Man who planted trees

I am going to see a one-act play today evening, despite having seen it thrice before. It is called 'Zade lavnaara manoos' by the students from Fergusson College in Pune. Earlier this year, they staged it for the Firodiya Trophy inter-collegiate competition and bagged a host of prizes.
The story is based on the French novel - Man who Planted Trees by Jean Giono (published in 1953 as the original French title L'homme qui plantait des arbres). It was translated in Marathi by Madhuri Purandare and the play is a stage adaptation of this version.
The story follows the narrative of a person who remains anonymous throughout. It traces his journeys and meeting with a lonely shepherd, Elezeard Bouffier, who single-handedly goes on planting trees in a desolate land, unmindful of the world around him, and without asking for anything in return. For many years, people believed that this was an autobiographical account by Giono, till in 1957 he declared that Bouffier was a fictional character. As per Giono, he simply wrote it because "The goal was to make trees likeable, or more specifically, make planting trees likeable."
Whether truth or fiction, it is a remarkable story indeed. And the stage adaptation does full justice to its narrative quality. The play is embellished by some superlative music and choreography, not to forget the innovative use of other art forms like painting and also origami.

I have the line of credits by heart but will refrain from giving the credit to any one person. It is truly a team-performance and no individual contribution can be compared over one other.
I hear that the tickets are sold out but if you are really keen, you could try your luck at Bhrat Natya Mandir tonight at 9.30 pm. If you aren't one of the lucky ones in the hall tonight, well, just pray that the group will stage it again very soon.