RAJA PLAY encourages families to bond through fun, screen-free play, fostering lasting memories and connections. This game is designed for players of all ages and abilities.
Raja Benz is an award-winning theatre-maker, cultural consultant, and intimacy professional who recently relocated to the Detroit area. Her work fuses a transformative intimacy pedagogy with rich histories of LGBTQ of Color praxis.
1. Rabindranath Tagore
The multifarious creative artiste Rabindranath Tagore has left a legacy of songs, poetry, short stories, paintings and great experimental theatre. He influenced Indian theatre and brought it to modernity.
His plays like Chokher Bali, Gora and Raja depict his socialist political ideology. He believed that the poor should not wait indefinitely for benevolence from foreign governments but develop their own indigenous means of self empowerment through concerted effort. He also abhorred exploitation by foreign and native tyrants. This complex philosophy and his abiding faith in non-violence finds dramatic expression in the play Raja. If Shakespeare can travel beyond language and cultural boundaries we thought of bringing Tagore’s universal and timeless plays to the world. The English version of RAJA PLAY is our attempt to do this.
2. Rabindranath Tagore in English
If Shakespeare can transcend linguistic and cultural boundaries, Tagore’s plays can as well. When mainstream Bengali theatre was engulfed in historical and religious sentimental melodrama, he created a lyrical theater of the imagination.
The first of these works to RAJAPLAY reach the English-speaking public was Chitra, a truncated version of his Bengali play about spring. This allegory, inspired by the Buddhist Jataka stories of reincarnation, has been described as a symbolic drama.
A few years later, Tagore published Mukta-dhara, a poetic play with political overtones. It is a tribute to Mahatma Gandhi and his cause of Harijan uplift. The play reflects Tagore’s belief in the dignity of humankind and his faith in nonviolent civil disobedience. It also reflects the influence of the ascetic Dutch playwright Maeterlinck.
3. Rabindranath Tagore in Multimedia
Director Anurag Basu has done an excellent job of adapting the classic short stories by Tagore. He has portrayed the nuances of these stories in such a way that they connect to our current times.
Unlike the nationalist thinkers of his time, Tagore emphasized the role of the peasantry in nation building. He was also a holistic thinker, believing that spiritual and worldly harmony could only be achieved through the elimination of the dichotomy between self and other.
Tagore’s work is often misunderstood and underestimated. This doc sheds light on his philosophy, life and works and provides an enlightening look at one of India’s most influential intellectuals. It’s a must-see for any Tagore fan.
4. Rabindranath Tagore in English for Children
Rabindranath Tagore is famous for his poems and songs. But he also wrote short stories, plays and essays.
Tagore began writing drama at the age of sixteen. He published his first play in 1891 and later wrote a large collection of stories called Galpaguchchha (Bunch of Stories).
His ideas about the social revolution of swadeshi and rural self-empowerment were reflected in his works. The play Raja was written during a period of crisis in his personal, professional and political life. It shows Tagore’s realization of the cruel nature of life in the face of adversity. Tagore tried to sublimate his personal and professional crises through creative art and social activism. But this was not always possible. He had to take refuge in his writings.
5. Rabindranath Tagore in English for Adults
If Shakespeare’s plays could travel beyond the English language and reach a world audience, Tagore’s drama should also be able to do so. Unfortunately, attempts at producing his plays in other languages – especially in English – have been limited.
Raja is a highly sought-after educator in movement & devising, teaching at Universities and independent intimacy programs around the country. Her work focuses on bringing a queer perspective to the study of theatre.
Several of Rabindranath’s poems, such as Gora and Gitanjali, are written during moments of crisis in his personal, artistic and public life. He sought to sublimate these crises through a commitment to social activism and creative art. His works such as the novel Gora, the Gitanjali poetry series and the play Raja show how he tried to find meaning in this struggle through his creative work.