With easy grace, he stretches lankily on the step centre stage as the play Jat Sodhnu Jogi Ko opens. The flow of his speech, body language and the sets comfortably adapt Indian playwright Vijay Tendulkar's Marathi drama into Nepali. Sunil Pokharel is Mahinarayan Gharti whose lifelong ambition for an MA degree has taken him from his village to the city. What he does not expect is to lose his job in a newspaper for being overqualified. Then begins his search for professorship, landing in a remote village college whose building houses the chairman's cow. Funny and relaxed, the audience warms up to the story and Anup Baral's direction enlivens the act with steady rhythm. A satire on the educational system, the theme is relevant and strikes a chord in the audience. It is the serious bits that seem to be a bit incongruous in places, trying to slip in the message in between the quips and social satire. You just have to see this play.

Jat Sodhnu Jogi Ko is staged every evening at 5PM at Gurukul's Sama Theatre in Baneswor till 10 April. Tickets: Rs100, Rs 50 and for students, Rs 25.