Play on Vivekananda

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FROM: www.indiawest.com

 

Enthralling Play Captures Life of Swami VivekanandaBy VIJI SUNDARAMIndia-West Staff ReporterHAYWARD, Calif. - With a minimal use of props and in the space of a little more than two hours, Shekhar Sen seamlessly transported his audience from Kolkata to Chicago to England and many other lands as he mesmerizingly enacted the tale of Swami Vivekananda.With mellifluous songs and speech, Sen did a wondrous solo act in the Hindi musical, "Vivekanand," at the Chabot Community College auditorium here April 1. It was also presented April 2 at the Servite High School in Anaheim, both under the auspices of Performing Arts International and the Shah Foundation.Sen wrote, sang and acted the play wearing the simple ochre robe, sash and Rajasthani-style turban one has come to associate with Swami Vivekananda, one of the first saints who left the shores of India to carry the message of Vedanta to the West.The swami's earlier days, first as the mischievous Kolkata-born Narendranath, then as the teenager troubled by the sight of poverty and hardship that almost drives him to atheism, and then as the college student who is blown away by the profound mind of the sage of Dakshineshwar, Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, are all vividly captured in the delightful musical.Sen brings out not only the teacher aspect of Swami Vivekananda but the selfless and compassionate sevak who worked for charitable causes even as he spread the message of Hinduism within and outside his native India in the short span of his life.It was clear from the very moment the curtain rose until it came down two hours later that Sen had captivated the audience, who frequently applauded the inspiring lyrics.Sen threw himself into the part, no holds barred. When he launched into the swami's history-making speech at the Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893, opening it with the words, "Sisters and Brothers of America," there was no mistaking the feeling that went behind those words."He left me breathless," noted Daksha Thakkar, a member of the audience."He was awesome," observed Fremont, Calif.-resident Veronica Hausman. "It was so powerful."This is the third musical play Sen has written and produced since he dedicated his career to play writing, although he modestly takes no credit for them."When these characters provoke me into writing their stories, they get them written," he told India-West in an interview after his performance to a near-sellout crowd in Los Angeles April 2.:by indiawest

 

 

Details of next performance

http://www.shareandcare.org/pdfs/VivekanandBySSenApril2006.pdf