Daklakatha Devikavya – Provoking and Contemplative

A review by Manohar Khushalani for IIC DIARY

Daklakatha Devikavya is an open ended play performed in an engagingly
informal folk style, evolved from the epic poetry and stories of K.B. Siddaiah’s .
It was Directed by Lakshman K.P. It presents the inner workings and external
experiences of the Daklas — a Dalit community.
 
Presented by Jangama Collective, Bengaluru with Bindu Raxidi (Dakla Devi,
Kadiramma); Santhosh Dindgur (Dakla, Cheluvaiah)l; Bharath Dingri (K.B.
Siddiah & narrator); Narasimharaju B.K. (Narasappa); and Ramika Chaithra
(Gangavva, Munivenkatamma)
 
Accompanists who also added tone and tenor to the performance were: Poorvi
Kalyani & Skanda Ghate (vocal); Bharath Dingri (tamate); and Narasimharaju
B.K. (arevadya)

The Flower Sellers

The setting of the play had flower sellers squatting in the background and
rising in turns as actors with robust voices. The traditional Folk device, a half
curtain, known as, Yavanika, was used to introduce the important characters.
The actor would peep over the curtain which was lowered after he started
speaking or singing.

The Yavanika
The Traditional Yavanika

The most important aspect of the performance was that it
retained the spiritual richness of the Dakla community, through its music. Two
of the characters appear on the stage playing tamate (hand drum) and
arevadya (urmi), instruments not seen in contemporary theatre. Daklas are
people who are protected by the untouchables and hence are still lower in the
social hierarchy. But whatever notions people have about Adivasis or Daklas
being a backward community, better revise them forthwith. First of, the
female roles were done by women and not female impersonators. These
women unhesitantly lighted beedis, and were not coy about using cuss words,
which is true to their life. It is also true of contemporary OTT films, which claim
to be more modern and truer to our life.

The author had a strong faith in mysticism as exemplified by his poetry which
was the soul of the performance:

O mother as you rock the world
And rock the child
Bear me again in your womb

Walk this infant from the cave of your vagina
Into the cave of contemplation.

Here in the above context the poet brings out that once the mother bears him
in her womb the stigma of untouchability will not be so strong. One recurring
metaphor that has remained constant is hunger. The poet throws a direct
question to the creator:

O God! Take birth like me
Then
Try to touch and be polluted!
Try to take like me, like me take birth!

Untouchability does not generate self-pity in the play, in fact it is an instrument
of self-awareness and enlightenment. Sheer magic was created in the dark
night by luminous display of improvised spinning fire wheels urns with radiant
charcoal cinders. All elements in the play contributed to an experience of a
magical night to remember.

Watch the entire play on You Tube:

The article as published in IIC Diary (Oct-Nov 2023)




नाटक “बैजू बावरा”

समीक्षा — अनिल गोयल
मराठी और बंगाली रंगमंच से आक्रान्त होने की सीमा तक प्रभावित रहे हिन्दी रंगमंच में कुछ चरित्र, विशेषकर भारतीय इतिहास, संस्कृति और धर्म से जुड़े हुए लोग किनारों पर ही रहे… जिसमें विभिन्न विचारधारावादी बौद्धिकों का बहुत बड़ा योगदान रहा. हालांकि, हमारे फिल्म-जगत ने ऐसे अनेक व्यक्तियों पर फिल्में बनाईं. स्थिति में परिवर्तन आने से, नकार दिये गये ऐसे कुछ चरित्र अब रंगमंच के प्रकाश-पुंज की परिधियों में आ रहे हैं.

ऐसे ही एक महान संगीत-नायक बैजू बावरा के जीवन पर 2024 के जनवरी माह की चौथी तिथि को अरविन्द सिंह चन्द्रवंशी ने अपना नया नाटक ‘बैजू बावरा’ दिल्ली के श्रीराम सैंटर में गाँधी हिन्दुस्तानी साहित्य सभा के सौजन्य से प्रस्तुत किया. नाटक का लेखन विशाल सिंह और अरविन्द सिंह ने किया है.

यह नाटक एक बार फिर से इस बहस को जन्म देता है कि क्या उन व्यक्तियों का कोई अस्तित्व कभी रहा होगा, जो राजदरबारों में नहीं रहे, जिनका उल्लेख राजाओं-बादशाहों के द्वारा लिखवाये गये इतिहास में नहीं है, और जिनकी भव्य राजसी समाधियाँ या मजारें नहीं बन सकीं! ऐसे अनेक ऐतिहासिक लोगों के योगदान को उनके अपने क्षेत्रों के दिग्गज तो स्वीकार करते हैं, परन्तु हिन्दी रंगकर्मी अपनी दृष्टि उन दिग्गजों तक नहीं पहुँचाना चाहते. एक वर्ग कुछ गैर-ऐतिहासिक चरित्रों पर ‘अनारकली’ और ‘मुगले आजम’ जैसी फिल्में बना लेता है. परन्तु दूसरा वर्ग तुलसी, मीरा, सूरदास, रसखान, बैजू बावरा, शिवाजी, महाराणा प्रताप, नेताजी सुभाषचन्द्र बोस और इन जैसे अनगिनत महान चरित्रों को गुमनामी के अन्धेरों में खोये रहने को ही विवश करता आया है.

इस बहस से बाहर निकल कर, आज के काल के हिन्दी रंगमंच के परिदृश्य में, अत्यन्त सीमित साधनों में इस प्रकार के एक ऐतिहासिक नाटक को करना साहस का नहीं, अपितु दुस्साहसिक कृत्य ही कहा जायेगा! अरविन्द की इस नाटक की यह पहली प्रस्तुति थी, जिस कारण से इस प्रस्तुति से बहुत अधिक अपेक्षाएँ की भी नहीं गई थीं. और एक संगीतमयी नाटक में सबसे पहली आवश्यकता होती है गायक-अभिनेताओं की. आज की तिथि में दिल्ली में गायक-अभिनेताओं की खोज करना रेगिस्तान में पानी ढूँढ़ने के समान ही होगा. पर्वतीय कला केन्द्र से जुड़े कुछ रंगकर्मियों को छोड़ दें, तो बाकी अभिनेता और अभिनेत्रियों को इस विषय में कोई विशेष दक्षता प्राप्त नहीं है. ऐसे में, इस नाटक का क्या भविष्य होगा? इस प्रश्न का उत्तर तो भविष्य ही दे पायेगा! हाँ, अभिनेताओं ने अपनी ओर से भरपूर मेहनत करके नाटक के विषय को दर्शकों तक पहुँचाने में कोई कसर नहीं छोड़ी.

इस नाटक में मंच-आलोकन ने निराश ही किया… आज यदि रंगमंच के प्रकाश-आयोजक नृत्य के लिये बनाई गई लाईटें नाटकों में प्रयोग कर रहे हैं, मंच के पीछे से दर्शकों की ओर को, उनकी आँखों पर प्रकाश फेंक रहे हैं, जर्क या झटके के साथ प्रकाश को खोल और बन्द कर रहे हैं, अकारण ही पूरे नाटक में धुएँ का प्रयोग कर रहे हैं, तो वे रंगमंच को हानि ही पहुँचा रहे हैं. रंगमंच एक सामूहिक प्रक्रिया है. यदि प्रकाश, संगीत, परिधान इत्यादि किसी भी क्षेत्र का व्यक्ति एकाधिक बार रिहर्सल में आ कर विषय को समझने की चेष्टा नहीं करता, तो नाटक कैसे उठ पायेगा? आज मुम्बई में फिल्म इंडस्ट्री में भी, गानों के गायन के समय पर इस सामूहिक प्रक्रिया को एकल बना दिया गया है, जहाँ पहले से रिकार्डेड ट्रैक्स हैं, एक गायक आते है और गा कर चला जाता है, फिर कभी और, दूसरा गायक आता है और अपनी पंक्तियाँ गा कर चला जाता है, तो उस गाने में भाव और फिल्म के दृश्य के लिये आवश्यक कोमल संवेदनाएँ कैसे पैदा होंगी? बहुत सुनियोजित तरीके से हिन्दी फिल्म संगीत की हत्या की जा रही है. आशा है कि दिल्ली के रंगकर्मी इससे कुछ सीखेंगे और अपने काम को एक सामूहिक प्रक्रिया के रूप में ही स्वीकार करेंगे… अन्यथा दिल्ली के रंगमंच के दरवाजे सदा के लिये बन्द हो जाने वाले दिन शायद बहुत दूर नहीं होंगे!

एक अछूते विषय को लेकर नाटक करने के लिये अरविन्द सिंह को फिर बधाई!




Play ‘Couples Shuffle’ Conveys Message to Audience with Laughter

The husband-wife relationship is considered to be the most sacred in the world. Love and trust bind both, but many times husband and wife quarrel by finding shortcomings in each other and a third takes advantage of it. Something similar was seen in Anuragna Theatre Group’s presentation “Couples Shuffle“, written and directed by Ashraf Ali. The play was performed on December 24 at Black Canvas, L.T.G. Auditorium, Mandi House, New Delhi-01.

Sharma ji (Chirag) house where he lives with his wife (Shruti Aastha) Chawla. There is always a tussle between the two over small things. Meanwhile, their neighbor Dubey (Bilal Khan) enters, who tries to take advantage of the conflict between those husband and wife and put a string on Shruti. Meanwhile, Maya (Manisha Sharma) enters. Sharma ji is very impressed by seeing Maya and tries to increase friendship. This dilemma goes on for a long time and finally it is revealed that Dubey and Maya are husband and wife, and they came to Sharma ji’s house to investigate them in search of the Best Couple Award in which both of them failed.

Amidst laughter, this play also gives a message to the audience that ‘husband and wife should never leave each other in any situation and should maintain trust in each other’. Chirag played his character well in the role of Sharma, as well as his wife Shruti’s character had many shades, which she succeeded in keeping in front of the audience. In the role of Dubey, Bilal Khan kept the entire drama tied with his acting and put many laughs in it, as well as the performance of Manisha Sharma in the role of Maya was also praise worthy.

Behind the stage were Goldie in the music, lighting was done by Manik Sharma, Kamal Negi was in the costumes and Ankit was in the stage material as well as Shamsher Khan and Avinash Tiwari in the set.




ASHA BHOSLE AT NINETY

Evergreen Asha Bhosle when she was younger

First Published in THE AIDEM (theaidem.com)

Asha Bhosle, the most charismatic female exponent of the Hindi film song (from the late 1940s to the early 1980s) when it became an independent art form, turned Ninety on 8th September, 2023. She has sung thousands of songs in good, bad an indifferent films, principally in Hindi, where her singing has been the leading attraction. This is indeed high compliment as she has always been compared to her elder sister Lata Mangeshkar, who, in her prime years between the late 1940s to, the early 1980s, was the most tuneful or ‘Sureela’ of all woman singers in Hindi films, or films from any other part of India. Asha, however won out because of her versatility and the ability to conjure up a wide range of feelings and experiences that belonged to this flesh and blood world.

Her singing at first was not so different from that of her elder sister, a style she adopted or was made to adopt by certain music directors in order to sound like her thin-voiced but extremely mellifluous elder sister Lata. Not until O.P. Nayyar (1926–2007) came along, was she able to find her musical self. He reportedly told Asha, “Tum apni awaaz main gao (sing in your own voice)”. Nayyar saw to it that she did her riyaz (practise) every morning in her natural voice which was distinctly darker than her sister Lata’s and intrinsically sensual. But before O.P. Nayyar came along she had sung two non-film songs that still linger in the memory: “Geet kitni gaa chuki hun is sukhi jag ke liye” and “Ambua ki dari bole….”, both composed by the brilliant, mercurial table maestro Nikhil Ghosh.

Strangely enough in 1953, when Lata her elder sister was already famous, Asha was offered three solo songs by a gifted, young composer, Mohammad Zahoor Khan ‘Khayyam’ for Footpath, a film directed by Zia Sarhadi and Starring two powerful young performers, Dilip Kumar and Meena Kumari. It was said that Lata wanted to sing those three solos but young Khayyam stood firm backed by his director. ‘Piya aaja re’, ‘Kaise jadoo dala re’ and ‘So jaa mere pyare’ sung by Asha Bhosle are still remembered along with Talat Mahmood’s immortal “Sham-e-gham ki qasam”.

Soon after the brilliant composer Madan Mohan, a Great Lata fan, got Asha to sing a ghazal written by Jalal Malihabadi, “Saba se ye keh do” for the film, Bank Manager. Asha’s rendering had both empathy and romance. As a singer she had arrived. But the contracts for solo songs were not that many. Earlier in Sangdil, 1952, a Dilip Kumar—Madhubala starrer, a composer of genuine originality, Sajjad Hussain, had got Asha to sing a duet with Geeta Dutt, an unusual talent. “Dharti se dur gore badalon ke paar aaja”. It was a haunting duet with Asha showing both vocal range and a timbre that could be called tactile. It was a voice destined to stay in the memory of the listener.

It took Asha a fairly long time to establish her identity as a truly fine soloist, despite earning respectable sums of money. Lata held sway over the film music world as a soloist, with her obviously formidable musicality and by sounding like a ‘virgin’. A musical approach that seemed to fit the image of all the leading ladies who were there to shore up the moral quotient of Hindi films and were thus curtailed emotionally, leaving the male leads to indulge in their peccadillos!

It was Nayyar, whose career was in the ascendant who worked hard to project Asha as a solid, reliable soloist. In Shakti Samanta’s Howrah Bridge (1957) he promoted her as the voice of Madhubala, the reigning Queen of Hindi films and its only comedian. in “Aaye meherban”, Asha’s sensual singing picturised on Madhubala in a Cabaret sequence, made her sparkle. Then was the snappy, melodious solo, “Ye kya ker dala tuney” that made the most recalcitrant of cynics respond to the romance in the words and the music. In the same year Nayyar repeated his success with Asha in Nazir Hussain’s Tumsa Nahi Dekha. Her two duets with Mohammad Rafi were instant hits, namely, “Aye hain dur se….”, “Dekho kasam se kasam se”. Around that time, Sachin Dev Burman, created a moving solo for Asha in Bimal Roy’s Sujata, “Kali ghata chaye mora jiya ghabrae” mirroring the longings of an Untouchable orphan girl played by Nutan.

S.D. Burman had a falling out with Lata Mangeshkar, but ego forbade him to give in. Kala Bazar produced by Navketan and directed by Vijay Anand, had Asha singing “Sach hue sapne mere”. No female singer had sung with such abandon in Hindi films before, perhaps because the Heroines, with the notable exception of Madhubala, and Geeta Bali, who died well before their time, the only two who got roles to also express the sunny side of their personalities.

S.D. Burman got Asha to sing four solos in Narendra Suri’s, Lajwanti “Kuchh Din pehle…”, “Chanda re chup rehna”, “Gaa mere mun tu gaa” and “Koi aaya dhadkan kehti hai”, are all sung with depth and feeling and picturised on Nargis, an exceptional actress. They continue to be played on the Radio and on YouTube, surprising those young listeners are who responsive to the beauty of Indian melodies that enunciate and augment the lyrics that are set to them.

Two other solos recorded almost a decade apart  come to mind : ‘’Main jab bhi akeli hoti hun’’ from Dharamputra (1962) composed with elegance and poise by N Dutta, and, ‘’Mein shayad tumhare liye ajnabi hun’’, a haunting melody composed by O P Nayyar for Ye Raat Phir Na Ayegi.

 Contemporary composers, to be sure, had been aware of Asha’s potential and the expressive quality of her voice. However, they were not going to challenge the preference of film producers and financiers who were completely taken in by the virginal sweetness of Lata Mangeshkar’s voice and her unassailable technique. Asha would have to prove herself in duets (and did she!) She sang with Kishore Kumar in the Dev Anand—Nutan starrer, Paying Guest. “O deewana Mastana” and “Chod do aanchal zamana kya kahega” spring to mind after all these years with all their freshness and zing.

O.P. Nayyar had an unusual sense of melody, part Punjabi folk and part raga-based in its inspiration: this coupled with his pulsating rhythm section of tabla, dholak and occasionally, western drums, gave to many of his compositions a distinctive personality. Even when he cogged melodies from the West, eg., “Hun abhi mein jawan” sung by Geeta Dutt from Aar Paar that got its mukhda or introduction from “Put the blame on me” from Gilda, a Rita Hayworth hit from Hollywood directed by Charles Vidor. The Antara clearly had Nayyar’s distinctive touch.

Asha Bhosle, and before her Geeta Dutt, had voices most suitable to his work. Much as he had admired Lata Mangeshkar’s artistry, he found her voice to be too thin for his kind of music. Asha’s voice was very flexible, had a dark, sensual colour and was responsive to lyrics to express many moods and experiences. Nayyar understood perceptively both Asha Bhosle the woman, as well as the singer who brought his compositions to life. Until they parted in amidst much acrimony, they had literally been a perfect pair of lovers for twelve years.

Asha Bhosle, a mother of three, had been unhappily married to a man of uncertain profession, Ganpatrao Bhosle, from 1949 to ’60. He died in 1966, supposedly in a taxi. O.P. Nayyar, had married Saroj Mohini when he was seventeen and she, fifteen. They had four children together. He shot to fame with “Preetam aan milo” that he composed as a teenager and was first recorded by C.H. Atma as a non-film song. On discovering Asha Bhosle, he found his muse, and the perfect female voice for his songs. Their problematic marital status as separate individuals did not prevent them from living together in a beautifully furnished flat on Worli sea-face in Bombay.

When they parted in 1972, they had recorded for the film Pran Jaye Per Vachan Na Jaye, “Chaen se humko kabhi aap ne jeene na diya”. It was a masterly composition rendered by Asha with unfettered emotion, which, in effect, also summed up the cause of their parting. O.P. Nayyar could not find another female voice to replace her and his career faded away rapidly. He observed ruefully later, “I put all my eggs in one basket.”  He regretted having side-lined a singular talent like Geeta Dutt. Asha went from success to success over the next three decades and married Rahul Dev Burman, the gifted composer son of S.D. Burman.

This digression was necessary while discussing the life of Asha Bhosle, an unusually gifted singer and a feisty woman who has navigated with unusual grit and skill through all the ups and downs in her turbulent life. For the record her depressive daughter Varsha committed suicide in 2012 and son Hemant, a composer, died of Cancer in 2015 in Scotland. Asha continues to fight on with every fibre of her being.

As late as 2001, when she sang, “Radha kaise na jaley” for A.R. Rehman in Amir Khan’s, Lagaan, Asha had retained the spring,   and melody in her voice, which by then had become ever so slightly girlish. She could render fast taans (there are a couple of instances in this song) with ease and accuracy. No mean achievement for a singer in her late sixties.

She is believed to have sung Ten thousand songs in eight hundred films. One can only talk of one’s favourites and there are very many. There are the three from the Ashok Kumar starrer, Kalpana, (composer O.P. Nayyar), namely, “Phir bhi dil heye beqaraar”,  “O ji sawan mein bhi… ”, “Beqasi hudh se jab guzar jaye”. Completely different from each other, revealing the amazing malleability of her voice, its unique melody and the sure grasp of evanescent emotion. There is the other haunting song, from Raagini, also composed by O.P. Nayyar, “Chota saa baalma” in Raga Tilang. There are a host of other Nayyar compositions as well.

“Jaaiye aap kahan jaayengi” (Film: Mera Sanam), “Meri nazrein haseen” (Ek Musafir Ek Haseena); ‘’Aaj meiney jana mera dil heye diwani’’ (Farishta),  “Aaj koi pyaar se” (Sawan ki Ghata); “Yehi wo jaga heye” (Ye Raat Phir Na Ayegi); “Puchho na hamein hum unke liye”, (Mitti Main Sona), ‘’Aao huzoor tumko sitaron mein le chalun’’ (Kismat), and a song picturised on the ‘bad girl’ in a given film, “Ye heye reshmi zulfon ka andhera na ghabraeye ….” (Mere Sanam).    

The duets that she sang for S.D. Burman with Kishore Kumar in Nau Do Gyaara, “Aankhon mein kya jee”, her own solo, “Dhalki jae chunariya…” and the two duets with Mohammad Rafi, “aaja panchi akela heye” and “Kali ke roop mein chali ho dhoop main…” certainly are memorable as are the three from Ek Musafir Ek Haseena: “Main pyaar ka rahi hoon”; “aap yun hi agar humse milte rahe”; “Jawani yaar man turki”, and two others from Kashmir ki Kali—“Isharon isharon mein” and “Deewana hua badal”, both composed by O.P. Nayyar and yet another duet with the marvellous Mohhamad Rafi ,’’Phir milogi kabhi…’’ from Ye Raat Phir Na Ayegi,and, much earlier a mesmerising duet from Phagun, ‘’Main soya akhiya meechey’’.

Khayyam is the other composer who brought the best in Asha’s multifarious musical personality. Two duets from Ramesh Sehgal’s Phir Subah Hogi: “Who subah kabhi to aayegi”, and “Yun na keeje meri gustakh nighahi ka gila”, both with Mukesh, have attained immortality. Her solos in Muzzafar Ali’s Umrao Jaan bring out her astonishing vocal range, the flexibility and soz (poignance) in her voice. Her songs for the tawaif (singing courtesan) Umrao in this period piece set in mid-19th century Lucknow, stay in the memory. “Dil cheez kya heye aap meri jaan lijiye”; “justu jiski thi”, “Ye kya jagah heye doston” are amongst the finest songs composed in the annals of the Golden Age of Hindi film music. Asha’s singing fitted Rekha’s vulnerable  screen-personality perfectly, just as her elder sister Lata’s did on Meena Kumari playing Sahib Jaan in  Kamal Amrohi’s, Pakeeza.

If this article is a shade too subjective, well… it is. While having enormous respect for Lata Mangeshkar’s peerless tonal quality at her peak that lasted for thirty or so years, one could never understand her well-nigh ‘abstract’ handling of emotion in her songs, as if any hint of sensuality in them would disqualify her from being a great artiste. Asha Bhosle’s singing was uninhibited, earthy, intrinsically musical and very much to be felt with one’s entire being. That is why one remains enamoured of Asha Bhosle’s singing.

Somehow, she continues to be in the limelight not just for her delectable music. At the recently concluded World Cup Final played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, India was pitted against Australia in the 50-over Cricket tournament. India lost, after giving great hope to an enormous, completely partisan home crowd. Asha Bhosle, a die-hard cricket fan, like her late sister, Lata, was seated between BCCI President Jay Shah and Sharukh Khan, the superstar of Hindi cinema. An ND TV video, shows Sharukh take Ashaji’s empty coffee cup, despite her reluctance, and hand it over to one of the cleaning staff.  A viewer remarked,’’It was the only heart-warming gesture in the whole match.’’ Asha Bhosle’s charisma cuts through generations and inspires them to acts of gallantry.




Voicing Gender Fluidity

Maharashtra Sanskritik Sandhya at IIC

A review by Manohar Khushalani First Published in IIC Diary

Maharashtra Sanskritik Sandhya,  is an annual feature at IIC. This year, they presented dramatized readings, Beyond Gender, on LGBTQ communities, from two plays: Satish Alekar’s ‘Begum Barve’ & Mahesh Dattani’s ‘Seven Steps Around the Fire’. It was brilliantly and imaginatively directed by Sohaila Kapur, who has a knack for choosing very powerful and relevant themes . Six actors read the two plays. The event began with a mesmerising dance by Kaustav Ghosh, doing the role of Begum Barve, the female impersonator. The performance was also interspersed with carefully curated soulful marathi music played in the background.

 Begum Barve, the Marathi musical, features a quartet of characters: Begum Barve, an exploitative employer, Shyamrao, and two clerks, Jawdekar and Bawdekar, who, trapped in a life of penury and prejudice, use their caprices as an escape from it. In the selected excerpt for performance, Begum Barve and Jawdekar celebrate a fictitious pregnancy during a baby shower, helping Barve to fantasize that (s)he could conceive. The scene ends in his humiliation, Shyamrao strips Barve off his fantasy and robes and scorning his manhood. The script explores the intertwining of fantasies and reality through the creation of a female fantasy character, Nalawadebai, bridging the impersonator’s male identity and the clerk’s desire for a traditional family life. This complex narrative challenge’s conventional storytelling, weaving a tapestry of gendered social meanings and re-evaluating contemporary perceptions of womanhood.

Seven Steps Around the Fire, depicts the miserable plight of eunuchs who make a living performing at marriages and child births. A eunuch is murdered at her wedding. Her friend, Anarkali, is arrested without proof by the SP, Suresh Rao. His wife Uma, a journalist, who is also the daughter of the DCP, decides to catch the culprit through investigative reporting. The performance was just an excerpt where Uma is interviewing the imprisoned Anarkali.

Although the murderer is known, the police traps Anarkali to protect the actual criminal who is a powerful person. The subaltern hijaras are too scared to speak. Anarkali says, “They will kill me even if I tell the truth. If I don’t tell the truth, I will die in jail.” The dramatist shows how the murder of Kamla has terrified other hijaras that they cannot reveal the truth and cannot get justice for the dead soul. Anarkali says, “One hijra less in this world does not matter to your husband.”.  In self-defense, Anarkali reminds Uma, that she treated the deceased Kamla as her sister. Uma realises the bond of love among the hijaras is even greater, because they are isolated from society.

The event was introduced by Suhas Borkar, Trustee IIC. It was concluded rather dramatically by Kaushal Kumar, a fine arts university professor with an intriguing body painting improvisation involving audience participation.




The 5th Tafarih Festival Marks the Beginning of a Unique Journey of Literature and Art

The unique event of “Fifth Tafarih” festival organized by Sili Sales Foundation provides us with a beautiful opportunity to connect with literature, art and cultural literacy. Under this festival, eminent persons from various fields have given us an opportunity to have an in-depth discussion on literary and artistic topics by sharing their experiences and perspectives.

The fifth edition began with the lighting a lamp by Senior Theatre Personalies K.K.Kohli, Diwan Singh Bajeli, Shyam Kumar, Pratap Sharma Somvanshi and Sili Sales Foundation’s director Priyanka Sharma. It began with a discussion on ‘Growing distance between novels and stage’, in which senior theatre persons, journalists, and writers shared their vision. It is a platform where an atmosphere of deep discussion on literary and artistic topics has been created. The guests were Diwan Singh Bajeli, Pratap Sharma Somvanshi, Aditi Maheshwari and Rama Yadav. In the discussion, Rama Yadav said, “Today the novel is getting distant from the stage, for which we have to take important steps. We have to inspire the youth to read books and novels. Maybe this will make today’s youth aware.”

Television actress Reena Agarwal and cinematographer Naresh Sharma shared their views on the impact and challenges of social media. The stage was moderated by Priyanka Sharma, Director, Silly Sales Foundation. Natsamrat director Shyam Kumar and senior theatre personality Himanshu B Joshi also shared their experiences.

The play “Stree Subohdhini” brought the festival to life in an entertaining and cultural form. The solo presentation ‘Stree Subodhini’ written by Mannu Bhandari and was directed by late Tripurari Sharma.  Munmun Singh was the winner of sangeet natak akademi award captivated the hearts of all the audience with his acting.   .

The last highlight of the first day of the festival was ‘Mehfile Sukhand’, which tied a different parallel and was directed by Shamir Khan. The fifth Tafarih Festival is being held from 2:00 pm to 9:30 pm on November 18th at 29/1 Civil Lines, Delhi, where there will be a confluence of art and culture. 

In the same way, an atmosphere of partnership has been created in the world of experience, art, and literature associated with various aspects of the festival. This is a time when together we can fill our cultural heritage with richness by connecting with literature and art.




Celebrating Art and Culture: The Vibrant Tapestry of 5th ‘Tafreeh’ Festival in Delhi

“Tafreeh” is a unique celebration of the world of art and theater in Delhi organized by Silly Souls Foundation. It is the first garden arts festival known for plays, readings, mushairas, interviews, and musical performances. Its fifth edition is taking place from 16th November to 18th November at Silly Souls Studio, 29/1 Civil Lines, Delhi.

This year’s event is dedicated to the memory of Tripurari Sharma and will run from 2 pm to 9:30 pm every day. The main attraction this time is the plays performed every evening, including the comedy play “Stree Subodhini” on the first evening. Apart from this, this time “Mushaira” is also going to be held for the first time in “Tafreeh”.

The festival will have daily conversations with renowned personalities from the field of theater and art, including Silly Souls directors Priyanka Sharma and Naveen Choudhary. The first day’s discussion is “The Growing Distance between Novel and Stage”, which will feature Devendra Raj Ankur, Diwan Singh Bajeli, Pratap Sharma Somvanshi, Aditi Maheshwari and Rama Yadav. The guests on the first day of Pratyaksha will be Reena Aggarwal and Naresh Sharma.

The Mushaira to be held on the second day will include Farhat Ehsaas, Tarkash Pradeep, Vikas Sharma Raaz, Irshad Khan Sikandar and Pallav Mishra. Professor and motivational speaker Vijendra Tafrih will be the guest of Pratyaksha. On the second day of the festival, you will experience a special and unique musical performance in the form of “Wife’s Letter”. After the open mic on the last day, our direct guests will be Hema Singh and Kushal Dubey.

The evenings of ‘Tafreeh’ are famous for their musical performances. Presentation by Subhradeep Sahu and musical rendition of poetry by Sahir Ludhianvi, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, and Kaifi Azmi by Raabta Group are the attractions of this time. Watching the “Tafreeh” festival will be a unique and enjoyable experience. At Tafreeh Utsav, you will not only immerse yourself in the roots of theater but also enjoy sharing the wonderful art and literature of Delhi.

Director Priyanka Sharma



Seasoned With Humour: Ajib Dastan Hai Ye!

 
Ajiib Dastan Hai Ye!
A Review by Manohar Khushalani

Originally published in IIC Diary

Wings Cultural Society presented, at IIC, Ajib Dastan Hai Ye, which was a collection of two dramatised soliloquies, in Urdu and Hindustani, that lampooned the absurdities of human behavior. The humour was created because of the imaginative craft of the authors, and the punctuated timing with which actors narrated the tales.

Bey is a hilarious anecdote penned by Shaukat Thanvi about a gullible protagonist who is warned by Tripathi, an astrologer, to beware of the Urdu alphabet ‘Be’ as his impending death will be caused by it. Thus begins, the narrator, Rajguru Mohan’s, roller coaster ride to avoid anything and anyone remotely connected to this alphabet, only to discover, that the whole universe was nothing but ‘Be’. It included objects he handled, his family members, friends and even strangers he came across. This first performance had the audience in splits and set the pace for an equally well paced and uproarious next performance

True to the style of the production of investigating comic text through soliloquies, the performance of Patras Bukhari’s, Marhoom Ki Yaad Mein was engagingly delivered by Tarique Hameed. The tale, as told, begins with an uninspiring conversation between two friends who have known each other for decades and have said it all, so there is nothing new to communicate. To spice up the conversation, the protagonist decides to impress Mirza Sahib, by boasting that he intends to buy a motor car. Amused and knowing his limitations, Mirza advises the narrator to think more realistically about buying a humble bicycle instead, which too it appears was way beyond the narrators means. At what appears to be a bargain, Mirza offers his own bike at a steal of a price. Thus, unfolds a hilarious series of disasters, when the author discovers that he has been taken for a ride on a contraption that he can’t even ride. So, ends his fantasy to be the owner of a motorcar, when he couldn’t even afford to repair the antique bike, in which each part had a mind of its own

As Published in IIC Diary June-July 2023

A Scene from the play Ajib Dastan Hai Ye performed at IIC on 25th July 2023



Natsamrat’s plays Captivated the Audience

It would not be wrong to say that the audience always waits for Natsamrat’s plays. Something similar was seen at Black Canvas (LTG Auditorium) where two different plays by Natsamrat were staged on 30th September and 1st October at 3:30 pm.

The play Doosra Aadmi Doosra Aurat written by Vibha Rani was staged on 30 September at 3:30 pm and directed by Rajesh Bakshi. The acting talent of two actors, Munmun and Rajesh Bakshi, was commendable on the stage. The play depicts the problems arising from the disintegration of personal relationships due to modern materialistic lifestyle. In the drama, Shoma Das comes to Mumbai for a job and is attracted to her office colleague Sambhav Singh. Both of them try to move forward by taking support from each other in the difficult web of life. This two-character play based on the psychology of men and women was presented by Natsamrat.

The play Chandralok.Com was staged on 1 October before a houseful audience. Two different stories were staged in this play. The first story was on earth and the second story was on Chandralok. The first story was based on “Bank Manager” written by Anton Chekhov and the second story was based on Harishankar Parsai’s famous story Inspector Matadin Chand. The director of this play is Rakesh Kodinya and the creative director is Shyam Kumar.

All the artists on stage made the audience laugh a lot with their acting and also gave a message through the elephant. The actors were Munmun, cipf-es.org Vishwajeet, Arun Prakash, Sudhir Khanna, Mohd. Zaheed, Abhishek, Himanshu, Aman. Music was conducted by Shivangi and lighting was conceived by Vikrant Sharma. Stage props were by Rohit Prasad, set props were by Suraj Singh and Lokesh, makeup by Payal Rani and costumes by Rekha Joshi and Chhobi Saha and stage assistants were Vansh Rathore.




अलविदा त्रिपुरारी शर्मा

विदाई सूचक: हिमांशु बी. जोशी

नब्बे के दशक की शुरुवात में मैं जब दिल्ली आया था तो उस वक्त राष्ट्रीय नाट्य विद्यालय रंगमंडल के वरिष्ठ अभिनेताओं श्रीवल्लभ व्यास जी और रवि खानविलकर जी की मदद से रंगमंडल के जो नाटक देखने को मिले उनमें काठ की गाड़ी और आधे अधूरे भी शामिल हैं। इन दोनों नाटकों ने मुझे अलग अलग तरह से मुतासिर किया था चाहे वो लेखन हो या निर्देशन या अभिनय और दोनों मेरे ज़ेहन में अब तक बने हुए हैं। फिर जब कीर्ति जैन जी के नाटक सुवर्णलता से एक लाइट डिजाइनर के तौर पर थोड़ा बहुत पहचान बनी तो रानावि में सबसे पहले जिस नाटक का लाइट डिज़ाइन करने के लिए मुझे तत्कालीन निर्देशक राम गोपाल बजाज जी ने बुलाया वो उन्हीं निर्देशक का नाटक था। नाटक का नाम था चेरी का बगीचा (चेरी ऑर्चर्ड) और उन निर्देशक का नाम था – त्रिपुरारी शर्मा। चेखव के चेरी ऑर्चर्ड को उन्होंने छात्रों के साथ बहुमुख स्पेस में बहुत ही कल्पनाशीलता से निर्देशित किया था। फिर दुबारा से एनएसडी टाई के लिए उनके द्वारा लिखे व निर्देशित किए नाटक हैलो टू माइसेल्फ के लिए भी लाइट डिजाइन करने का अवसर मिला। दोनों नाटक जहां निर्देशन के लिए जाने गए वहीं दोनों की लाइट डिजाइन की भी खूब चर्चा हुई। फिर उनके कई और नाटक देखे और रंगकर्मी के तौर उनके काम को समझा।

त्रिपुरारी जी मितभाषी तो थीं ही, अपने काम को मेहनत और लगन से करने के लिए भी जानी जाती थीं। निर्देशन और लेखन में उनका समान दखल था। अल्काज़ी और कारंथ जी के बाद की पीढ़ी के रंगकर्मियों में वो निसंदेह एक सशक्त हस्ताक्षर थीं। वो लगातार अपने काम से अपने छात्रों को प्रेरित करने वाली टीचर थीं। उनका असमय जाना बहुत ही दुखदाई है। देश की स्वास्थ्य व्यवस्था पर भी क्षोभ है कि उन्हें किसी भी तरह बचाया न जा सका। और अंत में यही बचता है नमन, अलविदा!
अलविदा त्रिपुरारी मैम।