Most of us have grown up listening to and reading folk tales, stories based in fictional times and places, inhabited by heroes and demons and mythical entities of all descriptions. These tales have pushed us, as children, to stretch our imaginations beyond what we see around us, as well as posing as a moral compass of sorts, teaching us to distinguish right from wrong. For those of us who’ve been regaled with such stories from a young age, there’s a familiar pull we feel whenever we come across them even as adults, especially now that advancements in technology and globalised pop culture have lessened general attention on folklore. Mandala Theatre’s new play, Hetchhakuppa, plays on that nostalgic sentiment, a dramatic rendition of a Kiranti folk tale that makes for an entertaining hour-long experience.

Written by Madan Puraskar winning author Rajan Mukarung, the play has been directed by first-timer Pashupati Rai, who does a stellar, almost flawless job here. As per Kiranti tradition, all rituals—starting from birth until death—are considered incomplete unless the stories of Hetchhakuppa are narrated. “These stories aren’t written down, but passed on orally from one generation to the next,” says Mukarung, who, in that same tradition, had narrated the story to director Rai, who had then turned it into a play. Rai, who has long been associated with Aarohan Gurukul, says that she’d been initially worried about the kind of response the play would garner amid wider audiences, given its very specific Kiranti context, but that the support she was given from everyone around her convinced her to go on.

Hetchhakuppa essentially tells of the origins of the famous Kiranti dance, the ‘Bappa Sili’, as narrated by an old man—not a Kiranti by birth, but one who has spent all his life in a Rai village—to youngsters who’ve been

practicing the dance, completely ignorant of its roots. We learn about an orphan boy called Hetchhakuppa, who lives with his two older sisters. One day, believing him to be dead, the sisters leave the village in grief. But Hetchhakuppa is still very much alive, and must now look for his family, a quest that makes up the rest of the play.

The play’s plotline is fairly simple, but it does reel one in. There are quite a few laugh-out-loud moments in the film, and the narration is cohesive, keeping things right on track. Actors Anupam Sharma, Umesh Tamang, Sajan Thapa Magar, Diwan Rasaili, Junu Bista, Srijana Subba, Srijana Bantawa Rai, Binita Gurung, Nazir Hussain and Ruru Pokhrel essay their roles well, with Magar—who plays a rooster—taking home the prize for the most entertaining portrayal of all.

If you’d like to revisit your childhood, return to a state

of mind where anything

seems possible, watching Hetchhakuppa is a great way to do so. Director Rai deserves props for having brought the story to life in such an engaging manner, and introducing audiences in the Capital to such a significant part of the Kiranti culture.

Hetchakuppa will be staged at Mandala Theatre, Anamnagar, everyday until March 16, except on

Mondays. The tickets are priced at Rs 100 for students and Rs 200 for others