বাদল সরকারের ‘বাকি ইতিহাস’ : মধ্যবিত্ত জীবন ভাবনার শৈল্পিক রূপায়ণ/ Badal Sarkar's Baki Itihas: Artistic Embodiment of Middle-Class Life Thought

Abstract

Badal Sarkar's play Baki Itihas (1965) is a unique document of the crisis and existential anguish of the middle-class psyche. The play revolves around the conflict between the external normality and internal disorder of middle-class life. In this play, the playwright has exposed the sexual desires, moral lapses, family crises and the conventional beauty of society hidden behind the daily lives of Sharadindu and his wife Basanti. The main objective of the present research article is to reveal a special aspect of the complex stratification and artistic embodiment of the middle-class mentality in this play. The study adopts a qualitative and analytical approach based on close textual reading of the play. It examines how Badal Sarkar employs symbolism, psychological realism, and existential philosophy to portray the fragmented consciousness of the modern middle class. The characters are not merely individuals but symbolic representations of a social class struggling with alienation, insecurity, and emotional isolation. Through the conflicts experienced by Sharadindu and Basanti, the playwright reveals the hidden tensions between personal aspirations and social obligations. The play also reflects the impact of urbanization, changing moral values, and the growing sense of identity crisis among educated middle-class people in post-independence India. Sarkar's innovative dramatic technique, non-linear narrative structure, and symbolic characterization intensify the emotional and philosophical depth of the play. Furthermore, Baki Itihas questions conventional social norms and challenges the audience to confront the realities concealed beneath respectable middle-class life. The study argues that the play remains relevant in contemporary society because the psychological conflicts, existential anxieties, and social contradictions it portrays continue to shape modern human existence.