Nazrul Islam’s play ‘Aleya’ নজরুল ইসলামের নাটক ‘আলেয়া’

Abstract – The words that come to our mind when we hear the word ‘Aleya’. In rural areas, dead bodies are buried in empty spaces or the bodies of various animals are buried in soft soil in secluded places or in swamps filled with sedges. In the darkness of the night, methane gas is produced from under the water and comes out under pressure. When it comes into contact with oxygen in the air, a light purple fire is created, creating a spooky atmosphere. The common people are afraid of that scene and think it is a spooky thing. The appearance of this fire is both real and unreal. When a traveler loses his way in the dark, he tries to find his destination by seeing this light. When the light goes out, he loses his way and gets lost. This game of light and darkness is known as Aleya to the people of rural Bengal. Like a purple flame in human life, love sometimes plays a positive role and finds a sea of happiness, and sometimes, when it plays a negative role, it immerses life in a sea of filth and ruins it. A close reading of the play shows that we live a hazy life like Aleya. The statement that playwright Nazrul has made about the play in the introduction and prologue before the start of the main play gives us a proper idea about the content of the play. The playwright has mainly wanted to show the love story through three men and three women. Keywords – Aleya, hazy, three men-women, symbol.