No country for bovines

Katha Ghera’s ongoing theatre production वायुपङ्खी बफेलो (Bayupankhi Buffalo, Winged Buffalo) at Kausi Theatre begins with all the buffalos at a farm are granted semi-human qualities by a magical entity called ‘The Hand’.

A young buffalo in the herd, named Aai like all of his fellow bovines, takes one look at the state of things around him with his newfound cognitive abilities and immediately decides that he has no prospects in Nepal.

Written and directed by Kshitiz Parajuli, वायुपङ्खी बफेलो chronicles the misadventures of Aai as he sets out to make his dreams of migrating for a better life into reality. He is helped in his quest by his supportive father, played by Rishikesh Basyal, and the other stage buffaloes in his life.

The application process can be daunting, but the play does not take itself too seriously, presenting the desperation of young Nepalis to migrate through multiple comedic twists, fourth-wall breaks by the narrator, musical moments, and over-dramatised scenes. The fast pace play does not make the story feel out of place.

When Aai finds himself short on money for citizenship and passport documents made, he robs a bank. When it is time to take an emigration language test, the only way Aai is able to speak English is via rap verse. When he tells his father that he does not wish to be lonely in his new life abroad, he arranges for Aai to marry a cow.

The play stands out because despite its quixotic plot and arrangement, most Nepalis identify with the core theme of migration. And so is the process Aai has to follow to get his documents, his struggles to obtain citizenship presents a pointed message about what Nepalis go through to establish their national identity with the language barriers along the way. 

That he resorts to crime for a chance to leave the country is reflective of people willing to let the end justify the means, evoking stories of countless Nepalis who take months-long journeys through dangerous back routes to attempt to get into countries like the US.

The cast, along with the production’s costume and make-up department, deserve flowers. Nishan Khatri and Rishikesh Basyal in particular do a stellar job playing Aai and his father, imbuing their buffalo characters with humanity while maintaining their bovine body language and mannerisms.

Read also: ‘Prosperous Farm, (Un)happy Animals’, Shristi Karki

Just when it seems as though Aai has finally crossed all hurdles (spoilers ahead) he is caught at the airport trying to leave the country on a fake passport, and sent to prison. Upon release from jail, he returns home, seemingly having given up on his dreams to go abroad entirely, to find that his father is no longer at home. Neither Aai nor the audience is given answers as to where his father might have gone and why he left.

And so Aai quietly goes back to being a buffalo, reminding us that while thousands leave Nepal daily in search of a better life, the dreams of just as many, if not more, never take flight.

At this sombre end, the audience is left wondering about the circumstances that have led to young Nepalis believing the grass is really greener beyond our borders. Bayupankhi Buffalo is a tragi-comic reflection of the dreams contemporary Nepali youth dare not dream here at home.

Bayupankhi Buffalo

Till 17 May

Katha Ghera, Kausi Theatre, Teku