Snake, Love and Sexuality

Ravindra Tripathi’s

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There are a lot of stories in Indian mythology and folklores where you find the snake or the serpent as sexual motif. Some modern plays  are also based upon it. For example Girish Karnad’s play Nagmandala. The snake as sexual motif is not limited only to India. In 13th bharat rang mahotsav, the Japanese play Ugetsu Monogatari (directed by Madoka okada) also presents the snake as a charmer and lover of human being.

 It is story of 10th century Japan. There is a young man, named Toyoo, son of a fisherman. He lives near seashore.  A beautiful woman named Manago comes to his home in a rainy night. Toyoo is attracted towards her. He also lends his umbrella and promises to meet her again in near future. After some days he goes to her house on the pretext of going back his umbrella. During that he gets intimate with her. Manago gives him a beautiful sword as a token of their relationship.  But after sometime it comes out that the sword was stolen from a shrine. Toyoo is caught by the officials on the charge of theft. He is taken to the house of Manago and there it is discovered that actually Manago is not a woman but a serpent. She   transforms herself as a woman to get Toyoo love. Now the question is what will happen of their relationship. Will Toyoo accept Manago, the serpent as his beloved or leave her?

 Ugetsu monogatari is a play about coexistence of natural and supernatural in human life. We are fascinated by supernatural things but it is not always joyful. Sometime pain and sorrow also come with joyful supernatural. Are we ready to accept both of them? Or we want to enjoy one and discard the other thing? Actually ambivalence is part and parcel of life.

It is a stylized play and full of body movements. Four actresses play role of Manago one actor of Toyoo. The director of the play Madoka okada is known for his experimentation. He also assimilates the linguistic beauty of Japanese and traditional theatre of Japan. There are elements of pantomime in it also. It must be underlined that there a good plays from non-western countries in this festival. It is time to call it international bharat rang mahotsav.




‘The Park’ as a metaphor

Ravindra Tripathi’s

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PARK3Three benches for three – yet no space – a scene from ‘The Park’

The 13th Bharat Rang Mahotsva has started with fanfare. Although the city of Delhi is freezing with  severe cold, the theatre lovers are daring with enthusiasm to watch the plays. Even those who  can’t get ticket or passes, can enjoy food with fire in The Foodhub, which serves delicious kababs and  momos . But let us talk about theatre instead of cold and food.

In Sriram Centre, on 8th of January, `The Park’, jointly written and directed by Manav Kaul and  Kumud Mishra, witnessed a houseful of appreciative audience.

`The Park’ is a play of just four characters, mainly three, who come in a public park during daytime. of course  reasons for their coming to the park are different. One wants to spend some leisure time, the  second one to have a nap on a bench and the third one, to watch a woman after she has had a shower.

There are three benches in the park, so there should be no problem for separate and independent spaces for them.  But the problem starts when all of them want a particular bench for themselves. No one wants to leave his preferred bench. They argue and fight over their `rights’. The play starts as a comedy  but slowly and gradually it becomes serious. Laughter disappears and serious identity issues  appear. Right over the bench becomes a bone of contention between them. The burning topics of displacement and dislocation of people, the Indian adivasis, the Palestinians, the Israelis come in  foreground and in the process a comedy turns black. The play becomes a metaphor.  A metaphor for struggles of indigenous people fighting for their demands in many parts of the world . Who has the right of land where Israel exists today? The Israelis, who are there today or  the Palestinians, who are displaced? What is the basis of their rights? Who has the rights in Mumbai?  Does the marathi speaking person have more rights there than those who don’t know this language?  These issues come during their arguments.

As the arguments go further, tension develops and all of them start fighting among themselves.  the dialogue is broken. This shows how we, human beings, don’t settle our differences amicably and democratically. This is not happening only in India, but everywhere.

`The Park’ ends on positive note and initiates a process to think about how we bear our children.  What is the state of our education system? The actors gave commendable performances.




Begam’s Pillow from India or Muare from Argentinia?

Ravindra Tripathi’s

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Muare-(1)‘Muare’ – Movements and Physicality

Tuesday (11.01.2011) was not as cold as the previous days.  The sun was in the sky and the earth was having a sigh of relief.  The atmosphere in the food hub (In 13th Bharat Rang Mahotsav) was a little bit warmer. Theatre fans and enthusiasts were talking about the plays being staged in different auditoriums. The question before me was whether to see`Muare’ (an Argentinean play) or `Begam Ka Takiya (a Hindi play by Ranjit Kapoor). I was sitting with NK, Banwari Taneja and Sudesh Syal (all of them theatre personalities). There was divided opinion there about the `Muare’. NK was not enthusiastic to see it but Mr. Taneja and Mr. Syal showed their willingness. Since I had already scene `Begam Ka Takiya’, I  preferred to see `Muare’ and  joined Mr. Taneja and Mr. Syal. Earlier Rijhu Bajaj (actor/director) showed his willingness to watch it. But later on he declined. He wanted to do some purchasing for Shabdakar’s coming production `Roop Aroop’ in this festival on 17th January).

 Was `Muare’ a satisfying play? For me, it was not. For others I can’tsay. It was unlike other South American plays being shown in the festival. It was a play basically of movements and physicality. There were two characters, both of them female. They were showing movements and stillness through their bodies. The concept was that a party is happening outside and two women/girls are trapped inside, in a small room. They are reciprocating to outside world through their bodies. The brochure of the play says that the production is based upon a novel, a breath of life, written by Ukranian-Brazilian writer Clarice Lispector. Lispector wrote this when she was about to die. She saw the world as someone seeing it through a magnifying glass. The actresses duo, who are directors also, Marina Quesada and Natalia Lopez,  treat their bodies as containers of a multiplicity of beings that reveal the different dynamics, qualities and expressive possibilities. They tried to create forms and deformities to portray the agony of human being outside of a happening, a party or anything like it.

Of course there were claims by the directors about the experimentation, but was the play really communicable? It might be so in Argentina, but certainly not in India.  One can argue that we Indians only appreciate narrative plays and are not sensitive for physical theatre. But is it really correct? Many plays of movement are appreciated here by a large audience. Perhaps the difference of culture became the obstacle. Or maybe it was not so? The question remains.




Do you know Janusz Korczak?

Ravindra Tripathi’s

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Dreams-of-Taaleem-EnsembleA Scene from ‘Sunil Shanbaug’s Play ‘Dreams of Talim’

Sometime you hear a true story which is more dramatic than drama, more painful than Greek tragedies. Here is a story for you which Sunil Shanbaug, the director who presented `Dreams of Talim’ in 13th BRM (Bharat Rang Mahotsav), told before a gathering in NSD on 14th of January. We met in `meet the director’ program in BRM.  I was officially asked to conduct the program by Dinesh Khanna, the coordinator. The idea of the meet is a very good concept and well organized by Dinesh and his team members’ i.e. Suman Kumar Singh, Savita Rani, Vipin Bhardwaj and others.   During the course of question-answer session, Sunil narrated  a story which stunned the audience.

Replying to a question, Sunil said that this time (in 13th BRM) initially he wanted to bring another production based on Ravindra Nath Tagore’s Dak Ghar (the post office) in 13th BRM. But, regarding staging of Dak Ghar,there is another story attached to the play, the story of Janusz Korczak. Korczak was a polish writer of children literature during the Second World War.  He was also a principal of a school for orphans. It was the time when Hitler’s German forces were encircling   Poland. Himself a Jew, Korczak was at the receiving end of the Nazi German power, but he was continuing his work. He felt that something unexpected might happen any day and children of his orphanage should be prepared for this. At that horrible time of history, Korczak decided to do a play with orphan students and the name of the play was Dak Ghar. The play was staged. After sometime, the Nazis sent all the children to a concentration camp and they were massacred there. Korczak accompanied the children in graveyards.

In Sunil’s production of Dak Ghar this story is interwoven and it is already staged in Calcutta.    The staging the Tagore’s play in those circumstances and story of Korczak’s integrity and commitment   tells a lot about strength of literature. Korczak was himself a littérateur and wrote for children. But he chose Tagore’s play. Those who have either read or seen Dak Ghar know that it a story of hope and faith of a young and innocent boy. Perhaps Korczak thought that this play will be a moral source of strength at that time of darkness. Or maybe something else was in his mind. Who knows?  But one thing is certain that literature, drama or art has a moral relevance.

 I am eager to see this production of Sunil.




A Magic Lantern Presentation

Flash-point human rights film festival comes to Delhi

Suddenly_Last_WinterStill From ‘Suddenly Last Winter’

The three-day Flashpoint Human Rights Film Festival, which brings together eight extraordinary films from around the world that deal with human rights issues, gets under way in New Delhi on Thursday. The films urge people to reflect, react, revolutionalise and act as a ‘flashpoint’ to usher in change.

The festival has already been held in Mumbai from December 8-10, 2010. The New Delhi edition would include special focused thematic screenings and panel discussions.

The eight documentaries to be screened at Flashpoint, which were part of the ‘Matter of Act’ programme at the Movies That Matter Film Festival 2010 in the Netherlands, highlight the extraordinary work done by human rights defenders across the world, and their fight against injustice and oppression. These films show what great dangers these activists have to face to do their work where freedom of speech, the right to a fair trial and the right to life are violated.

The films look at human rights issues like human trafficking and child prostitution; violation of international laws on war and peace; atrocities under military regimes; religious fundamentalism and homophobia; political annexation/occupation and oppression; women disempowerment and honour killings; ravages of civil war and hostilities; and war crimes and killing of innocents.

The films being screened are Redlight by Guy Jacobson and Adi Ezroni; Song For Amineby Alberto Bougleux; Suddenly, Last Winter by Gustav Hofer and Luca Ragazzi; The 10 Conditions Of Love by Jeff Daniels; The Sari Soldiers by Julie Bridgham; To Shoot  An Elephant by Alberto Arce and Mohammed Rujailah; Women In Shroud by Farid Haerinejad and Mohammad Reza Kazemi; and Women In White by Gry Winther.

“Screening of these films along with panel discussion and media campaigns could possibly bring about a change in perceptions and mindsets and initiate action. Flashpoint intends to spotlight human rights issues and make a call for the audience to act as ‘Flashpointers’,” said Sridhar Rangayan of Solaris Pictures, which is organising the festival.

Solaris Pictures has consistently been making films on issues such as homosexuality and gay rights, films that engage the audience and initiate dialogues on issues dealing with health and sexuality, human rights, and the gay and transgender communities.

The festival, which will be held at Alliance Francaise, is being co-organised by Magic Lantern Foundation, non-profit group working with culture and human rights. The foundation is involved with production of documentary films that explore aesthetics and politics, campaigning with films on issues of social justice, culture and censorship, media education to critically assess the dominant media, intervening in the construction of media policy, dissemination of independent films, and curation and organisation of film festivals.

There would also be two panel discussions. The first, on ‘Rising intolerance’, is being supported by the Human Rights Law Network. The second, on ‘Gender and conflict’, is being supported by UN Women.

Contacts:

Sridhar Rangayan; Solaris Pictures; solaris.pictures.india@gmail.com

Gargi Sen; Magic Lantern Foundation; magiclantern.foundation@gmail.com

ANNEXURE – I

Redlight

Dir: Guy Jacobson / Adi Ezroni
2009, 72 min / United States / English, Khmer / English Subtitles

According to estimates, one million children end up in the sex industry every year. Especially in Southeast Asia, the problem has taken on huge proportions. ‘Redlight’ tells the personal stories of two young Cambodian victims of child traffic and two brave women who fight this form of child abuse: human rights defender Somaly Mam and politician Mu Sochua. Both were nominated for the Nobel peace prize in 2005. The directors Guy Jacobson and Ali Ezroni, who received the prestigious Global Hero Award for the film, that contains poignant victims’ accounts and hidden camera images from brothels.

Former sex slaves try to get back on track after their gruesome experiences. Others try to bring to trial those responsible for their ordeal. But they face tremendous risks to find eyewitnesses and sue brothel keepers.

Official website: http://www.redlightthemovie.com

Song For Amine

Dir : Alberto Bougleux
2009, 53 min. / Spain, France, Italy / Arabic, French / English Subtitles

Countless people have been subjected to forced disappearance since the early nineties, when Algeria waged war on radical Islam. According to official statistics published by the Algerian government 6,000 Algerians have ‘disappeared’ in the 1990s. Human rights organizations consider the actual number to be much higher, though. Amine Amrouch disappeared on 30 January 1997, when he was abducted by the security forces inAlgiers. Since that time his mother Nassera Dutour spends her days campaigning for truth and justice. She presides the Mediterranean Federation on Forced Disappearances (FEMED) and is a spokesperson of a movement created by the relatives of victims of forced disappearance in Algeria. “At first we asked the government to return our children alive”, she says. “Now we ask them to tell us the truth and render their bodies.” ‘Chanson pour Amine’ sheds new light on the impact of a forgotten war against Muslim fundamentalism. A war that has already cost more than 200,000 human lives.

Official website: http://www.memorial-algerie.org/

Suddenly, Last  Winter

Dir: Gustav Hofer / Luca Ragazzi
2008, 78 min. / Italy / Italian / English Subtitles

Suddenly, Last Winter’, an ironic documentary that won several prizes at international festivals, tells the story of Gustav Hofer and Luca Ragazzi, the directors of the film. Their lives are turned upside down when the Italian government introduces a bill to reinforce the legal status of gays and unmarried couples. The bill provokes a country-wide debate and stirs a wave of homophobia in Italy. The Vatican and the conservatives speak out against the government’s plans, arguing that the end is near if the bill is voted. Gustav and Luca, who have been together for eight years, set out on a journey to hear all sides and come across an aspect of Italy they did not know yet. Intolerance appears to be more widespread than they thought.

Awards: Special Jury Award – AFI Dallas IFF 2009 Special Mention Panorama Programme – Berlin Film Festival 2009 Best Documentary – Cordoba Idem Festival 2009 Nastro d’Argento for best documentary – Italian Film Critics Awards 2009 Best Film – El Ojo Cojo Festiva

Official website: http://www.suddenlylastwinter.com

The 10 Conditions Of Love

Dir: Jeff Daniels
2009, 53 min / United States, Australia / English / English Subtitles

Rebiya Kadeer once embodied China’s economic success. Born to penniless parents, she worked her way up and became one of the ten richest people in China. The government honoured her at the International Women’s Conference that took place in Beijing in 1995. But besides being extremely successful, Rebiya is also an Uyghur woman. Uyghurs are people with a Turkish origin who live in the Xinjiang autonomous region. China is mainly interested in the territory of the Islamic Uyghurs because of the large oil and gas reserves. When delivering an address to the National People’s Congress, Rebiya decides to put the cat among the pigeons. She criticizes the influx of Han migrants in Xinjiang, arguing that they take the Uyghurs’ jobs and undermine their culture. Rebiya is arrested and detained. Six years later, more dead than alive, she is allowed to leave prison and goes to the United States. There, she campaigns for the human rights of the Uyghurs, which takes its toll on her children.

The human rights defender Rebiya Kadeer has been nominated three times for the Nobel Prize

Awards: Best Social & Political Documentary – Australia 2009

Official website: http://www.10conditionsoflove.com

The Sari Soldiers

Dir: Julie Bridgham
2008, 92 min / Nepal, United States / English, Nepali / English Subtitles

When Devi, mother of a fifteen-year-old daughter, witnesses her niece being killed by the Royal Army of Nepal, she decides to speak out in public on this crime. In retaliation for her open-heartedness the army kidnaps her daughter. ‘The Sari Soldiers’ follows Devi on her quest to find her daughter and in her struggle for justice. Apart from Devi, five other brave women are portrayed who, based on different convictions, try to shapeNepal’s future. They do this against the background of an intensifying civil war between the armed forces and the Maoist insurgents. The rebels have stepped up against king Gyanendra who is in power since his brother killed their father in 2001. The new king does not have much consideration for democracy and seeks to curtail civil liberties inNepal. Although the women have different points of view regarding the conflict, director Julie Bridgham has succeeded admirably in getting their stories across. The documentary has received several prizes, including the Nestor Almendros Prize from the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival.

Awards: Nestor Almendros Prize – Human Rights Watch Film Festival 2009; Grand Jury Prize – Tri-Continental Film Festival 2009; Best of Festival Prize – Watch Docs 2009; Special Jury Award – One World Human Rights Documentary Festival 2008

Official website: http://www.sarisoldiers.com | www.butterlampfilms.com

To Shoot  An Elephant

Dir: Alberto Arce / Mohammed Rujailah
2009, 112 min. / Spain /  Arabic, English / English Subtitles

What is it like to live in the Gaza Strip, an area of about 140 square miles that is home to one and a half million Palestinians? Unemployment is high and almost half the population is under fourteen year. In ‘To Shoot an Elephant’ director Alberto Arce zooms in on life in Gaza, which is occupied by Israel. As a member of the International Solidarity Movement, one of the few aid organizations that is still active in the Gaza Strip, Arce was filming there late 2008 and early 2009, when fighting between Israel and Hamas intensified. Approximately 1,300 civilians were killed in the hostilities and air attacks that took place during that period. Arce was one of the few foreign journalists that witnessed the shelling from within the Gaza Strip. The filmmaker turns his camera on the ambulance personnel. They take the dead and wounded off the street, putting their own lives on the line. When they try to shelter a corpse, they get fired at.

Awards: Best director award – Florence’s Festival dei Popoli 2009; Golden Butterfly Amnesty International’s A Matter of ACT Award for the best documentary – Movies that Matter Festival 2010

Official website: http://www.toshootanelephant.com

Women In Shroud

Dir: Farid Haerinejad / Mohammad Reza Kazemi
2009, 73 min. / Iran, Canada / Farsi / English Subtitles

Imagine a 21-year-old woman being forced into prostitution by her mother since she was nine years old, and frequently being raped by her brothers. What would be an appropriate punishment in a case like this? In Iran, the death penalty is applied. For the 21-year-old woman, that is. Since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the Iranian legal system has been all but favourable to women. Women accused of adultery can be stoned to death – even without proof of guilt. Although stoning to death has been officially abolished since 2004, it still occurs. The documentary ‘Women in Shroud’ follows a group of Iranian lawyers and human rights defenders that campaign against these unfair convictions. Their activism is not without danger, though. The central figure in the documentary, Shadi Sadr, was arrested in 2007 during a peaceful protest, and in the summer of 2009 she was beaten up by militias while she was on her way to the Friday prayers. In 2009, Sadr received the Human Rights Defenders Tulip from Dutch foreign minister Verhagen, and she will be a guest of honour at this year’s Movies that Matter Festival.

Awards: Cinema for Peace Human Rights Award- Berlin International Film Festival 2010;
Golden Butterfly, Amnesty International’s A Matter of ACT Award for the most impressive human rights activist / organization: Shadi Sadr – Movies that Matter Festival 2010

Women In White

Dir: Gry Winther
2009, 52 min. / Cuba, United States, Spain / Spanish, English / English Subtitles

From the moment he came to power in 1959, Fidel Castro led Cuba with an iron fist. A system of informants and secret police ensured that dissidents were given no chance to voice their views. When, in March 2003, all eyes were directed at the invasion of Iraq, seventy-five journalists, writers and human rights activists were arrested. They received prison sentences of 20 to 30 years. Two weeks later, the wives, sisters and daughters of the prisoners decided to come together to pray for their loved ones. Since then, Las Damas de Blanco, or the women in white, walk silently through the streets of Havana. Their actions are not without success: twenty men have been released since they began. In 2005, the European Parliament awarded the women a freedom of speech award. Although the regime keeps a close eye on the women, they continue on with their silent protest. Now only 12 are left in prison. The women’s fight led to the release of the others, but the ones released were forced to live in exile. The 12 refused to leave Cubaand therefore are still in prison. The women therefore still march through the streets ofHavana. For the first time, these women share their stories with the world in the documentary ‘Women in White’.

Awards: Norwegian Award for Cinematography 2009

Official website: http://www.nordicworld.tv/catalogue/1191/program/program/null

Full details: http://magiclanternfoundation.org/film-fest/flashpoint-new-delhi/




A political play from Bolivia

Ravindra Tripathy’s

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EN UN SOL- PHOTO CREDIT RADOSLAV PAZAMETA-LUCASNIÑOS CUADROEN UN SOL AMARILLO- Photo: Radoslav Pazameta-Lucasninos Cuadro

We, in India, are familiar with South American writers like Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Mario Vargas llyosa and others. But we know very little about theatre of Bolivia, Chile, Argentina and other Latin- American countries. Fortunately, in 13th Bharat Rang Mahotsav there are some plays from these countries which show how lively the theatre scene is there. One can feel the `politics of theatre’ in these plays. But it is not only the political component which is important; there is also immense aesthetic depth in these plays. You can say that Latin-American theatre is as lively as its fiction and poetry.

`En un sol Amarillo’ (In a yellow sun: memories of an earthquake) is play in Spanish from Bolivia. Directed by Cesar Brie, an eminent Bolivian director, this play is about a natural tragedy that took place in this South-American country. On the night of 22nd may 1998, Bolivia was rocked by a massive earthquake, which devastated many cities and towns. A lot of people became homeless. Children died without proper care. The international community sent all type of aids but the government of Bolivia couldn’t distribute it properly and massive misuse of funds aggravated the plight of people. Corruption went rampant. The basic infrastructures were destroyed and remained inbuilt. Those who raised a voice were maimed, misappropriation of fund by the bureaucracy and political class knew no bounds and the victims were mistreated. People died and politicians laughed.

The play is based upon the research and information about this earthquake and subsequent suffering of the people. So there is a lot of reality here. But this is not only a docu-drama. Here you see reality as well as the imagination, prose as well as poetry and design as well as acting. There is physical theatre and comedy in it also. Interweaving of wit, humor, pathos makes this play a human tragedy. We can see here what is happening not only in Bolivia but all over the world. There are many stories of catastrophe also in India, which are full of administrative lapses, monetary mismanagement and political insensivities. The Indian audience will easily identify with this play.  The director of the play, Cesar Brie, had to flee Argentina in 1976 because of dictatorship in that country. He lived and worked in Denmark, Italy and Poland before settling in Bolivia.




Exhibition at JNU – The Marshall Albums

Marshall_inviteE-Invite

The Marshall Albums: Photography and Archaeology on 14th January, Friday, 5:00 pm at the Exhibition Gallery, School of Arts and Aesthetics, JNU.(E-invite attached).

There will be an introductory talk on the exhibition by Akshaya Tankha and Joyoti Roy at 5:15 pm.

About the exhibition:

One of the most important collections in the Alkazi Collection of Photography, The Marshall Albums displays images taken by Sir John Marshall and the ASI during his service as its first Director General between 1902 and 1928. The images reflect his keen interest in photography as a tool for successful conservation campaigns and highlight a unique process, which helped set important trends and standards in photography for archaeological scholarship in the formative years of the ASI.

The exhibition is drawn from a publication by the same name, edited by Dr. Sudeshna Guha, which explores the many discoveries and interpretations of Indian history that emerged through archaeological fieldwork. While maintaining focus on Marshall’s contributions to South Asian archaeology, the themes presented include the rise of archaeology as an authoritative element for historical scholarship during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the politics and contestations involved in the archaeological preservation of monuments and historical landscapes, and the relationship between photography and archaeology.

The exhibition aims to present reflexive histories of an investigative technique that developed into a disciplinary science within British India.




Arunachal Pradesh on The Theatre Map of India

Ravindra Tripathi’s

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Drowa-7

No doubt, the Hindi language has many local dialects. But have you ever heard of Arunachali Hindi? Yes, it exists. You want to know where it is?  It is in Arunachal Pradesh of course. But why is it Arunachali Hindi, it is difficult to say because it is just like standard khariboli chaste Hindi. But whatever it is, it was a nice experience to watch the play and listen to the language.

I am talking about `Drowa Jhagmu: Ek Devi Ki Kahani ( Drowa Jhagmu: the story of a goddess). It is a play from Arunachal Pradesh, directed by Suk Bahadur, a National School of Drama graduate.

Drowa Jhagmu: Ek Devi Ki Kahani’ is based upon a mythological story of Arunachal Pradesh. A king named Kalawangphu was famous for his violent nature. He loved bloodshed. One day, when  he went hunting, his dog  got lost somewhere in the forest. While searching for his dog, he met a beautiful woman, who was really a fairy called Drowa Jhagmu. The king wanted to marry her, but Drowa Jhagmu  put a condition before him – he will have to shun violence and lead a peaceful life. The king accepts this condition and both of them got married and had two children, a son and a daughter.

Meanwhile the king’s first wife returned (she had gone somewhere for a long time). Seeing the new queen and her two children she becomes furious and plots a conspiracy. The king is dethroned and arrested. The fairy returns to her world, the two children had to hide themselves from the first queen, who acquires all the power. But at the end, all goes well. The son becomes the king with the help of his fairy mother. He rescues his father, the first queen, who is the conspirator is dethroned and killed. The daughter, who is a grown up woman, also joins her brother and father.

The director uses the local Aunachali dance forms; yak dance, aji lhamu dance, pantomimes and mask dances to weave the production. The actors did their hard work, although there is need of more refinement in the area of voice modulation. It is a good thing that Arunachal Pradesh is coming on the theatre map of India.




Dreams of Talim – A Tribute to Chetan Datar

Ravindra Tripathi’s

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Dreams-of-Taaleem-Ensemble

Last year in BRM (the 12th Bharat Rang Mahotsav)  when  I saw Sex, Morality and Censorship, directed by Sunil Shanbaug, I was quite impressed. And not only me, the entire  Kamani auditorium  was electrified when the performance was over.

This year Sunil Shanbaug has brought another production Dreams Of Talim, written by Sachin Kundalkar. But it there is also a story behind it, which is essential to be told if you want to fully understand this. Actually, before the play starts, the story is told before the audience. It is about late Chetan Datar, a talented theatre person who died young in 2008. Chetan had written a monologue title `No I Madhavbagh’ around 2004. It was never staged during his lifetime.

After Chetan’s death Sunil decided to do one of Chetan’s text on stage as a tribute. Then came Sachin Kundalkar for his support. Sachin wrote a full length play based on Chetan’s monologue. The result is Dreams of Talim.

It is a play about alternative sexuality, an emerging discourse in Indian society. The problem of alternative sexuality is that it is taboo. Despite that it has won a legal battle, the society at large doesn’t accept it, the family abhors it. The play deals with this `taboo’, the issues, questions and passions associated with it.

It has four characters, Anay, Yash, Sita and Sita’s mother. Anay is a young theatre director. He is abandoned by   all his colleagues and friends except one, Yash who still admires him. Both the boys are in special relationship (gay) with each other. Meanwhile, Sita, an actress come in their life. She showed her willingness to act in play which Anay wants to direct a play. When the rehearsal get started the problems of alternative sexuality arise on different planes. Anay is individually facing the problem and Sita is finding it difficult to come to terms with it on emotional level. Simultaneously    many issues about love, theatre and relationships emerge.

The strength of Dreams of Talim is its acting. All the actors, Anand Tewari as Yash, Suvrat Joshi as Anay, Geetanjali Kulkarni as Aai and Divya Jaddale as Sita, give commendable performances.  There is an element of fantasy also in the play which makes it a little bit surrealistic. The play was multi-lingual with a mix of  Hindi and English.




The Dilemma of Chhau – Problems of Being Folk by Gouri Nilakantan

Chhau_Dance_on BL_PiazzaChau Dance on The BL Piazza    

To categorize and delineate any dramatic performance as being folk, traditional or modern would be simply dispensing them off that can endanger our readings and interpretations for it.  All dramatic performances display set codes and conventions such as costumes, makeup, text, use of diction prose or poetry and evolved choreography, movement or premeditated action. My attempt in this thesis is to look at Chhau as one such dramatic genre that goes beyond such simplistic compartmentalization.  Chhau is definitely one such performance that uses tradition as its material, however it does not conform to any one set standard or benchmark which can be seen by the introduction of females as performers in an all male form.

A new identity are thus being assumed by the participants while there is a fair amount of continuity in the subject and it has seen some amount of stability in its dramatic content, costumes, music, plot and carefully choreographed movement.  At the same Chhau can be said to be traditional as it has a quazi-religious status as it is performed during the Chaitra Parva ( March-April months of the year) and is calendared.  However it goes beyond the simplistic traditional mould as it is being increasingly being performed all over the globe which is unrelated to any ritual, religion or calendared time.

Chhau is thus in a constant state of flux and is always reinventing itself in variety of ways.  It cannot be denied that Chhau has its roots way back in time but at the same time to define it as being traditional, folk or classical as noted differently by scholars would simply reduce the innovation being by the presence of the females in this form. Chhau is traditional, yes, but it is as current as today as it was before.  It can be said as one having a “traditional process” as pointed out Brynjulf Alver.

By definition it is the process of tradition which creates, alters and renews, chooses and works in new topics in an endless chain, by the interaction between the individual bearer and the community. (Alver, 47)

Thus Chhau can be said to be a cultural process where individuals play an important role and in particular the female.   Therefore the agency of the female performer and her interconnections with the larger society and the process of Chhau has to be seen and understood .  As Elias puts it,

In order to understand and explain the civilizing process one needs to investigate…the transformation of both personality structure and the entire social structure. (Elias, 247, 1982)

Folk drama is said to often belong to the common and non literate people.  It is time to go beyond the ‘folk’ or the common and rethink about this dramatic form as an ongoing concern of contemporary life.   As in the words of Steve Tillis,

…folk drama might be present throughout a culture, employing of any social rank who use texts that might either be freshly composed or have a basis in literature, and whose performances are an ongoing concern of contemporary life. ( 35)     

          The categorization of Chhau as a pure folk form becomes even more problematic and complex as its performance techniques are difficult to master.  It requires years of rigorous discipline and training giving it a semi classical status that especially holds true for both Seraikela and Mayurbhanj Chhau.  It is commonly believed that folk drama belongs to peasant societies however in truth it cuts across boundaries of class and caste and constantly achieves new values.  According to Susmita Poddar, Chhau “arose from a certain ethnic aspirations and in its whole it is described with life struggle activities, totem taboo concept and beliefs of a certain ethnic group.” (16).  It would be incorrect to assume such simplistic positions as Chhau is a complex phenomenon involving many regions, namely Purulia, Seriakela and Mayurbhanj and is now assuming both national and international characteristics with the presence of performers such as Shagun Bhutani and Sharon Lowen.  It is thus not only ‘ethnic identity specific’ (Poddar) and truly is global.  It will be important here to note that I am choosing to concentrate only at the participation of females in both Seraikela and Mayurbhanj Chhau.

To understand any folk drama the ‘social context’ (Ben Amos) of the form has to be defined.  Here the “possession, representation and creation and recreation” ( Ben Amos, 5) of Chhau needs to be studied and understood.  The category of the form being truly folk is thus problematic as its recreation and representation has to be further seen in the wake of globalization and modernization.  Folk arts has to be seen in the wake of ‘commercial possibilities inherent in the new media ( Appadurai, 472).  One has to go beyond the folk mass category and see Chhau in the light of government support and declining traditional patronage.  Tradition thus appears in hybrids and transgresses limitations and boundaries (Schechner 2004:5).

          Chhau as a folk tradition involves continuity of performance and has symbolic connections between the past and the present.  It no longer belongs  to ‘bounded or homogenous cultural groups or territories due to technological change and global capitalism ( Pallavi Chakraborthy, 178).  It is a part of the rich public culture of India or is the “ the public modernity y’ that is both contemporary and new. This performance can be described as a national culture that seeks to co-opt and redefine the local, regional and the folk cultural forms.  With the wake of commercialization, folk forms are now going beyond simple categories and are becoming much more complex in its nature of representation.  As correctly observed by Appadurai,

Commercial culture ( especially in the cinema, television and audio industry) seeks to popularize classical forms.  Mass cultural forms seek to co-opt folk idioms.  This zone of contestation and mutual cannibalization in which national, mass and folk provide both mill and grist for one another-is the very heart of public modernity in India. ( Appadurai and Breckenridge 1995:50)       

Folk arts especially drama is seen as ‘little tradition’  as opposed to ‘great tradition’ that is popularly believed to be more sophisticated.   Great tradition is classified as representing high levels of intellectual and artistic achievements of the society.  Chhau is one such unique form of performance that has seen the participation of the royalty as performers.  In both Seraikela and Mayurbhanj Chhau we see the distinctive participation of the princes in this form.  It thus has had strong representation of the intelligentsia who have successfully transmitted to the form to generations.  Now with independence and the decline of the royalty and emergence of the middle class, Chhau exhibits fluidity and has thus developed ‘new traditions or invented traditions ( a term proposed by Eric Hobswan and Terence Ranger).  Chhau thus is one major form that moves beyond such definitions of being truly “folk” and is an ‘invented tradition’  that mediates between the sophisticated to the common.

Chhau is thus a local, national and international practice.  I hope to see Chhau as being embraced by middle class women becoming the site for emerging cultural identities inIndia.  This dance form can thus hope to become a space for women whereby they can achieve new meanings and their participation can hope to establish some kind of agency and create new potentialities for female performers.  It would be thus correct to conclude in the words of Wimal Dissanayake,

The recuperation of human agency then has both theoretical interests and practical political consequences of great import.  What is urgently needed is a theory of agency that recognizes that agents are shaped irreducibly by social and cultural discourses  and that they have the potentiality to clear cultural spaces from which they could act in accordance with their desires and intentionalities. ( 1996:xvi)     

Thus this introduction of females in Chhau is indicative of transformed gender identity of Indian women as performers in the arts.  The participation of the females inChhau may be indicative of a new self worth, their own personal signification, and the public presentation of transformed gender identity for an Indian woman.  The Chhaufemale artists are reshaping their history by their participation in the performance. This participation is entrenched in the social life and spatial imagination of the artist.  The metaphorical space, of self-worth of the artist, helps the process of negotiation between the artist and her external spaces, her home, troupe members and community to occur.