This is a story of two friends. Friends who used to be foes, sworn enemies who couldn’t stand each other, before a mutual friend came along and tied for life. From that day on, the two men went from fighting each other to supporting one another. Karka Bahadur and Ram Bahadur Majhi have seen the bright and dark sides of life together, and have had each other’s backs through good times and bad. They are both old and grey by the time we meet them, and can barely hear each other’s voices. But they are still ‘Mitjui’, one to the other, and share their loneliness between themselves.

Mandala Theatre’s newest presentation, Mitjiu, is a poignant representation of the ‘miteri,’ a relationship that has prevailed in traditional Nepali society since ancient times. A ‘mit’ friendship is not one necessarily chosen by the mit friends themselves. However, once such a relationship has been established, friends are bound to respect it, remaining loyal to one another till the end of their lives.

Written by Som Nath Khanal and directed by Dayahang Rai, the play proves to be a wonderful watch, beautifully exposing the life stories of these two friends. Mitjiu wonderfully weaves the most important fact of life—that nothing is constant—into its plot and storyline, and its characters Karka Bahadur played by Buddhi Tamang and Ram Bahadur Majhi played Bijay Baral are both delightful.

The play explores a story set in Eastern Nepal where these friends, who are now in their early eighties, fondly recall their adventurous and mischievous youth. The two don’t have the same strength or the same ‘fire’ in their blood now, but the sweet memories—of chasing beautiful girls around the village and dancing at the local festivals, are still with them.

In essence, the play has a rather simple story to tell but the light and often funny moments interspersed throughout make it worth watching. While some portions are somewhat repetitive—which might seem like a bit of an obstacle as far as the flow of the play is concerned—Mitjiu can definitely account for an entertaining 75 minutes of your day. The lead actors, Tamang and Baral, both need special mention for their performances. Except for a couple of scenes, both actors portray the young and old versions of their characters quite convincingly.

Other members of the cast include Sulakshyan Bharati, Srijana Subba, Umesh Tamang, Kiran Sunuwar, Mohhamad Nazir Hussain, Bikash Joshi, Aarjesh Regmi, Junu Bista, Chanda Rai, Sharada Adhikari, Suraj Thakuri, Jalan Lamichachane, Aryan Gurung, Saruk Tamrakar, Sanyong GN and Anwesh Thulung. The actors are all good in their respective parts and together make the play very interesting.

Mitjiu will be staged at the Mandala Theatre, Anamnagar, till February 9 (at 4:30 pm on all days with the exception of Mondays). Tickets are priced at Rs 200 and

Rs 100 (for students)