'Sooraj ka saatwaan ghoda' -- the title had already piqued my curiosity. What could the mythical seventh horse pulling the chariot of Lord Surya have to do with a play supposed to deal with contemporary issues? I had not seen Shyam Benegal's movie of the same name nor had I read the original book by Dharmvir Bharti. Naatak, the theater group made up of Indians in the Bay Area was presenting their fourteenth production and I went to find out. What I saw unfold over the course of the next two hours was a three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle which an involved audience pieced together.

Janib Ullah (Vipul Srivastava) and his Chela (Samip Bhavsar) are wandering storytellers. Comical Janib Ullah's claims of writing original stories are thwarted when they encounter the actual storywriter Bharti (Rajiv Nema) while in the latter's residential locality.

Bharti then goes into flashback mode, to the time when he and his three other friends, Manik Mulla (Harish Agastya), Prakash (Imreet Bhatia) and Onkar( Samip Bhavsar) were unemployed youths. With time on their hands the friends would meet often and Manik Mulla, an idealistic simpleton goes on to tell them three love stories from his life, laced with his own special brand of philosophy. In Manik's house, there are two objects on the wall -- a horseshoe and a knife, which have special significance in the stories that Bharti pens down.

In the village where young Manik Mulla (Amit Garg) grew up, lived his first love interest Jamuna (Divya Jain). Jamuna lives with her father (Anand Ghanekar) and aunt (Viji Raghunathan). The bua has been sent back from her in-laws home because of dowry demands. Jamuna is a lively girl, older than Manik and in love with her neighbor Tanna (Ashish Joshi). Tanna and his three sisters live a miserable life traumatized by their moneylender father Mahesar (Anirudha Bhosekar) and his mistress Kamli (brilliantly played by Chhavi Mehta). The relationship between Tanna and Jamuna is ill fated because of socio-economic differences the fact that Jamuna's family owns a cow and her father works as a clerk plays a big role! An altercation between the two fathers and the weak hearted Tanna unable to take a stand seals the fate of the star-crossed lovers.

A depressed Tanna fails to complete his B.A but however finds a job in the railways. That elevates his status considerably and his father marries him off to a city-educated girl. Ever the womanizer, Mahesar makes eyes at the prospective daughter-in-law's widowed mother too.

Time goes by and Jamuna's aunt brings a proposal from an old wealthy Ganga Prasad (Ashish Joshi) for her niece. Money whitewashes all the liabilities of a man older than her father and Jamuna agrees to marry Ganga Prasad. At the wedding, Ganga Prasad's man Friday Ramdhan (Amit Sharma) grandly announces his master's arrival and while the ceremony is proceeding a loud scuffle is heard outside

The scene shifts to a more affluent setting. It is the home of Lily (Shruti Shree Tiwari) and her mother (Chavi Mehta). Manik Mulla is shown having a conversation with Lily while it rains outside. There is a hint of mutual fond feelings although the relationship remains platonic. Lily is glum at the prospect of getting married. Her friend Kammo (Sareeka Malhota) chides her for her sour mood saying once she is married she will not look back at her old life. (The character of Kammo I felt was unnecessary and a little jarring to the progress of the story.)

The doorbell rings and Mahesar enters to talk about the alliance. Lily is none other than the girl Tanna is betrothed too.

Jamuna is reasonably happy and pampered by her old sickly husband. She is still waiting to be blessed with a child. The youthful Ramdhan suggests that Jamuna should wear a ring made out of a horseshoe and offer prayers before dawn at a nearby temple. He takes responsibility for taking his master's wife there daily. The dalliance/prayers soon result in a child

Tanna is left alone after his wife leaves for her mother's house to have their baby and never returns. Mahesar is shown lavishing attention on a soap selling, village belle. His mistress Kamli fearing that her place is threatened takes off with all the money and jewels in the house. The burden of taking care of his drunkard father and his three sisters falls heavily on Tanna. The police are after Mahesar on charges of murder. Tanna cannot bear to live anymore and decides to end his life.

Satti (Sareeeka Malhotra) is a feisty village girl. An orphaned Satti has been brought up by her uncle Chaman Thakur (Amit Sharma) who has less than honorable intentions. She sells soap to make a living. Satti wields a menacing knife at all times -- to cut the soap as well as to ward off unwanted advances. Manik helps her with her accounts and also falls for her guileless nature. Mahesar makes a deal with Chaman Thakur for his niece Satti and pursues her. As her only true friend Satti goes to Manik for help, but her lowly status prevents Manik from eloping with her. Mahesar and Chaman Thakur catch up with Satti and in the scuffle she dies.

The scene shifts back to a pensive Bharti in the present day scenario, reflecting on the failed love stories. Janib Ullah meets up with him again and chides him for being depressed. Unlike Bharti he sees the glass half full. When events beyond our control cast a pall of gloom and darken our thoughts, it's the new generation like Lily and Jamuna's children who bring with them happiness. Like the seventh horse pulling the sun forward and bringing sunshine back into our lives

The natural progression of the play gives the impression that there are three unrelated stories taking place at different points on the continuum of time. But they are in actuality intricately linked, like facets of a crystal viewed from different angles. The script deftly weaves the tales, going back and forth till a richly quilted pattern emerges.

From time to time, the content of the play got dark and heavy. But the dialogues and script came to the rescue with a liberal sprinkling of humor. Vipul Srivastava did a fine job with the direction, scripting and his portrayal of the old Janib Ullah. For amateur actors all the artistes put up a superb show. Special mention is deserved for Chhavi Mehta (Kamli), Anirudha Bhosekar (Mahesar) and Divya Jain (Jamuna) who brought their characters to life. Good lighting, sound and props helped link the tales and gave the audience a sense of time and place as the stories moved back and forth.