Komola Rong er Bodh : Jibanananda Das Returns to the Stage

Theatre Factory brings Bengali poet Jibanananda Das to life on stage in “Komola Rong er Bodh”, a moving play directed by Alok Basu, premiering at Bangladesh Mohila Samity as part of the Jibanananda Natya Utsab.

They say time waits for no one — but sometimes, the stage can turn back the clock. This weekend, Theatre Factory will do just that, conjuring the delicate presence of poet Jibanananda Das in their hauntingly beautiful new production Komola Rong er Bodh (The Feeling of Saffron Hue), written and directed by the visionary Alok Basu. It’s a heartfelt curtain-raiser to the Jibanananda Natya Utsab, and is set to premiere at the historic Bangladesh Mohila Samity auditorium, nestled in the heart of Bailey Road, this Friday at 6:30pm.

Theatre-goers best arrive with handkerchiefs in their pockets and poetry in their hearts, for this one’s bound to tug at the soul.

Komola Rong er Bodh doesn’t merely present a sequence of events — it peels back the layers of a man often misunderstood in his lifetime, yet immortalised in Bengali literature. Drawing from the moment of his tragic tram accident on 14 October 1954 in Kolkata, the play delicately walks the audience through the final nine days of Jibanananda Das’s life, as he lies hovering between this world and the next in Sambhunath Pandit Hospital.

But he’s not alone. On that sterile hospital bed, reality weaves itself with dream — fragments of verse flutter like autumn leaves, and familiar voices drift in: Labanyaprabha, his wife; Kusumkumari, his mother; and contemporaries like Buddhadeva Bose, Achintya Kumar Sengupta, and Shamsuddin Abul Kalam. It’s a ghostly, golden gathering — all characters of his life, now played with unflinching sincerity by a brilliant ensemble cast that includes Dipu Mahmud, Arif Anwar, Asha Akter, and many more.

Each name is a brushstroke in a living painting, a world gone by but not forgotten.

The production itself is nothing short of a labour of love. With Thandu Raihan’s evocative lighting, Mohsina Akter’s thoughtfully chosen costumes, and the soulful strains of Ramiz Raju’s music, the set feels less like a hospital and more like a poet’s mind — fragmented, fragile, yet fiercely alive. Credit, too, to Shakil Siddhartha’s set design and Aminul Ashraf’s choreography, which blur the lines between memory and imagination, dream and despair.

In many ways, the play is a reckoning — not just with death, but with regret, longing, and the weight of words unsaid. Jibanananda Das, often referred to as the ‘lonely poet’, finally finds company — not just in the characters that surround him, but in the audience that bears witness. It’s as if, through this play, we’re all sitting by his bedside, holding his hand, and whispering, You are not alone.

And if that hasn’t got you misty-eyed yet, here’s the clincher: this isn’t a one-night-only affair. The play will be performed four times this weekend — Friday evening, Saturday at 7pm, and twice on Sunday at 5pm and 7:30pm. The second leg of performances will be held a week and a half later, with dates soon to be announced. So if you’ve missed your cue this time, fret not — you’ll get another chance to catch this deeply moving tribute.

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At a time when life often races past in a blur of screens and scrolls, Komola Rong er Bodh reminds us to pause — to feel, to reflect, and to remember. It is theatre not just as performance, but as elegy; not just a tribute, but a quiet revolution in empathy.

For Jibanananda, saffron was never just a colour. It was a feeling. And in this play, that feeling finds its voice — tender, trembling, timeless.

Sources : The Daily Star