Sujata Prasad, from Ministry of Culture addressing Journalists at the inaugural press conference. Waman Kendre, Director NSD can be seen in the foreground

The 8^th Theatre Olympics is being organized by National School of Drama under the aegis of Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India from 17^th February to 8^thApril 2018.

The world’s largest theatre festival would be held in 17 major cities of the country.

The inaugural ceremony will be held on 17^th of February in Red Fort at 6 PM.

The Honorable Vice-President of the country and Chief Guest Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu would grace the occasion at 6: 25 PM.

The scheduled arrival of Guest of Honor Minister of Culture (I/C) Dr. Mahesh Sharma is at 6: 20 PM.

The official inauguration begins at 6:30 PM.

The performance of cultural program ‘Geet Rang’ would begin at 7:10 PM.

About how Mohan discovered Ahimsa and became Mahatma
Shorter version published earlier as Discovering Ahimsa in IIC Diary Sep-Oct 2017

As a Part of IIC’s ‘Festival of the Arts’ 2017, Pierrot’s Troupe presented ‘Mohan Se Mahatma’, directed by Sayeed Alam. It was a play about the Champaran Satyagrah, an episode that happened a century ago. It introduced Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi to the Indian rural milieu. The performance was dedicated to the memory of the late Tom Alter, who had played this role, just before he passed away. The play opens with 55 year old Gandhi, enacted by Ravi Raj Sagar, who had picked up the role at such a short notice. We see Gandhi writing notes about theSatyagrah for his autobiography “My Experiments with Truth”. In the chapter titled, ‘Face to face with Ahimsa’, Gandhi shows how he evolved,at Champaran, his most potent non-violent weapon of the century.

The director uses a minimalistic style of presentation, which is very potent and effective. With just a change of lighting, accompanied by the sound of achugging steam engine, he creates a Railway platform and heralds the arrival of the then 47 year old Mohan, in a Kathiawari dress,enacted by Sayeed, who goes on to be dubbed as Mahatma by the end of the struggle.

While we see his partners in crime, the intelligentsia of Bihar, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Acharya Kripilani and a host of others, simultaneously, the story also demonstrates the contributions of the people and the peasants of Bihar towards Indian freedom movement. The high point of the play is when the British find it necessary to nip Gandhi’s movement in the bud, by filing charges against him.However, seeing the groundswell of public support, they panic and before he could appear in the court, withdraw charges against him. The country thus had its first direct lessons in Civil Disobedience.

rajivchan@gmail.comIHC/rajivchan@gmail.com has invited Dancer Geeta Chandran and her Natya Vriksha Dance Company to present ANEKANTA at the Stein Auditorium, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi.

The key leitmotif of Chandran’s ANEKANTA is that there are multiple
realities to every issue – cultural, political, social, economic and, in
fact, every aspect of life and living! ANEKANTA celebrates acceptance of
multiple truths, embracing diversity and of universal acceptance.

In group choreographies, Geeta Chandran views ANEKANTA through dramatic
dance strategies like an ALARIPPU presented in three speeds; of exploring
GRIHABHEDA through movement; and finding linkages between SOUND and
SILENCE! She also presents NABAGUNJARA, a thrilling episode from an Oriya
Mahabharata.

In her solo choreography, Geeta’s abhinaya will throw the spotlight on
RAVANA, King of Lanka, known in all three worlds as an exemplar Shiva
Bhakta. And yet, universally considered a monstrous villain. Yet, within
the Valmiki Ramayana itself, there is evidence that he was so much more.
And these shades offer the dancer an opportnuity to explore ANEKANTA within
the context of the Ramayana.

Music for ANEKANTA is designed by Geeta Chandran in close collaboration
with K. Venkateshwaran and Dr. S. Vasudevan. This lyrical music-scape is
further enhanced with rhythmic inputs by K. Sivakumar and Lalgudi Sri
Ganesh adding verve and vibrancy to the production.

Yet another path-breaking dance concept by Dancer GEETA CHANDRAN, ANEKANTA
aspires to bring valuable oxygen to the larger public discourse on
identity. It is a powerful artistic statement of Dancer Geeta Chandran who
has moved tradition forward with her strategic performances.

Sangeet Natak Akademi presents Special Documentation and presentation of ‘MAND’ folk songs of Rajasthan by Shri Kachra Khan Mangniar on 28th June 2017, 4:00pm onward at Meghdoot -III, Rabindra Bhawan, Copernicus Marg, New Delhi – 110001.
Entry Free

by

Manohar Khushalani

Having been associated with Street Theatre from late seventies my memories of Jan Natya Manch are equally old. It was way back in 1977 that I first met Safdar Hashmi. Our group, Workshop Theatre, which was formed after a workshop with Badal Sircar was rehearsing for William Hinton’s, Fanshen, a play about communist revolution in a village in China. Safdar had come to meet the late Sudhanshu Mishra. He sat through our rehearsal and gave many suggestions. Our group contained people, most of whom later migrated to Television – Sudhir Mishra, Sushmita Mukherjee, Bina Pal, Anil Mehta. Only Anamika Haksar and I stuck on to theatre. But the two years that we did street theatre were full of intensity. Our most memorable production was Badal Sircar’s Bhooma, for which Badal Da himself came specially to Delhi to do a workshop with us. Often people wept in our shows, and so did we, shamelessly, while performing. Although I was also performing in the Proscenium Arch, this liberty one could only take in a street play. When we came in touch with M.K. Raina, most of Workshop Theatre members opted to work in his Street Production of Juloos and later in Spartacus & Mother.

Our first test of our beliefs came when Raina took our performance of Mother to the Brecht International Festival held in Calcutta in 1978. There we were greeted by the biggest floods in the last 100 years of the city. While our street plays dealt with the underdog and deprived sections of society we were confronted with a dilemma. The floods created a pool of neck deep water around the Dharamshala that we stayed in. The water remained for three days and we were holed up on the first floor at the same time that the pavement dwellers were living all around the Dharamshala with their aluminum utensils floating before their eyes . We were helpless – unable to offer them refuge in our own rooms. What kind of street theatre were we doing? We often debated on whether doing plays was enough and whether it should not be supplemented with social work. The answers came much later when Maya Rao, Anuradha Kapoor and myself met by chance at SRC and decided to form Theater Union. Later we co-opted fellow Prayog members like Vinod Dua , Ein Lal and Ragini Prakash, along with women activists like Urvashi Butalia and Sudesh Sehgal.

Our first play was prepared in association with several women’s groups. It was called Balatkar Kanoon . The Rape Bill was before a Select Committee, whose recommendation would be considered before it became an Act. We examined the bill, discovered the lacunae as well as the strengths. We created a play which would warn the select committee about the loop holes while educating the common women about their rights as per the Bill. During this play we had an opportunity to interact with social workers who worked in the very communities that we performed in. Needless to say this gave us more satisfaction. Much later TU prepared a play on Multinational Drug Companies who were dumping in the Third World, all those drugs which were banned in the Developed World. This play we prepared in association with Voluntary Health Association of India and got lot of information from Mira Shiva. This information we used to create an educative play in a comic vein. This play too was a useful supplement for medical workers. We also did our bit by distributing printed literature at the end of the show. However, by now the debate on whether a street theatre group should also do social work had resolved itself. It had now dawned on us that we were performers and we should stick to that. If we created a consciousness in just a few people it would spread to others by conduction.

Some times people had created doubts amongst us about the reach of street theatre. Television was cited as a medium with a greater reach. One still remembers a talk that Safdar Hashmi gave at the Jawahar Lal Nehru University City Auditorium which was so prophetic. At that time few people owned TVs. There was only one Doordarshan channel and no private channels. Hashmi warned that TV will create antisocial vibes. While performing arts are a community affairs and bring many people under one roof the television will devided people by restricting them to their homes. He cited the example of people who visit homes of Television owners. Often the host spoke to his guest by using his ear as his mouth. Since his mouth was turned away as he himself had his eyes glued to Television. Ofcourse he saw a deliberate conspiracy in this and felt that television had been created to divide people, to break up communities and to destroy the collective spirit. So inspired was I by what he said that I went up to the stage to congratulate him.

But the real truth about TV having a greater reach has been resolved in my mind by history. The answer lies in credibility. A human being looking into your eyes and delivering a messages has greater credibility than an electronic media supported by vested interests and money power. When we did the play against Bride burning, just 200 shows were enough to create Media & Government attention on the issue. Soon the issue was seen everywhere in newspapers on television in and in films. Mera Devan’s award winning film on Bride Burning, used our play’s sound track interspersed with her own visuals. Theatre Union performed shoulder to shoulder with Jan Natya Manch at many venues. There we got to see each others plays – appreciate and criticise each others work. While Safdar appreciated the choreography and aesthetics of TU productions, he felt that the message was not direct. We felt that Janam plays were hard hitting but some times (not always) there was a poster effect. Though I must say Janam productions have been changing over the years and the last play that I saw looked like a Theatre Union play to me. Since TU had performers who also acted on the proscenium stage our productions were bound to be different. However this I am talking about the eighties. Now Janam has also performed on stage – it is alive and kicking while Theatre Union has gone into hibernation.

I still remember how it was considered a taboo for a street theatre worker to perform on stage. The first time I remember Safdar showing an interest about problems of Proscenium theatre was when the Bombay police act was introduced in Delhi and theatre workers were up in arms against it. Said Hashmi in a seminar specially organised against it; “this was the first step towards government censorship of theatre”. I was particularly agitated about it since I felt that police was ill equipped to understand the nuances of theatre. Little did I realise at that time, that in effect, given the usually inefficiency of the official machinery, getting a police license, irritating though it may be, was just another formality to be completed. Also, street theatre, which had the maximum potential of a political irritant was outside the purview of a performance license since these performance were not in an auditorium. Yet Hashmi spoke most ardently followed by M.K. Raina who had a foot in both the boats.

Street theatre does not mean just taking up any issue , assembling a bunch of enthusiasts, and converging the first street corner one comes across. It may take months to write a nukkad natak script. Workshop Theatre took three months to translate Badal Sircar’s Bhooma and six months to further evolve the play! An issue may arise from a slum. It may be wife beating, or a drunkard husband, or a middle class dowry problem. It is chosen, by a general consensus, workshop sessions are organised and a script is evolved keeping in mind the target audience. Few people know that Badal Sircar’s Juloos has been performed in Pakistan as well. Street theatre has attracted a few people because of the romanticism involved in the whole exercise. Since they are often exposed, the police which never, likes references to its own brutalities, often tries to stop the performances. Sometimes even the audience gets pulled up because of the personal, one to one relation ship that this medium tries to establish. When the police tried to stop a performance of Juloos by Prayog at Connaught Place’s central park, more than a decade ago, the audience intervened on behalf of the performers and battled with the police. Similarly, during the Emergency, when the police stopped a street performance at Curzon Park, Calcutta, the common people responded by turning up in thousands to watch the same performance the next day. The romanticism, however, wears off after some time. Only a few who are genuinely committed stick to the movement. “If ever you do street theatre, forget that you will be happy, forget that you will be famous, forget that you will be rich,” warns Badal Sircar. However, Safdar Hashmi’s unfortunate martyrdom has changed all that. “people have become more conscious of a performer’s right to perform. But Street Theatre which appeared to be on the decline is bound to rise up again and fight the menaces of social evils. Be it with plays like Janam’s unforgettable Aurat or Theatre Union’s similarly memorable Toba Tek Singh.

(This Article was first published by Jan Natya Manch and is being republished to commemorate the IFA event at Studio Safdar titled An Evening on Street Theatre in Delhi on Friday, June 23, 2017)

Synopsis of six plays performed at Bharat Rang Mahotsav’16

The Mother of a Traitor
It was performed in Dollu Kunitha Form. It is one of the popular folk forms of Karnataka. It is generally played during festivals and fairs that take place in the name of respected regional Gods. It is a form of Drum dance where large drums are adorned with colored cloths and hung around the neck of men. The songs used in this dance usually have religious and battle fervour. The main emphasis is on quick and light movements of the feet and legs. It is a short story revolving around the concept of motherhood. The whole region is afraid of a traitor and his group for their menace due to which the life of people has got stuck with the malevolent blackness of their cry. The mother of traitor wanders around the walls of cit in quest of hers son’s existence and witness a woman kneeling down in front of her son’s corps. The woman says, “May he be accursed and the womb that bore him!” The mother meets her son and her son started expressing pride on his desks. Dealing with the conflict of love for her son on one side and country on the other, she finally kills her son, who is resting on her breasts.

The Transparent Trap
It was a non verbal play. The body language of the actors used was fantastic. Plastic is an important part of our lives. We, humans have used it in almost each and everything except the edible stuff. But we do used it in packing of edible stuff. We used plastic daily because of it’s extreme user friendly character. It is one of the prime reasons for global warming and ha skilled many aquatic, terrestrial and amphibian species. One of us invented it and now all of us use it extensively. A material which was invented for betterment and become the killer of humanity itself. This hazardous entity is destroying, choking and trapping all over. This play tries to search for solutions to find way out of plastic trap.

Tar aaya
It is based on introduction of tar roads to a small village in Mysore. The tar roads bring division of opinion between the youth and the more rigid elders of the village, seen as clash of modernity and traditional values. But interestingly, it is the village elders who are in favour of modernity while the young youth fights to keep it at bay. From a simple narrative, the story plunges into diverse issues of caste , religion and the role of women in rural society. The story refuses to submit to traditional defined roles and creates newer perspective of each issue. The nature of the story is inspirational even though it is grounded in reality. Though the ending is quite tragic as in the fight between urbanization and corruption, an innocent child is killed in the molten tar.

Dopehri
Dopehri is set in the streets of Lucknow where sits the haveli of an old lonely woman, Amma Bi. He brings to us her story, stringing us through the emotions and nuances of these characters and the milieu of an old Lucknow. It transports us through Amma Bi’s journey from loneliness to self discovery. It is based on the novella written by Pankaj Kapur and now rendered by him on stage, with the help of lights and music.

Nyayapriya
An underground progressive gathering arrangements to kill a British Collector in provincial India. Tej Pratap, a criminal living in Canada, comes and joins the gathering. Shekhar, prevalently called Mastana in the gathering, on seeing kids riding in the British authority’s carriage, does not toss the bomb as anticipated the learned day. There is warmed contention in the gathering as a result of this. Damyanti, a senior individual from the gathering, is infatuated with Shekhar. The gathering pioneer Baldev arrangements to toss the bomb two days after the fact. Shekhar is captured after the passing of the Collector. A watchfulness officer tries to purchase off Shekhar in the jail. English gatherer’s significant other and Pandit Trivedi visit Shekhar in the jail with the goal that he apologizes. Shekhar is hanged to death. Upon the arrival of the hanging Damyanti, profoundly lamented, chooses to toss the following bomb and endure a comparative destiny.

Land where the Life is Good
Land Where Life Is Good discusses the different personalities that are concealed in the covers of a solitary character called ‘Indian’. It tries to take a gander at the disarray that this activity of digestion for nationhood has made in the brains of the present era, particularly with regards to Nagaland. Does there exists a performance personality of a man or would we say we are today the result of numerous characters? What is bona fide – the old or the new? What are the bits of character that we clutched and why do we relinquish different bits? These are a portion of the inquiries that roused this generation. This is an endeavor to address these inquiries through the voyage of a youthful Naga kid – Tako, his unwavering pooch and his mystical performer companion Nogazenba. At no time do we attempt to answer the inquiries raised, on the grounds that for every person, the answers are distinctive.

“In theatre, we create metaphors out of life”: Dr. Chandrashekhar Kambar at 18^th Bharat Rang Mahotsav’s Master Class

New Delhi, 17th February 2016: At the last session of Master Class series, Padmashree Dr. Chandrashekhar Kambar honoured the stage of Bahumukh, National School of Drama at 18^th Bharat Rang Mahotsav. Dr. Kambar is a prominent poet, playwright, director and folklorist. He has written 25 plays, 11 anthologies of poem, 5 novels and 16 research works.

 Sharing his journey in the field of theatre, Dr. Kambar said, “India lost its artistic nature during the independence struggle and political disturbance.” Mr. Kambar holds knowledge of the modern theatre in Indian context. Explaining the value of modern theatre, he said, “We have 13 Shakespeare in our regional translations.”

Expressing his thoughts upon folk theatre, Mr. Kambar mentioned, “Folk theatre needs audience participation, not only actors. Folk theatre is not as sophisticated as modern theatre but the actors emerges from the audiences themselves.”When theatre and literature were discussed in the session, Mr.Kambar explained the importance of theatre in its practical context and literature added, “When literature and theatre combines in a perfect harmony, we have drama.” Emphasising upon the value of art, Mr Kambar said, “We create metaphors out of our lives in theatre.” Mr Kambar also recited his creations of prayer songs at audience demand.

For “Meet the Director”,Antarmukh hosted the directors of yesterday’s productions: Protarak (Sandip Bhattacharya), The Wild (Thom Pasculli) and Tar Aaya (Pandu Ranga). The directors interacted with the audience about the aspects of play. Explaining the production’s behaviour, Thom Pasculli, director of “The Wild”, said, “Mine is a laboratory production. It has a nature of wilderness in it. Even the rehearsal room allows the chaos to be present.”

NSD’s diploma production of “Tar Aaya” Pandu Ranga said, “Dalit literature has always been neglected. Through the adaptation of a story written by a Dalit author, I wanted to highlight its important.”

Plays performed at the 18th Bharat Rang Mahotsav on Feb 2, 2016 Play:

Play: Agnivarsham
Playwright: Girish Karnad
Director: Dr. Ram Mohan Holagundi
Group: Nishumbita Ballet & Theatre Group, Hyderabad
Language: Telugu
Duration: 2hrs 20mins

The Play
The play is a fictionalized version of the story of Aravasu, Paravasu, Yavakri, Vishakha and Nitilai from Mahabharata. Girish Karnad modulates the actual story to stress the social issue of casteism that existed then, and also to stress on the fact that a dedicated art performance is equal to the vedic yagna done by the brahmins to please the gods. The story revolves around power, love, vengeance and art. In the battle between selfless love and selfish ego the former succeeds.The play ends with a statement that the worth of man is evaluated from his actions and not from the caste he or she is born in.

Glimpse from the play Agnivarsham

​​ Director’s Note
The major point which made me decide upon Agnivarsham is the ostentatious Hindu hierarchy system which is confronted by the world of performing art screaming that theatre & art is equally important & significant, if not more, in appeasing the Gods to shower rains than the yagnas which are the handiworks of orthodox Hindu civilization, a reality that is menacing even today.

​​

Play: Ramayana
Choreographer: Shanti Bardhan
Group: Ranga Sri Little Ballet Troupe, Bhopal
Language: Hindi
Duration: 1hr 45mins

The Play
This novel composition combines the features of ballet and puppet play. It presents a folkloristic version of the Ramayana in the manner of a Rajasthani puppet play. The movements of the actors are stylized; all dancers wear square masks on which faces, crowns and headgears are modeled and painted. They create the illusion of wooden, head-heavy puppets, but through skillful execution give afantastic animation to the faces. Critics have called this a stroke of genius. The first performance of this play was at the Jai Hind College Hall, Bombay, on the 6th of January, 1953.

The theme of Ramayana is aptly introduced in the context of a village fair, with peasants and village-women, milling around in the excitement of the market. The performance begins with Ayodhya celebrating the return of Rama and Lakshmana after Rama’s wedding and culminates in the celebration of the victory of Rama over Ravana.

Glimpse of the play Ramayana

Director
Shanti  Bardhan (1915-1954) will always be remembered in the history of Indian ballet, as a creative artist who, through his choreographic compositions, gave new direction to the evolution of dance in India. A gifted dancer, specially trained in the Manipuri and Tipperah schools of dance to which he devoted twelve years of study and practice, Shanti Bardhan was thoroughly acquainted with several other classical and folk dance forms.

He created ballets on many themes, utilizing his vast knowledge and varied training. His ballet Bhookha Hai Bangal created a profound stir. India’s Struggle for Independence led to the creation of Spirit of India, India Immortal and The Discovery of India, of which the last drew inspiration from Jawaharlal Nehru’s book of the same title. In 1952 The Little Ballet Troupe came into being. His mature vision made him choreograph scenes from the Ramayana and the Panchtantra. The themes were traditional and a part of an age-old cultural heritage. With an unerring insight of a genius, Shanti Bardhan shed the religious superstructure of the Ramayana story and transformed it into a simple human story of universal significance. In his treatment of the Panchtantra, fables in which birds and beasts live human situations, the stage again presented that piquant blend of realism and phantasy, which is perhaps the real source of the power of ballet as an art form.

His untimely death was a tragic loss to the contemporary movement in Indian dance. But his work lives on and is a great source of joyto all.

Play: Antigone
Playwright: Sophocles
Translator: Sisir Kumar Das
Director: Koushik Sen
Group: Swapna Sandhani
Language: Bengali
Duration: 2hrs

The Play
Upon her arrival in Thebes, Antigone learns that both her brothers are dead. Eteocles has been given a proper burial, but Creon, Antigone’s uncle who has inherited the throne, has issued a royal edict banning the burial of Polynices, who he believes was a traitor. Antigone defies the law, buries her brother, and is caught. When Creon locks her away in prison, she kills herself. Meanwhile, not realizing Antigone has taken her own life, the blind prophet Teiresias, Creon’s son, and Antigone’s fiancé Haemon, and the Chorus plead with Creon to release her. Creon finally relents, but finds her dead in her jail cell. Out of despair, Haemon and Creon’s wife kill themselves, and Creon is left in distress and sorrow.

Glimpse of the play Antigone

Director’s Note

While working with Antigone I have wondered a million times why a thousand-year old play still holds relevance. Is it because of its literary excellence or is it because of the writer’s wisdom to foresee the times to come… the wisdom which saw that hatred will never cease to exist even when decades and centuries go by and man’s hunger for power will bring darkness even before sunset… and will be darker than any night.

​

18^TH BHARAT RANG MAHOTSAV KICKS OFF IN GRAND STYLE

National School of Drama’s international theatre festival is underway

• NSD’s 18^th Bharat Rang Mahotsav is being held in New Delhi from February 1 to February 21, 2016·
• More than 10 countries from around the world with almost all the states of India to come together to showcase their best theatre talent.
• ‘World Theatre Forum’ to be a part of BRM, where eminent theatre personalities from various countries will come together·
• Some of the finest names in the theatre world, including Nana Patekar, Mohan Agashe Pankaj Kapur, Anupam Kher, Paresh Rawal, Saurabh Shukla, among others to be a part of the festival
• BRM to also travel to Jammu, Ahmedabad, Bhubaneswar and Thiruvananthapuram this year

The 18^th Bharat Rang Mahotsav commenced today in the capital with great fanfare. National School of Drama’s flagship festival, which is one of the biggest theatre festivals in the world, is being held in New Delhi from 1^st to 21^stFebruary 2016.

The inaugural ceremony took place in the presence of Shri N K Sinha, Secretary, Ministry of Culture, Government of India, while eminent stage and film personality Mr. Nana Patekar was the Guest of Honour. The evening was presided by Shri Ratan Thiyam, Chairperson, NSD Society and Prof. Waman Kendre, Director, National School of Drama was also present on the occasion.The inauguration was followed by the performance of MACBETH in Manipuri by Chorus Repertory Theatre, and directed by Shri Ratan Thiyam.  

Bharat Rang Mahotsav this year promises to be bigger and better than ever with theatre groups from over 10 countries including USA, Australia, Italy, Sri Lanka, Poland, Bangladesh, Spain, China, Pakistan, Austria. Some of the finest names in the theatre world from India and abroad are set to be a part of the festival. The biggest theatre groups from almost all the states of India will also travel to showcase their talent at the festival. In a bid to promote theatre in other parts of the country as well, Bharat Rang Mahotsav will also be held at Jammu (Jammu and Kashmir), Ahmedabad (Gujarat), Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala), and Bhubaneswar (Odisha).

The performances will be held at Abhimanch and Open Air Theatre at the NSD Campus along with LTG Auditorium, Kamani Auditorium and Shri Ram Centre in New Delhi. Tickets will be available at NSD box office and at the websitehttp://eticket.nsd.gov.in/ in denominations of Rs. 50 and Rs. 100 at Open Air Theatre; and Rs. 50, Rs. 100, Rs. 200 and Rs. 300 at all other venues.

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