Kathmandu Poetic plays are rarely seen on stage let alone plays with dances. However, giving a new taste to theatre lovers, director Namrata KC has come up with Saru Bhakta’s epic Jyaanmaya at Mandala Theatre, Anamnagar. With a mixture of issues like domestic violence, love and romance, pain and suffering of the porters, the play tries to entertain the audiences with its rhythmic dialogues. But for those who have watched Laato Pahad, this play doesn’t really charm him/her as the characters and similar plotline are not as powerful as those in Laato Pahad. One wants to refrain from comparisons but one does so involuntarily. The audience doesn’t have to wait for what will happen to the characters at the end as s/he knows in advance as the story isn’t much different. The difference in the plays is only of carrying of apples, poetic dialogues, dances and a few twists and turns. Mane (Rear Rai) and Kaanchi (Kripa Bajracharya) are having an affair. Alcoholic father (Pratik Dulal) exchanges his daughter for two bottles of alcohol with a Lahure (Samyog Guragain). But Kaanchi leaves the village with Mane. When they reach a place far away from their village, Mane starts looking for jobs to make a living for the two. Somehow the couple finds work of carrying apples from the mountain regions. As the couple and other porters are walking the slippery trail carrying apples, a mishap occurs... Though the play tries to depict the hardships faced by people who make a living by being porters, it fails in the narration. The director should have shown the part of father and Lahure after Kaanchi leaves home. The ending too isn’t convincing enough. Perhaps the female should not have been shown as such a weak character. The rhythmic dialogues are funny and the scene of the bazaar area gives one lots of real entertainment. The dances and poetic dialogues are good. But Rai repeatedly wiping his sweat makes one feel that he is tired of dancing, acting and reciting. The director must look at the stamina and the potential of the artistes before giving them multiple challenges. Bajracharya in her role is good. She is able to present herself as the one suffering from domestic violence and is good in expressing her fear, happiness and hope. Guragain, in his dual role of the Lahure and Jhutre, is brilliant. He makes one laugh with his skills of shooting birds. The prop used for fish is a wow. The rhythmic and poetic dialogues and dances do not bore the audience. And the rewind of the play was a new thing to watch but it was really unnecessary as the whole play had been already watched. The play is being staged everyday at 5:15 pm, except on Mondays, till October 1 with an additional performance on Saturdays at 1:00 pm