'Kagojer Golap' - A production by Somporko Theatre Group

- Somporko Theatre Group

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Before the echoes of war can silence them, a group of children trapped inside their school, rehearse for a play— reclaiming their voices through art. Their final performance remains uncertain, their rehearsal space as fragile as the “paper roses” they use as props, yet in that moment, they create a world much stronger than war itself. The play ‘Kagojer Golap’ (a production of Somporko Theatre Group, directed by Jitaditya Chakraborty.) was an adaptation of Badal Sarcar's “Rupkothar Kelenkari”, set in the fictional kingdom of "Louhogor". The story follows the kingdom's reliance on the hero Bajrakumar to

defeat a fearsome monster or Rakhshas, only to reveal a darker truth: both hero and villain are pawns in

the hands of a capitalist profiting from endless conflict. 

Performed amidst the backdrop of bombing, the children use their rehearsal as a refuge from

the violence. As the narrative intertwines the fictional battle of Louhogor with the real-life

terror surrounding them, the play critiques the exploitation of human lives, especially

children, by global greed and war. It serves as a poignant reminder of innocence lost in a

world ruled by profit-driven destruction.

Kagojer Golap unfolds during what begins as a normal rehearsal day for some children inside their school, few days before their annual function.

They are immersed in "Rupkothar Kelenkaari", a play that exposes the subtle mechanisms of capitalism-how it creates the binary between heroes and villains and distract the masses,

control their minds, and direct their actions. 

Suddenly, the outside world intrudes-bombs start falling. The chaos outside mirrors the

growing unease within the group of children, and soon, they are faced with an agonizing choice: to

continue rehearsing or to abandon the art they love in favor of survival. Impending threat

forces them into an emotional dilemma-how much is art worth in such a

life-threatening situation? The room fills with conflicting desires-some long to go back home

while some have no place to call home. These friends at school, this rehearsal, is all they have. Even if they

die, they want to be surrounded by people, to protect themselves from the loneliness that

surrounds them elsewhere. Some begin to ponder how they might escape and get back home to their parents, while some question whether they will have any trace of home left if they finally do. Overwhelmed with the gravity of the moment, childlike wishes come up as everyone thinks of one last thing they want to do before they

die: one dreams of dancing to Disco Dancer, another just wants to recite a poem perfectly

just to prove one failed attempt cannot define him. These seemingly trivial desires become

deeply human in the face of death. 

As time progresses, the bombings outside intensify with no apparent way of escape, the children are faced with the reality of a war-like situation that would otherwise appear far from their everyday lives. Meanwhile, one of the children suggests writing their last letters addressed to anyone they wish to write to, in the hopes that if they do not survive, these letters probably will. 

The children, while struggling to make sense of what they do, are drawn back to the world of their play. In rehearsal, they confront how capitalism manipulates society by fabricating the binary of hero versus villain. Such narratives keep people distracted and docile, while those in power control thoughts, actions, and beliefs. This mirrors their own uncertainty—caught between what is real and what is made-up.

"Rupkothar Kelenkaari", the play the children happen to be rehearsing for their performance, begins with the familiar comfort of childhood fairy tales—kings, queens, brave heroes, and wicked villains where good always triumphs. But here, the hero is not heroic, nor the villain purely evil. Rather, there appears a third figure who has been completely absent from our imagined world of fairytales. It is the capitalist figure, Fatkabajariya, who manipulates the story itself, deciding who appears noble and who is condemned.  It plays with our deeply rooted beliefs, unraveling the simplistic notions we've carried from childhood, showing how those in power fabricate stories to control what we

think and believe. How, at the end of the day, the innocence, and hope of a happily ever after from our childhood stories can be commodified.

By the conclusion, Fatkabajariya is expelled from "Rupkothar Desh"–only to reappear in the present, playing with people’s fate once more. 

When we come to think of it, who truly benefits from wars, other than capitalists? They stand as the reflection of helpless common people, especially children, suffering loss, grief or a fate even worse, while profiteers continue to launder money from endless conflict. 

The decision to continue the rehearsal is not an act of denial, but perhaps their only

remaining defiance. Each line spoken, each movement on stage, becomes both a refuge

and a rebellion.

Amidst the face of destruction, we find a tender story at play as a love grows between two young hearts. Two children have been smitten by each other yet cannot gather up the courage to confess what they feel. The boy carries a paper rose everyday with him, only to give to the girl. He waits for the day when he will finally overcome his fear and give the rose to his dream girl. But every passing day, each moment seems to be the wrong one and so the rose remains undelivered. Eventually, without warning and all of a sudden, the final bomb falls. Silence follows. Among the debris, all that remains is a paper rose - Kagojer Golap, leaving behind all the unspoken words and unrealized love - a symbol for all that was unsaid, all that remained undone. 

The title 'Kagojer Golap' - literally meaning a 'paper rose' – becomes a significant metaphor in the play. A rose which is usually considered a symbol of love and hope, is made of paper here : fragile and artifical. It reflects hope but only a false one. A hope of something unreal, a hope of a life unlived. In a world controlled by the profiteers of war, such hope is manufactured to pacify the masses, the cost of which are real human lives. By reclaiming this falsity through theatre, the children expose the deceit, turning the paper rose 'Kagojer Golap' into a symbol of resistance. 

The play is deeply rooted in the overwhelming emotions stirred by the struggles of children in

Gaza, who are literally fighting for survival amidst a warzone. This feeling of helplessness

and heartbreak haunts us, and it seeps into the art we create. It influences what stories we

want to tell. Our stories become a reflection of these emotions, grappling with the questions

of hope and despair.

'Kagojer Golap' is performed by a team of around thirty children. Childhoods lived by children of this generation vary widely from the childhoods that our older generations have experienced. Children are exposed to the realities of the distressed contemporary world and they understand and figure out the meaning of what they see, read, and hear well enough by themselves. During the formation of this play, the performers (children aged between 10-15) were asked what do they mean by terms like 'war', 'religion' and were further asked their views on war. It is the children who collectively decided that they wanted to perform this story as an anti-war play and the rest followed. The script and direction of this play draw from experiences, memories and stories that resonate across various age groups, especially those of children whose innocence is disrupted by the harsh realities of war. These young

performers carry the voices of countless children who, often  unknowingly, become the silent

prey of conflict, bearing scars that are rarely heard but deeply felt.