In Hindu tradition, a jogi is a person who has ceased to be a householder. He does not have a caste. There is a popular saying in Hindi: jaat na puchho sadhu ki (Don\'t ask an ascetic what his caste is).

Jaat Sodhnu Jogiko asks the audience to do the opposite: ask an ascetic his caste. It\'s a suggestion that is worthy of dramatic presentation. The setting is the 1970s, when education in India was a mess. Exploited by management committees and ridiculed by uninterested students, teachers in rural colleges were hounded. A young man with ambition had to endure it all: expectations of a first-generation college-goer petty jealousies of frustrated teachers, claustrophobia of a village institution. Strangely, there is a contemporary ring to it, even in Nepal.

Vijay Tendulkar, the celebrated Marathi playwright, created Jaat Hi Puchho Sadhu ki. The play was so powerful that it became an jnstant hit, praised as much for its style as its theme. A social satire, a literary humour piece and a sitcom all rolled into one.

Nepali director Anoop Baral has done a remarkable job adapting it into Nepali. And a feat that won him a fitting accolade: approval of the audience in the Royal Nepal Academy on 26 July. The audience sat through the entire presentation in rapt attention, and there was wild applause at the end.

Sunil Pokhrel played the lead role, excelling as the village boy-turned college Prof Mahinarayan Gharti, MA. When Pokhrel broods, he succeeds in making the audience serious, and when he goofs he has them in splits. The supporting cast was equally competent. The female parts are weaker, although even with their bit roles Nisha Sharma and Mishri Thapa dominated the second half, If it is true that the play has been filmed by Nepal Television, it is good news for theatre-lovers who missed out the single-day performance. Jaat Sodhnu Jogiko deserves a wider audience. But the magic of the stage is a different experience, and more shows at the Academy would have been welcome.