Bhuvneshvar Prasad’s KALA DHABBA BADAL KI TARAH AA RAHA HAI Director and Dramaturge: Avijit Solanki

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Playwright: Bhuvneshvar Prasad

Director and Dramaturge: Avijit Solanki

Group: N.S.D. Diploma Production, New Delhi

Language:  Hindustani

Duration: 1 hr

The Play

When Bhuvneshwar Prasad’s story ‘Bhediye’ was first published it created quite a stir in literary circles of 1933 India. The story begins by asking what is a bhediya? (a wolf).  Kharu says there’s none other as dangerous as them, appearing in packs, nothing satiates their hunger. Kharu recites a story in which he, his father and three Nataniyas were traversing from Gwalior to Punjab when they were attacked by a hungry pack of bhediyas. Chasing and compelling him to abandon all his belongings/possessions behind. Running to save his life he loses his father. It story ends after Kharu spits and tells that the very next year he killed a pack of sixty bhediye!

Director’s Note

Bhediye is a narrative of a progressing violent swarm, being run over by it, and losing all one has to it. A new light of meaning emanates from this story every single time I read it. Its approach to language, structure and characterizations are cold and brutal. Like a hammer thumping onto a nail penetrating your bleeding soul. It has an odor of fear and terror – a topical subject to reflect upon as our country’s crisis.  An evolving society, whose minorities – are people who belong nowhere – are chased, lynched.

Survivors though saved but scarred for life holding anger, betrayal, loss, revenge and guilt within. Feelings, which compel him to attack the swarm that swept everything he called mine. Attacker and attacked let loose a trail of disaster and stories of inhumane horror.

It was quite challenging for us as a team to create performance out of this text because of its narrative nature. To cull out its visual elements, through the physicality and material expression it offers. We are thankful to all friends who kept visiting us during rehearsals and contributed to make the work what it is.

The Director

Avijit Solanki is a Bhopali who debuted as a director with an adaptation of Tagore’s Daakghar in Gondi dialect. After completing his diploma from Madhya Pradesh School of Drama (2012), he founded Other Theatre. Some of his directorial ventures are- Daakghar, Antigone, Bade Bade Pankhon Wala Boodha, Kucch Vakya, Jaadui Macchi, Ismat ki Id. He has worked with children from different backgrounds and communities.

The Playwright

Bhubaneswar (1911 – 1957) born to a middle-class family in Shahjahanpur (U.P.). His periodic compositions exposed the boundaries drawn between the ideal and real so that they started spearheading beliefs, traditions and a new voice.

Bhubaneswar was an outspoken and distinct literary voice, which was hitherto unknown and unspoken then. He exposed classic irregularities in the form of bitter truths through his writings. His contribution to literature and language was an enrichment brought to life with his courage to experiment with new technical compositions. Some of his path-breaking works were published in Hans, ‘Shyama: A Marital Paradox’, 1933 and a collection of one-act plays in ‘Caravan’, 1935, established him as a monolith in literature. The play Tambe Ke Keede, he wrote in 1946, found its honour of place as first incompatible and incomprehensible absurd drama written in any language of the world. 

The Group

This is a diploma play presented as a part of National School of Drama’s graduate showcase (class of 2018), which aims to provide a platform, for emerging theatre practitioners, allowing them to share their work with wider audience.

Cast & Credits

Actors: Sarfaraz Ali Mirza, Bhagyashree Tarke, Rachna Gupta, Susheel Kant Mishra, Meenakshi Thapa,Ravi Chahar, Paramanand.

Chasers: Mahadev Singh Lakhawat, Parag Barua, Pradeep Gautam, Akshay Wadera, Kamalpreet Singh, Jordan, Vishal, Ankit Ambavat, Tejendra, Suraj Kumar, Dhananjay Sharma, Tapan Kosh, Akshay Kumar,Ramjeet Yadav, Ashish Kumar Nayak, Tushar Karan, Deepak Pandey, Pankaj Verma, Sahil Khanna,Abhishek, Manjeet Kumar, Akash Shrivastav, Rajai Thakral, Abhay Kumar, Shivam Bansal, Nidhi Singh.

Cart Pullers: Akash Shrivastav, Akki, Rajat Thakral, Abhay Kumar

Sceneography:  Nitish Arora

Light Design:  Sarthak Narula

Costume Design:  Rachna Gupta

Video Projection:  Saras Kumar

Saxophone :Rahul Kumar

Drums:  Vikesh Bisht

Publicity Design:  Nitish Arora

Sound operation:  Ankit Gupta

Dramaturgical Advice:  Sandeep, Nitish Arora

Original story: Bhuvneshwar Prasad

Dramaturgy & Direction: Avijit Solanki

Manohar Khushalani

Manohar Khushalani

Prof. Manohar Khushalani is a former Visiting Faculty at Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology, Delhi. The courses he taught were: Animation & Graphics, Non-Linear Editing for Film and Radio and Theatre Appreciation.  He has won a total of nine Excellence in Teaching awards for all the courses he has taught at IIITD Earlier he retired from Government of India as Director Environment Management, Central Water Commission and held many senior positions in the Government Based on a Belief that Culture and Environment are the two keys to global sustainability , Manohar Khushalani has launched two portals: A Portal on Environment and Water called One Vorld at url: www.onevorld.org and two Ezines on Culture called Stage Buzz at url: www.stagebuzz.in He has taught extensively in varied subjects such as Dam Safety, Instrumentation, CAD, IT, Animation, Theatre, Newspaper Editing. He has conducted Courses on Environment Management, Water Shed Development, Team Building and Personality Development. He was an Expert Member of Prasar Bharti’s Committee for Grading & Short listing Films for Telecast on all channels of Doordarshan.  He is a Radio Anchor for All India Radio and has moderated several programs for the Rajdhani Channel He is a well-known Theatre Actor/Director and Critic, has been involved in theatre since 1977. He has worked as an actor in over 50 plays with almost every leading director/Actor in the Country including Badal Sircar, Feisal Alkazi, Amal Allana, M.K. Raina, Anuradha Kapoor, Maya Rao, Manohar Singh, Prasanna, Rati Bartholomew and Sushmita Mukherji. He has been active in the social sector as a street theatre activist. As a member of Workshop Theatre, Theatre Union and Prayog, Khushalani has participated in street plays taking up major social issues such as dowry, bride burning, Sati, banned medicinal drugs and communalism. Dario Fo’s Accidental Death of an Anarchist and Can’t Pay Won’t Pay, both directed by him, received rave notices from critics and audiences alike. Other plays directed by him include Badal Sircar’s, Sagina Mahato and Boris Vian’s Empire Builders for Ruchika Theatre Group. Khushalani has also acted in a few films such as Sudhir Mishra's Hazaron Khwaishen Aisi , Shoojit Sircar’s Madras Café and Pradeep Krishan's Annie Gives Those Ones. He is an Animator & Graphics Designer and has directed a number of documentaries. He also held a number of Honorary positions and was President of North India Films Association, He was the Chairman of  Jury for UGC CEC Educational Films Competition and has been on their Preview Committee since last many years. He was on the preview committee of Door Darshan Channel 3, was a visiting Professor at National School of Drama, New Delhi, and Film & Television Institute of India, Pune, AJKMCRR, Jamia Milia Islamia and Professor in Media at FICT, Delhi  He has judged a large number of Drama Competitions and conducted a number of Theatre / Management Games Workshops with Institutions such as AIIMS, NTPC, CWPRS, NWA, Karve Nari Prakshishan Sansthan, FICT, IIT, MAMC, Gargi College, KNC, Tagore International School and Vivekananda School. He is a Theatre Critic for IIC Diary, has also been a Columnist with Midday and Pioneer Daily and wrote Column's Called Culture Cocktail and Footlights Respectively. He was also the Guest Editor for an issue on Folk Theatre of ICCR Journal Horizons. He has written for Times of Indian, Hindustan Times, Blitz, Hard News, Hindu Business Line, Theatre India & Art Times. He has designed dams and hydraulic structures for the Government. He is a programmer and has developed Engineering design software in Fortran. He is a co-author of Irrigation Practice & Design (Vol 1 to5 - 1500 pages) published by Oxford & IBH and sponsored by National Book Trust. He has been a Director, Environment and Sociology, at the National Water Academy, Khadakwasla and Director, Environment Management Directorate, Central Water Commission and Member Secretary, National Environmental Monitoring Committee for River Valley Projects. He was also Director of Instrumentation Directorate in the Dam Safety Organisation. He was Chief General Manager and Head of Water Resources at Scott Wilson and is an accredited consultant with numerous other organizations He is a Delhi Public School, BITS Pilani, IIT Delhi and FTI Pune Alumini. He was also the President of BITS Pilani Alumni Association, Pune.

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