love for Harun and her responsibility towards Madar, meaning celibacy till death. At the same time, it also shows the evil that exists in seemingly religious people like Choudhurir Beta. He claims to be following Islam accordingly but it failed to cleanse his soul from the evil. On the other hand, Jarina’s way of worship is forbidden in Islam but she and her followers are some of the purest of hearts and wants nothing but betterment for others.

There is also the slight hint of Jarina’s selfish agenda. Apparently, she was widowed at a young age and for that she has to face a lot of social issues which led her to lose faith in love. For this reason, she forbids Nur from falling in love by telling her that she is blessed by the Madar herself at the time of her birth. Such supernatural occurrence is impossible in real life. But naïve and dependent Nur believes her grandmother. Does it mean Jarina used Nur for selfish reasons? Not really. In fact, it was Jarina’s way of protecting her beloved granddaughter from heartbreak and social injustice.

As the drama progresses, Nur begins to question Jarina’s way of life. At one hand, it shows how love can blind a person to the point that they begin to question their beliefs while on the other hand, it also symbolizes that Nur is growing up and learning to be independent and deciding what is right or wrong for her herself.

From social point of view, the drama plays an important role to highlight Fire Dance of Madar to the modern audience. It used to be a favorite pastime in the past which is slowly losing its galore due to the increased use of modern technology. This drama helps to present an almost lost art form to the present audience.

Unbiased Opinion

Before I give my own opinion, I must disclaim that this is my very first experience of watching live theatre from upfront. This might play an important role in my overall experience. I must say, the overall experience of watching a drama play live right in front of you is a wonderful and intimate journey. You feel a direct connection with the people onstage because the act is happening right in front you unlike watching it on a machine.

Before watching the drama, I used to believe that live theatre is a very boring medium of entertainment. But, this drama completely changed my views. In fact, I am more interested in live theatre now and most probably keep it in mind while planning the next family trip.