Have you read the story of the tortoise and the hare? Or surely you have heard it. How would this story, which is etched in the childhood memories of every generation, look on screen?

A few years ago, while walking on the streets of Kathmandu, the imagination of theatre artist Anil Subba was filled with sweet scenes. Sometimes those scenes of imagination took the form of a story. Sometimes they took beautiful shapes. While watching the play ‘Kharayo Ra Kachuwa’ in the shadows behind the white screen, my curiosity started to increase. About 3 years ago, he had said in a tea chat, ‘I want to do a play on this story that we have been studying in the curriculum.’ Anil, who is an expert in skillfully telling serious issues through ordinary stories, did a creative job in this. He did not tell the story exactly as we read it or heard it. While watching this play, which is being staged in a theater in central Baneshwor, it seems that ‘no one is complete alone.’ After the play ‘Buddha Ra Kachuwa’, ‘Kharayo Ra Kachuwa’ is Anil’s second puppet play. The theme and style chosen by Anil this time, who told the story of indigenous beauty and identity through 'Chorko Swar', 'Mekhidand' and 'Mukkumalung', was interesting in itself. In fact, puppetry plays are rarely found in theaters in Kathmandu.

In this story, neither the hare nor the tortoise wins. The play has artistically satirized our traditional education system, which teaches us to win. Play does not teach us to win, but to realize. It teaches us to transform. It teaches us to be harmonious. The most important thing is that it explains the meaning of coexistence.

Anil did not limit himself to Kathmandu this time to tell this story. He traveled to schools in the east with a play team. He performed 34 plays in 15 schools in the east. ‘The advantage of puppetry is that it is less expensive and can be performed in a small room, which makes it easier for us to travel,’ says Anil. While watching the play, the students asked, ‘How is it different from the story we read?’ The students had expected the same story, where they thought the tortoise would win. But not only did the unique presentation of the play excite them, they also found the technical aspects like how the puppets are operated and how the sounds are made interesting.

Anil, who critically looked at our courses, which teach little practical education, also explained to the students the topic of ‘co-existence.’ He adds, ‘If at least one person realizes through the play that we have shown that I should be able to survive and others should be able to survive, that is success.’

Where will the journey of the tortoise and the hare go alone? If they do it together, they will reach their destination. Anil is imbibing this feeling in his theater journey.

A year ago, he started a theater in Madhya Baneshwor. In the meantime, after ‘Khamari’, ‘Dallekhola’, ‘Mukkumalung’, ‘Dahrasingh’ and ‘Kharayo Ra Kachuwa’, new experiences have been added to the team. ‘In this one year, new friends who will lead the drama and the journey have also been prepared,’ says Anil. He believes that his fellow travelers should also be self-reliant along with him.

Be it Anil’s plays ‘Buddha Ra Bhikhari’ or ‘Kachhuwa Ra Kharayo’ or other stories. He closely connects nature in his plays. ‘Kharayo Ra Kachuwa’ is the product of this thinking. Anil had to spend many drafts to convey the feeling of wild animals disappearing and the forest being destroyed in the play. ‘But when the play was made. It excited us. Some even wanted to do research on puppetry after watching the play,’ he says.

He feels that humans, who are a part of nature, are ignoring nature. That is why he adds environment to his play.

The birds that used to fly in the clear sky yesterday are now gone. Some animals like small boars have become history. The first person responsible for this is man. ‘That is why I think man can be made responsible by telling a story,’ says Anil, ‘and for this, one story is not enough. Many stories need to be told.’