By Isaac Harold Gomes
Kolkata, August 4, 2026: This book Bible Natya Sanchoy is a collection of 33 original Bible plays compiled/edited by Dr Suranjan Midde (Professor, Bengali Faculty, Rabindra Bharati University).
Midde is a well-known figure in the literary circles of Bengal and Bangladesh, particularly for his in-depth research on the priceless contributions of Jesuit Belgian missionaries in Bengali literature.
He claims this is the first book on original compositions by playwrights from West Bengal and Bangladesh and that the earlier 200 Bengali Biblical plays are all adaptations/translations.
The 33 plays in the book have been composed with great clarity and dramatic effect.
They not only bring to life Jesus, Mary and Joseph, but also Judas Iscariot (who betrayed Jesus) and Barabbas (insurgent, robber, and murderer who was freed by Pontius Pilate instead of Jesus) as the central characters in some plays to depict their conflicts and human frailties.
Why 33 plays? It’s because Christ lived for 33 years. The youngest writer Newton Mondal (30 years) is from Bangladesh and the oldest is 112-year-old Bijon Ghosh.
• The first play ‘A piece of wood’ is by well-known Salesian priest Luciano Colussi where he exhorts us to emulate Christ instead of just being a wooden cross on the altar/wall.
• The second play depicts how the high priest Caiaphas works out a foolproof plot with his close aides to crucify Jesus to death. To him Christ had upset traditional Jewish customs/rituals by healing the sick (even on the Sabbath) and giving eyesight to the blind.
This servant-leadership of Christ was unheard of and severely challenged his grip on the Jewish community.
• The third play is a Roman soldier’s pent-up guilt at the immense agony of the innocent Christ on the Cross. This 12-page play vividly brings out the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ.
• The play ‘Jawab Chai’ by Herold Mullick (Founder-Secretary of Bangiya Christiya Pariseba) brings out the moral that even today, we witness miscarriage of justice by Pilates who often sentence many innocents like Christ to death/incarceration and allow the culprits go scot-free.
• Play 19 is a Dance Drama on Biblical character Ruth. Sunil Dutta who composed most of the songs of ‘Geet Sanchoy’ (Bengali Liturgy Book), has rendered the music, while Mrs Geeta Rodrigues (Christ the King Parish) has done the musical notation.
• Play 21 is an All-Women play comprising Mother Mary, Mary Magdalene and others who physically witnessed the crucifixion and death of Christ.
• Play 27 composed by Mrs Molina Vincent is on Christ’s immense suffering and death on the cross.
• Play 31 is a Shruti-Natya (where one male and one female act out a story using only their bodies and voices) on Australian Missionary Graham Staines and two sons who were burnt to death in their sleep in their station wagon.
• Play 32 is a Shruti-Natya composed by professor Midde himself. Part I is an intimate dialogue between Mother Teresa and an orphan child whom she had picked up from the streets and given a meaningful identity. Part II is a conversation on forgiveness between Mother Mary and Judas Iscariot.
Midde reiterates that though the book is primarily intended for putting up Bible plays in churches/social gatherings to spread the Good News, it is also an excellent/standalone work of literature. It’s a must keep for all parishes of Bengal and Bangladesh.
This 320-page book published by Nandonik, 10/2 A, Temar Lane, Kolkata-700009, is priced at Rs 490 and available online at 20% discount. WhatsApp 9477350694.