The short story of Saadat Hassan Manto “The Licence” was staged at Shaheed Bhavan Auditorium here on Tuesday.

The pay was directed by Jyoti Dubey and was performed by the artists of Raunak Social and Cultural Theatre troupe.

The play is based on a text written by Saadat Hasan Manto with certain references from German playwright Berthold Brecht’s Berlin Stories, ‘The Job’. Both these stories talk about the implication on people in an economy that is industrializing at a fast pace.

In the Job, an unemployed man finds place as a watchman in a factory, and this is united into another story by Manto, titled licence, a story of self employed Tongawala.The sudden death of the provider in both the stories drives the family to the brink of starvation.

In both stories, the women adopt a plan that becomes as desperate as the situation. To slip into the male identity and take over the husband’s job, becomes the choice available to the protagonist as survival tool. Wearing her husband’s clothes clumsily, she practices his lifestyle.

The play tells the story of protagonist Niti, belongs to rich family, and a tongawala, Suraj, with whom she elopes and gets married. Suraj is arrested on complain of Niti’s parents and dies in jail due to torture of police. After the death, Niti gives tonga to Suraj’s friend on hire. Suraj’s friend purposes Niti for marriage but she rejects. For not accepting the rejection he tries to molest Niti.

The play was presented wonderfully and was much enjoyed by the audience.