By Rahul Nair
The very first question for SETU’s latest production – a staged reading of Birth of the Boson by retired Cornell professor Hasan Padamsee – is why painstakingly put together a reading and not mount a full-blown production? Typically, a staged reading is a minimalistic approach that highlights the script, the dialogue and dynamics between characters.
Subrata Das, SETU co-founder and director said, “When the material, the subject matter is so deep and dense, mixing science, poetry, and spirituality, staging the reading provides for a more immersive audience experience.”
The play narrates the journey of Indian theoretical physicist Satyendranath Bose from Calcutta to Berlin, from the Indian freedom struggle to a struggle for recognition from scientific peers abroad, from the speed of light of Einsteinian relativity to the supercooled stationary particles of a Bose-Einstein Condensate. It uses literary devices of both time and space – such as describing how in 1905 Lord Curzon divided Bengal along religious lines, while Einstein unified space, time and light, or the bookending of the entire narrative between two rakhi (Hindu ceremonial bond of thread) ceremonies to echo the bonds between Hindus and Muslims – resonating metaphorically the connection between fundamental particles such as bosons and fermions.
The script begins with the early life and struggle of Bose, who discovered not only the subatomic particle called Bosons, but also predicted the spin of the photons that was many years later proven by Nobel Prize winner Dr C V Raman. It traces his participation in the Indian freedom struggle, his marriage to a young wife who imbibes his scientific spirit with spirituality and encourages his journey from India to Europe to meet Madame Curie and Albert Einstein, who, in turn, were vindicated for their faith in Bose’s ideas and theories. His published work co-authored with Albert Einstein exactly 100 years ago culminated in Bose-Einstein Statistics and laid the foundation for applications like lasers and superconductivity. While Bose was never awarded a Nobel prize, more than a handful of later scientists won Nobel prizes for research based on Bose’s concepts.
The play ties these “hat tips” to Bose’s contributions to science up together with an ending featuring all the characters as ghosts, echoing vibes of Lucas’ Star Wars. And allowing for a succinct synopsis of all the discoveries and insights inspired by Bose’s collaboration with Einstein.
Interesting quantum physics concepts are weaved into the script through Bose’s interaction with fellow scientists, but the gem is the extended conversation with Einstein in the middle. Metaphysical concepts and parallels between quantum theories and Hindu spirituality are brought in through the voice of Bose’s young wife Ushabala. But the passage where Bose’s humanity and progressive thinking shine through are his interactions with his mother, Devi, about his arranged marriage to a 12-year-old – where he questions societal norms, refuses dowry and champions education for the girl he would get married to, in an era of institutionalized gender inequality.
SETU has added artistic heft to the reading with the judicious use of era-specific costumes designed by SETU co-founder Jayanti Bandyopadhyay, prep work on accents backed by an original score from Anirban Dasgupta. And a panel discussion featuring the playwright and Bose’s grandson Falguni Sarkar moderated by Gautam and Jayanti Bandhyopadhyay.
You can catch a reading of Birth of the Boson at the Academy of Creative Arts in Burlington MA on Friday October 4 at 7 pm and Saturday, October 5 at 1 pm. The event is free, but a registration is required at www.setu.us.
Cast: Shiv Sethi, Subrata Das (CT), Guru Anandh, Pranav Shukla, Vivek Nair, Nikhil Bhatia, Chandrala Malkood, Mukta Munjal, Aarshia Arora, Maisha Bhuyan, Priyanka Banerjee, Rimi Sarkar, Tanni Chaudhuri, Aditi Taylor, Ketan Dave, Rahul Nair, Gitanjali Srivastava, Ananya Chatterjee, Amit Dashottar, Sridhar Pola, Nilay Mukherjee, Swapneel Batra, Rohini Pola, and Janique Choux.
Panel moderators: Gautam and Jayanti Bandyopadhyay
Event Concept, Casting & Direction: Subrata Das
Social Media Publicity: Smriti Jayakumar and Nirmal Kumar
Lights and Sound: Deven Atnoor and Rajeev Nohria
Costume Design: Jayanti Bandyopadhyay
Stage: Rohini Pola
Slides: Ketna Dave and Subrata Das (CT)
Music: Anirban Dasgupta
Posters and Pictures: FotuDuniya (Vasudha and Sanjay Kudrimoti)
Facility Partner: Academy of Creative Arts
SETU is a nonprofit theater group in the Boston area with a mission to bridge the cultural gap between India and western society. Further details at www.setu.us or contact@setu.us.
