ARTSCAPE,THE TRIBUNE
A plethora of problems afflicts Hindi theatre...
Rana A Siddiqui
The year 2001 will soon get dubbed the ‘last year.’ A year that gave us Ghulam Ali and Gulzar’s album ‘Visaal,’ several musical concerts at India Gate, a pulsating utsav at Chandni Chowk, the first ever Picasso show…The list is endless.
The only segment that remained neglected is Hindi theatre. In fact, the problems at production and structural level have only mounted. For instance, there is virtually no rehearsal space for artists; rents of auditoriums have soared tenfold; there is almost negligible funding/ sponsorship by the government/corporate sector; security clearance is an added impediment; the entertainment tax sits like an incubus; and then there is the perennial preference for English plays.
There are numerous auditoriums in Delhi, yet space for rehearsals is at a premium. Earlier, the basement of Shri Ram Centre was available at a rental of Rs 1,200 to Rs 1,300 per day, but it was closed last year for security reasons. Now, the main auditorium costs Rs 12,000 per day, if rented out in the evening. And, if the auditorium is required in daytime, an additional Rs 3,000- Rs 4,000 is down the drain. On the other hand, India Habitat Centre’s rent is Rs 5,000.
For smaller groups, paying such a huge amount is out of the question. Rehearsals are, therefore, often held in the open; or in a charity trust’s premises, a government flat or an academy. Of course, the National School of Drama lawn is available for free, but it is not free from distraction. Bhartiya Natya Sangh premises can be rented out for Rs 70 per hour, but for that there is generally a long queue. Interestingly, Shri Ram Centre and Kamani Auditorium premises were earlier rented out for the payment of a token amount. But in the absence of any caretaker, the space in these auditoriums has been put to commercial use. Thus, the genuine groups are left with no option but to make their own arrangements. Other auditoriums, barring the LTG, do not rent out their premises and, in any case, these are either too far away from the hub or are simply defunct.
But that is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. With virtually no sponsorships, these groups have to run from pillar to post for arranging finances for costumes, publicity, payments to artists, conveyance etc. “`So much is spent on the aforesaid that we hardly make any profit”, moans Arvind Gaur, founder of the decade-old Asmita Theatre Group of 45 artistes, famous for political and social satires. A play costs a minimum Rs 20,000 to 30,000. "Since we are constrained for funds, we have to rely on the word of mouth for publicising the play,” he adds. The costumes and sets in his plays are, more often than not, improvised.
It is ironical that a nation that makes such a hue and cry about the importance of ‘rashtrabhasha Hindi’ neither sponsors Hindi plays nor showers it with any awards. “Corporate houses sponsor only English plays, however worthless they might be. But even powerful Hindi plays do not entice them. Even the government has done nothing to boost the morale of the Hindi play writers, artistes and directors,” feels Gaur. The ratio of sponsorship is 99: 1, so that the Hindi theatre groups are always in the red.
That is not all. The poor theatre folks have to undergo a lot before they actually get to stage a play. Just count them: The theatre group people have to run from pillar to post to take an NOC (No Objection Certificate) from the Traffic Police, the local area DCP, the local police station and give entertainment tax. Getting an NOC is the most painful and tedious task. They have to give the financial account (to all the above) after each play. Earlier, they had to do that annually only. The rule of giving annual account has been recently modified.
Their woes do not end here. There is also lament on the lack of dedicated artistes and scripts. Says Hemant Mishra, the established actor and famous ad man behind McDonalds, “The condition of Hindi theatre is pathetic in Delhi. We badly need a new breed of writers, artistes and directors. Unfortunately, most artistes consider the stage as a ladder to climb the zenith of filmdom, so they always are in a tearing hurry to leave the stage. As for good plays, good dramatists like Vijay Tendulkar write one play in five years. So we have to rehash their earlier plays or thrive on old plays or furthermore, simply wait for new writers to take the responsibility.”
Gaur, though, disagrees, “Writers like Ajay Shukla, Manjula Padmanabhan, Swadesh Deepak and Mahesh Dattani are very promising. So are the actors more dedicated as they spend at least three to four years in theatre to be branded as accomplished actors,” he opines. More so, because established actors like Naseeruddin Shah, Manoj Bajpai, Aashutosh Rana, Smita Patil etc are all theatre artists who have excelled in films. So they see a career in theatre these days.
But then, pompousness on stage still remains a reason for remorse. The trend for needlessly decorated stages is fast catching up with the people. Though barring a few plays, the stage needs little decking up. “Unfortunately, these days, the more the stage decoration the more the crowd swells, though that only diverts the attention from the theme of the play. So we always try to keep set decorations to the minimum to confine the audiences’ attention to the play for which a stage is hired, Mishra informs.
Though great theatre personalities like Habib Tanveer, Ibrahim Alkazi, Vijay Tendulkar and Girish Karnard have bestowed new horizons to the world of Hindi theatre but they remain great names, inaccessible and rich enough to worry about funds. “These people are very popular. If they were to voice the small groups’ plight they would be respectfully heard. But sadly enough, they never seem to have even thought of the same though they themselves might have undergone similar problems, ” wails Amita Walia, an artiste.
Comparatively though, theatre in West Bengal, Mumbai and Gujarat is lucky to have good audience, scripts, directors and artistes. Beams Mishra with a visible glow of happiness on his face, “The theatre in these places is very vibrant. There exists a theatre culture. So much so that people many a times “prefer plays to a movie” This is a habit that Delhi still has to cultivate. Though Gaur, who has made Delhi witness repeated Hindi shows to initiate this culture, finds the same difficult for the second time availability of the auditorium only depends upon “sheer luck.”
Punjabi theatre in Delhi is in no better condition. Though Delhi has the maximum number of Punjabis (after Punjab) as compared to the other parts of the country as also the world, still the condition of Punjabi theatre is pitiable. “For sheer lack of funds, the theatre culture has not been nurtured devotedly. There are so many good writers in Punjabi whose plays can create a stir in the otherwise stagnated waters of Punjabi theatre but there are no takers,” mourns Dr Darshan Singh `Harvinder,’ President, Punjabi Cultural Forum International. Though Punjabi Academy in Delhi single-handedly keeps making efforts to lift the status of Punjabi theatre by organising Punjabi plays on its annual day. But “that is not sufficient, taking into consideration its rich literature and population”, he adds.
But as every problem has a solution, so does the dispirited condition of theatre. Suggests Gaur, “The government should draft a policy on culture through which the genuine groups get benefited. It should also build new auditoriums and rent them out to the genuine groups on subsidised rates. Taking of NOCs and licences should be the auditoriums’ responsibility. So it can also direct the auditorium authorities to take the same for the play to be presented. And accounts for receiving the NOC should be made annual. It should also take care that space registered for the rehearsals is not put to commercial use. Moreover, to encourage Hindi language and drama, it should announce awards in this realm of art too.
Though he agrees that there are enough funds with the government in the name of drama, but the influential groups for lack of any proper policy always misuse them. “Moreover, running for the funds is so time-consuming that I always prefer to woo audiences through word of mouth publicity than chasing the government for funds,” says Sangita Gaur, a classical singer and an artiste, whose efforts to get funds for her group for the past 10 years, have proved futile!
Delhi, with its rich academia and diverse culture, now urgently needs to create a healthy theatre culture that will also help draw young minds towards positive and creative thinking. Unfortunately though, in Hindi theatre, cheap comedies and commercial plays are also trying to take ground. Worst, in the name of English theatre, anything, even a sex comedy, is selling these days.
Though, looking at the condition of theatre in Delhi, it seems that they still have to go a long way. But courage has not slimmed down for the young artistes. “I hope to see theatre in its best colours soon because there is always a silver lining in a dark cloud,” says Tarun Chauhan, a young scholarship holder for a course in theatre. He aptly recited a couplet that unanimously found its echo in the other young artistes:
Kainchiyan kya kutrengi hamare paron ko
Hum paron se nahin, hauslon se uda karte hain
(Dare the scissors clip our wings, we fly with grit and guts, not wings)
Will the New Year fulfil their hopes?
Monday, May 30, 2005
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
THE FIRES WITHIN- HIDDEN FIRES / SOLO BY RASHI BUNNY/ Midday report
THE FIRES WITHIN
By Shaheen Parkar,
MID-DAY,MUMBAI
Hidden Fires, which consists of three monologues in English and Hindi, will be enacted by Rashi Bunny theatre actress and designer. Arvind Gaur , who heads the Delhi-based theatre group Asmita, is in the city with his new production, Hidden Fires solo by Rashi Bunny.
Considered to be the capital’s most prolific directors with back-to-back shows and theatre workshops throughout the year, he has selected Mumbai to premiere the play because “a true theatre person is constantly looking for new spaces.” Written by Manjula Padmanabhan, Hidden Fires takes on violence, intolerance and the narrow thinking of communities and the nation.
“In her attempt to come to grips with the violence of our times, especially communal strife, Manjula has penned a collection of monologues not only to stir the audience but to get them thinking,” says Gaur.
Incidentally, Hidden Fires is one of the recent writings of Delhi-based Padmanabhan, who is also an illustrator, cartoonist and novelist. Her play, Harvest, which bagged the Onassis Prize in 1997, took on the sale of body parts between the developed and developing countries. Govind Nihalani’s film Deham was based on this play.
“Hidden Fires is characterised by Manjula’s acerbic pen and dry sense of humour. A man confesses that he has stamped out numerous lives that are mere faces to him. He thinks they pose a threat to him only to discover that he is soon receiving the same treatment,” adds Gaur.
Hidden Fires, which consists of three monologues in English and Hindi, will be enacted by Rashi Bunny who is a Kharagpur-based actress and theatre designer. “It is one of those emotionally exhausting plays for an actor.
Initially the play’s protagonist has a ‘why not?’ attitude which changes to ‘why me? as the plot unfolds,” says Rashi Bunny. She runs the Banjara Theatre group with the IIT Kharagpur students “who look to theatre as a welcome deviation from their world of academics,” she says.
Gaur, an engineer-turned-journalist-turned director, describes Hidden Fires, in theatrical jargon, “as an experimental play that unfolds in psycho spaces.”
“These are spaces created in the minds of audience. They are psychologically attuned during the course of the play to see things which are not physically present,” explains Gaur who has been doing theatre for over a decade in Delhi. His productions include Girish Karnad’s Tughlaq and Rakt Kalyan, Dharamveer Bharti’s Andha Yug and Mahesh Dattani’s Final Solutions.
Of late, he has been exploring the concept of solo performances through plays like Women In Black by Bubbles Sabharwal and Untitled Solo by Lushin Dubey.
Gaur will be staging Vijay Mishra’s Tatt Niranjana, which provides a slice of life of Gautam Buddha, along with Bunny as part of the Nehru Centre Festival in Mumbai in September.
Hidden Fires will be staged on Sunday at 7 pm at the NGMA auditorium, Kala Ghoda
For latest newsupdate logon to www.mid-day.com
_______________________________________________________
ARTS
Sahara Times
Setting the stage on ‘Hidden fires’
Generally, theatre mirrors popular trends of its time in society. Over the years, mass theatre did appear to drift away from its core philosophy of entertainment and education. With a new wave of blending now sweeping the Indian stage, courtesy enthusiastic appearance of a new breed of celebrities such as Mandira Bedi and other cine stars, intense social commitment and revolutionary optimism is turning out to be a thing of the past. However, like any other mass medium, this potent medium of community engagement is not without its picture of hope. Amidst hope and fear of theatre aficionados, Arvind Gaur of Asmita theatre group in the Capital confronts theatre-goers with a good mix of both liberal and conservative sensibilities. Having directed nearly 50 plays over the past decade, Arvind’s selection of script has brought old world charm of bourgeois democracy back in theatrical contention. Of late, he is in the news for pioneering new languages for solo performances. His latest presentation, Hidden Fires, is also a bilingual solo performance by his favourite muse, Rashi Bunny. Excerpts from his interview with Manoj Kumar:
Q. What prompted you to pick up Manjula Padmanabhan’s Hidden Fires for your latest solo production
A. I have joined hands with Banjara Theatre Group, IIT Kharagpur and SAC, IIT Mumbai under the cultural intervention project against communal violence. At a time when our society, by and large, is in flux - with a spate of sectarian violence hitting hard at its heart-strings, I couldn’t stop believing in the hard hitting monologues of Manjula Padmanabhan’s Hidden Fires. I started off with street-children theatre, and anything associated with class consciousness endears me.
Q. Over the past few years, you have collaborated with a section of cultural organisations and groups with the sole purpose of directing solo performances. Some of your presentations - Women in Black, Tatt Niranjana, Untitled Solo, Madhavi exhibit your obsession. Don’t you think it is clear departure from expressionism in theatre
A. I am exploring various streams of unique design experiment. Rashy Bunny is a trained actress in theatre design at University of Rutgers, the USA. Her poignant portrayal of a woman in myriad conflicts provokes the audience to take action. Moreover, solo production with its single cast and minimalist design curtails all kinds of expenditure required in large productions and makes it very handy to travel and perform in all kind of spaces.
Q. Swadesh Deepak’s Court Martial remains the high point of your theatre career. With more than a hundred shows in your kitty, do you still believe in the appeal of proletarian theatre
A. Court Martial provided me with a great weapon in courting audience sensibilities. I am deeply indebted to the playwright, for having enjoyed unprecedented freedom in handling this socially relevant script. Even though I achieved international recognition through other presentations such as Women in Black and Untitled Solo, as these plays had successful run at Edinburgh Theatre Festival and Chicago, I still believe in universal appeal of Court Martial.
Q. You are the only Hindi theatre director to perform two of the most famous works of noted playwright and director, Mahesh Dattani. In fact, Dattani has also expressed willingness to reach the heartland’s audience through you. How do you view this development in the light of English theatre by and large entertaining an exclusive section of upper reaches in Indian society
A. I am grateful to Mahesh for entrusting me with direction of Tara and Final Solutions. In a society ruled by various hues of social fascists, Dattani’s script gives us a breather. Besides, it gives me immense satisfaction to collaborate with someone who is not a believer in the irrelevance of State, and that societal ills can only be cured through drama on anti-capitalism and antagonistic vilification and conflicts between loosely vague and determinedly strict doctrine.
Thursday, May 12, 2005
Untitled Solo by Lushin Dubey , Dir. by Arvind Gaur, Director's note
PLAY...UNTITLED SOLO
SOLO BY LUSHIN DUBEY
MUSIC BY Dr. SANGEETA GAUR
SCRIPT,DESIGN AND DIRECTION BY ARVIND GAUR
(SCRIPT BASED ON VIJAYA DAN DETHA's SHORT STORY &
DARIO FO'S PLAY MEDEA )
on 13 MAY at INDIA HABITAT CENTRE, LOGHI ROAD,7.30PM
ABOUT ACTOR .......LUSHIN DUBEY
Lushin Dubey did her Masters in Science in Childhood
and Special Education in the US (after a Masters in
History from Delhi, India) and was then deeply
involved in teaching mentally challenged kids. In 1986
she set up Kids world with her cousin Bubbles
Sabharwal… a pioneer of youth theatre in India.
In 1999 she produced 'Othello' and played the role of
'Desdemona' in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. This
production won the Fringe First. With Theatre World
'The Life of Gautama Buddha' travelled to Bodhgaya,
Singapore and the US, "Untitled" solo directed by
Arvind gaur , to the US and Edinburgh, and now this
production is stated to travel again to the US this
year. 'Untitled' makes its third trip to the U.S. in
(October , 2004, along with 'Bitter Chocolate directed
& scripted by Arvind Gaur'). 'Untitled' has already
completed 171 shows. 10 in Scotland. In the U.S. some
of the cities have been Boston, Chicago, Rochester,
New York, Dallas, Houston, Washington D.C., and Palo
Alto San Francisco. It has also been staged at the
Smithsonian Institute and at Harvard. Lushin has acted
in several serials, latest being 'Kashmeer' on STAR
PLUS and has completed acting in 4 films yet to be
released. Her first one being 'Perfect Husband' which
debuts this year (2004) at the Cannes Festival. Her
latest film is 'Child Play' directed by Avijit Dutt
and produced by Ayesha Shroff of Quest films.
Lushin is married with two daughters, Ilina and Tara.
Her husband, Dr. Pradeep Dubey, Leading Professor in
Applied Mathematics at Stonybrook and Adjunct
Professor at Yale, has always supported her creative
endeavours. She divides her time between the US and
India and looks forward to being involved in cultural
interaction between the two countries, especially via
the medium of theatre.
"Work is defined by age. The older you get, the more
you question. I find myself asking questions I would
newer have asked ten years ago. This quest has led me
into plays like `The Life of Gautama Buddha`,
'Untitled Solo 'and most recently, 'Bitter Chocolate'
( both directed by Arvind Gaur). It has been a
self-perpetuating process, as one play has given birth
to the other. I hope this play on child sexual abuse
in India will help to generate awareness and thereby
prevention, which is so much better than cure."
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR ...ARVIND GAUR
Arvind Gaur who heads the Delhi ,India based Theatre
group ASMITA is committed to innovative and socially
relevant theatre. Starting off as a journalist and
working for sometime for the electronic media, he set
up ASMITA and earned a reputation in theatre circle in
Delhi and outside.
In the past 12 years, he has directed 48 major plays
which include Girish Karnad’s Tuglaq and Rakt Kalyan,
Dharamveer Bharti’s Andha Yug, Swadesh deepak’s Court
Martial, G P Deshpande’s Antim Divas, Albert Camus’
Caligula, Mahesh Dattani’s Final Solutions and Tara,
Eugene O’neill ‘s Desire Under the Elms, Dario Fo’s An
Accidental death of an Anarchist, Bertolt Brecht’s
Good Woman of Setzuan and Caucasian chalk circle,
Samuel Beckett’s Waiting For Godot, John Octanasek’s
Romeo Juliet and the darkness, Neil Simon’s The Good
Doctor.
also Vijay tendulakr’s Ghairam Kotwal, Munshi
Premchand’s Moteram ka Satyagrah, Ashok Lal’s Ek
Mamooli aadmi, Rajesh Kumar’s Me Gandhi Bolto ,
Doodnath Singh's Yama Gatha,
Women in Black ( written & acted by Bubbles Sabharwal)
,Untitled Solo by Lushin dubey, Uday Prakash’s Waren
Hastings ka Saand, Pinki Virani’s Bitter Chocolate (
solo by lushin Dubey)
Bhishma Sahani's Madhavi & Manjula Padmanbhan' Hidden
Fires ( both solo by actress Rashi Bunny),Walking
Through the Rainbow ( joint production with PCVC, solo
by rashi bunny)
Arvind Gaur has been invited to perform in theater
festivals organized by National School of Drama,
(Bharat Rang Mahotsava), Sangeet Natak Akademi,
Sahitya Kala Parisad,Nandikar and Vivachana Theatre
Festival, Old World Theatre Festival,National School
of Drama week end theatre, Muktibodh Natya
Samaroh,World Social Forum and Nehru Centre Festival
Mumbai.
Arvind Gaur has conducted many theatre workshops and
directed productions in different colleges in Delhi.
Such as L.S.R., I.P., Gargi, Jawahar Lal Nehru
University, Hindu college,I.I.T.(Delhi), Aditi college
and School of Planning and Arhitecture. Workshops for
children in schools and slums as well as Street
Theatre performances on different socio-political
issues organized and conducted by Arvind Gaur are many
in number.
He has also conducted theatre workshops for Actors and
Directors at Houston, USA and India Habitat centre,
New Delhi. He also performed various plays in
collobration with culture organizations like Theatre
World, British Council ( channai) ,Paridhi, bahroop,
Banjara Theatre group (IIT , Khargpur ),Rainbow
Cavaliers ,3m dot band (Jaipur) , Vivchana
(Jabalpur),Prithvi Theatre Festival ( platform theatre
IHC ,2004) and NGOs like Mobile Crèches, Action Aid ,
Haq, PCVC, Deepalaya , Heinrich Boll Foundation ,Asian
Social Forum and world social forum.
he also design lights for NAYA theatre under the
Direction of Shri Habib Tanvir.
Director Arvind Gaur has also collaborated with
various Theatre artists and Groups specially in
exploring a new language for Solo performances. His
latest ventures include ‘Women in Black’ by Bubbles
Sabharwal and “Untitled Solo” by Lushin Dubey in
collaboration with THEATRE WORLD. Not only have these
plays received great audience response from important
metropolis of India, “Women in black” was invited to
perform in Dubai and “Untitled Solo” was performed in
Chicago, Dallas, Washington DC, Boston, Rochester ,
San francisco, Ohio, Harvard university & Stratford in
USA and at the Edinburgh Theatre Festival last year .
"Bitter Chocolate " a new solo by Lushin was also
performed at Harvard (USA) and recently at Nehru
Centre, London.
With Rashi Bunny, young actress trained in Theatre
design at University of Alabama at Birmingham and
Rutgers University, New Jersey, USA. Arvind Gaur Has
directed two solos .Bhishma sahani's" Madhavi "and
Manjula Padmanabhan's "Hidden fires ".
Madhavi & Hidden fires has received rave reviews all
over and have been invited to perform for Mahindra's
OLD WORLD THEATRE FESTIVAL, Vivachana National Theatre
Festival Jabalpur, Muktibodh Natyaotsav raipur, 5th
national Theatre Festival Balaghat ,World Social forum
Mumbai and National School Of Drama (N.S.D.),Theatre
Club J.N.U., PCVC chennai and Queen's Award Project
(UK) for Communal Harmony.
Bishma Sahani's MADHAVI ,Solo by Rashi Bunny &
directed by Arvind Gaur,received special award for
best play in experimentaion with tradition at
International Solo Theatre Festival Armenia.
DIRECTORS NOTE
Untitled SOLO is basically a "fusion" experimental
venture.This fusion is incorporated in each element of
the design from language of performance, set and
music to acting with puppets.
My attempt was to make a journey to discover a new
language for solo performance.As a director,the
challenge to maintain the socio -political relevence
of the theme while exploring new presention style has
been an ever stimulating process for me.
the script is pendulous swing between the two stories
(one Indian & one westren ) and touches upon
pertinent aspects, giving voice to the woman's case !
Should a woman hit back ? And why not ?What does it
appear? Is it justified ?
The production is a combination of English and Hindi
,and Lushin's co-actors are puppets, herself playing
different roles to project different characters.
lushin not only plays characters physically but at
the same time delves under the skin to look at their
psyche ,using her voice, gait, body movements
,masks,puppets,diferrent scarves and music etc.The
result is a true to life characterisation of a
lecherous king(husband),his wife,maid sweeper, a young
girl in her teens, media & her old maid and many more.
arvind gaur,director
untitled solo by Lushin Dubey.
CONTACTS..9810-370722 (lushin dubey)
9312233561(arvind gaur)
SOLO BY LUSHIN DUBEY
MUSIC BY Dr. SANGEETA GAUR
SCRIPT,DESIGN AND DIRECTION BY ARVIND GAUR
(SCRIPT BASED ON VIJAYA DAN DETHA's SHORT STORY &
DARIO FO'S PLAY MEDEA )
on 13 MAY at INDIA HABITAT CENTRE, LOGHI ROAD,7.30PM
ABOUT ACTOR .......LUSHIN DUBEY
Lushin Dubey did her Masters in Science in Childhood
and Special Education in the US (after a Masters in
History from Delhi, India) and was then deeply
involved in teaching mentally challenged kids. In 1986
she set up Kids world with her cousin Bubbles
Sabharwal… a pioneer of youth theatre in India.
In 1999 she produced 'Othello' and played the role of
'Desdemona' in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. This
production won the Fringe First. With Theatre World
'The Life of Gautama Buddha' travelled to Bodhgaya,
Singapore and the US, "Untitled" solo directed by
Arvind gaur , to the US and Edinburgh, and now this
production is stated to travel again to the US this
year. 'Untitled' makes its third trip to the U.S. in
(October , 2004, along with 'Bitter Chocolate directed
& scripted by Arvind Gaur'). 'Untitled' has already
completed 171 shows. 10 in Scotland. In the U.S. some
of the cities have been Boston, Chicago, Rochester,
New York, Dallas, Houston, Washington D.C., and Palo
Alto San Francisco. It has also been staged at the
Smithsonian Institute and at Harvard. Lushin has acted
in several serials, latest being 'Kashmeer' on STAR
PLUS and has completed acting in 4 films yet to be
released. Her first one being 'Perfect Husband' which
debuts this year (2004) at the Cannes Festival. Her
latest film is 'Child Play' directed by Avijit Dutt
and produced by Ayesha Shroff of Quest films.
Lushin is married with two daughters, Ilina and Tara.
Her husband, Dr. Pradeep Dubey, Leading Professor in
Applied Mathematics at Stonybrook and Adjunct
Professor at Yale, has always supported her creative
endeavours. She divides her time between the US and
India and looks forward to being involved in cultural
interaction between the two countries, especially via
the medium of theatre.
"Work is defined by age. The older you get, the more
you question. I find myself asking questions I would
newer have asked ten years ago. This quest has led me
into plays like `The Life of Gautama Buddha`,
'Untitled Solo 'and most recently, 'Bitter Chocolate'
( both directed by Arvind Gaur). It has been a
self-perpetuating process, as one play has given birth
to the other. I hope this play on child sexual abuse
in India will help to generate awareness and thereby
prevention, which is so much better than cure."
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR ...ARVIND GAUR
Arvind Gaur who heads the Delhi ,India based Theatre
group ASMITA is committed to innovative and socially
relevant theatre. Starting off as a journalist and
working for sometime for the electronic media, he set
up ASMITA and earned a reputation in theatre circle in
Delhi and outside.
In the past 12 years, he has directed 48 major plays
which include Girish Karnad’s Tuglaq and Rakt Kalyan,
Dharamveer Bharti’s Andha Yug, Swadesh deepak’s Court
Martial, G P Deshpande’s Antim Divas, Albert Camus’
Caligula, Mahesh Dattani’s Final Solutions and Tara,
Eugene O’neill ‘s Desire Under the Elms, Dario Fo’s An
Accidental death of an Anarchist, Bertolt Brecht’s
Good Woman of Setzuan and Caucasian chalk circle,
Samuel Beckett’s Waiting For Godot, John Octanasek’s
Romeo Juliet and the darkness, Neil Simon’s The Good
Doctor.
also Vijay tendulakr’s Ghairam Kotwal, Munshi
Premchand’s Moteram ka Satyagrah, Ashok Lal’s Ek
Mamooli aadmi, Rajesh Kumar’s Me Gandhi Bolto ,
Doodnath Singh's Yama Gatha,
Women in Black ( written & acted by Bubbles Sabharwal)
,Untitled Solo by Lushin dubey, Uday Prakash’s Waren
Hastings ka Saand, Pinki Virani’s Bitter Chocolate (
solo by lushin Dubey)
Bhishma Sahani's Madhavi & Manjula Padmanbhan' Hidden
Fires ( both solo by actress Rashi Bunny),Walking
Through the Rainbow ( joint production with PCVC, solo
by rashi bunny)
Arvind Gaur has been invited to perform in theater
festivals organized by National School of Drama,
(Bharat Rang Mahotsava), Sangeet Natak Akademi,
Sahitya Kala Parisad,Nandikar and Vivachana Theatre
Festival, Old World Theatre Festival,National School
of Drama week end theatre, Muktibodh Natya
Samaroh,World Social Forum and Nehru Centre Festival
Mumbai.
Arvind Gaur has conducted many theatre workshops and
directed productions in different colleges in Delhi.
Such as L.S.R., I.P., Gargi, Jawahar Lal Nehru
University, Hindu college,I.I.T.(Delhi), Aditi college
and School of Planning and Arhitecture. Workshops for
children in schools and slums as well as Street
Theatre performances on different socio-political
issues organized and conducted by Arvind Gaur are many
in number.
He has also conducted theatre workshops for Actors and
Directors at Houston, USA and India Habitat centre,
New Delhi. He also performed various plays in
collobration with culture organizations like Theatre
World, British Council ( channai) ,Paridhi, bahroop,
Banjara Theatre group (IIT , Khargpur ),Rainbow
Cavaliers ,3m dot band (Jaipur) , Vivchana
(Jabalpur),Prithvi Theatre Festival ( platform theatre
IHC ,2004) and NGOs like Mobile Crèches, Action Aid ,
Haq, PCVC, Deepalaya , Heinrich Boll Foundation ,Asian
Social Forum and world social forum.
he also design lights for NAYA theatre under the
Direction of Shri Habib Tanvir.
Director Arvind Gaur has also collaborated with
various Theatre artists and Groups specially in
exploring a new language for Solo performances. His
latest ventures include ‘Women in Black’ by Bubbles
Sabharwal and “Untitled Solo” by Lushin Dubey in
collaboration with THEATRE WORLD. Not only have these
plays received great audience response from important
metropolis of India, “Women in black” was invited to
perform in Dubai and “Untitled Solo” was performed in
Chicago, Dallas, Washington DC, Boston, Rochester ,
San francisco, Ohio, Harvard university & Stratford in
USA and at the Edinburgh Theatre Festival last year .
"Bitter Chocolate " a new solo by Lushin was also
performed at Harvard (USA) and recently at Nehru
Centre, London.
With Rashi Bunny, young actress trained in Theatre
design at University of Alabama at Birmingham and
Rutgers University, New Jersey, USA. Arvind Gaur Has
directed two solos .Bhishma sahani's" Madhavi "and
Manjula Padmanabhan's "Hidden fires ".
Madhavi & Hidden fires has received rave reviews all
over and have been invited to perform for Mahindra's
OLD WORLD THEATRE FESTIVAL, Vivachana National Theatre
Festival Jabalpur, Muktibodh Natyaotsav raipur, 5th
national Theatre Festival Balaghat ,World Social forum
Mumbai and National School Of Drama (N.S.D.),Theatre
Club J.N.U., PCVC chennai and Queen's Award Project
(UK) for Communal Harmony.
Bishma Sahani's MADHAVI ,Solo by Rashi Bunny &
directed by Arvind Gaur,received special award for
best play in experimentaion with tradition at
International Solo Theatre Festival Armenia.
DIRECTORS NOTE
Untitled SOLO is basically a "fusion" experimental
venture.This fusion is incorporated in each element of
the design from language of performance, set and
music to acting with puppets.
My attempt was to make a journey to discover a new
language for solo performance.As a director,the
challenge to maintain the socio -political relevence
of the theme while exploring new presention style has
been an ever stimulating process for me.
the script is pendulous swing between the two stories
(one Indian & one westren ) and touches upon
pertinent aspects, giving voice to the woman's case !
Should a woman hit back ? And why not ?What does it
appear? Is it justified ?
The production is a combination of English and Hindi
,and Lushin's co-actors are puppets, herself playing
different roles to project different characters.
lushin not only plays characters physically but at
the same time delves under the skin to look at their
psyche ,using her voice, gait, body movements
,masks,puppets,diferrent scarves and music etc.The
result is a true to life characterisation of a
lecherous king(husband),his wife,maid sweeper, a young
girl in her teens, media & her old maid and many more.
arvind gaur,director
untitled solo by Lushin Dubey.
CONTACTS..9810-370722 (lushin dubey)
9312233561(arvind gaur)
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Role of a poet
FREE ZONE QUARTERLY • SUMMER 1998
Rashi Bunny
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Role of a Poet
Like a sickle moon
in the dark universe
or a silver sliver
of a sunset cloud
or a dazzling ember
in the smouldering fire
or a shiny drop of rain
on a yellw drying leaf
I am, a mere hint of hope
my life, fluid poetry.
© 1998 by Rashi Bunny, all rights reserved
Rashi is a Theatre Arts major at Rutgers University, New Jersey.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rashi Bunny
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Role of a Poet
Like a sickle moon
in the dark universe
or a silver sliver
of a sunset cloud
or a dazzling ember
in the smouldering fire
or a shiny drop of rain
on a yellw drying leaf
I am, a mere hint of hope
my life, fluid poetry.
© 1998 by Rashi Bunny, all rights reserved
Rashi is a Theatre Arts major at Rutgers University, New Jersey.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monday, May 9, 2005
Hidden Fires solo by Rashi Bunny
Solo for Peace
Hidden Fires, Arvind Gaur’s latest solo play, is a strong statement against communalism
Ankur Kalita ,indian express
Theatre director Arvind Gaur’s affinity for solo plays is growing. From Story of the Tiger and Untitled Solo to his latest play Hidden Fires with Rashi Bunny , Gaur has had a great run with one-man acts. ‘‘I think it is more challenging to work on solo plays. There is no backup in case the actor faults,’’ says Gaur, director of Asmita theatre group.
Scripted by Onassis awardee Manjula Padmanabhan, the play comprises of four monologues, all centered around anti-communalism. Each of the four parts is enacted by Rashi Bunny. The first part, Hidden Fires, is the story of a woman whose husband is involved in rioting, but who doesn’t realise the enormity of it until her own family is endangered. In Know The Truth, the obfuscation of facts by the government-owned media is highlighted. Bunny plays a newsreader here. In Points, 10 points against communalism are charted out. The most powerful part is perhaps the final monologue-Invocation-which addresses the audience. The character picks up a phone directory and selects 1,000 names at random. She then asks the audience if anyone can guarantee the safety of each of these people and, more importantly, what the surety is that any of them is safe from communal violence.
‘‘I have used minimum props in the play. There are many newspapers scattered on the stage to signify the news of communalism coming in from across the globe. The violence we are talking about is not only set in India, but also in Iraq, Afghanistan and other places,’’ says Gaur. The lighting is subdued and just enough to complement the character. Interestingly, the play is bilingual—the first monologue is in Hindi while the other three are in English.
Rashi Bunny, who has worked with Gaur for the solo Madhavi as well as Tatt Niranjana, is also the founder-director of the Banjara Theatre Group, which functions out of IIT-Kharagpur. ‘‘This play has been very hard for me because I have always been sheltered from violence. When Arvind Gaur told me the horror stories, I was devastated,’’ she says. Madhavi is travelling to the Armenia Solo Festival in September.
Arvind Gaur is also planning to take Hidden Fires to various colleges, starting with IIT-Mumbai in September. ‘‘Theatre should reach places where it’s needed, and the youth need to be sensitised the most,’’ he says.
Hidden Fires, Arvind Gaur’s latest solo play, is a strong statement against communalism
Ankur Kalita ,indian express
Theatre director Arvind Gaur’s affinity for solo plays is growing. From Story of the Tiger and Untitled Solo to his latest play Hidden Fires with Rashi Bunny , Gaur has had a great run with one-man acts. ‘‘I think it is more challenging to work on solo plays. There is no backup in case the actor faults,’’ says Gaur, director of Asmita theatre group.
Scripted by Onassis awardee Manjula Padmanabhan, the play comprises of four monologues, all centered around anti-communalism. Each of the four parts is enacted by Rashi Bunny. The first part, Hidden Fires, is the story of a woman whose husband is involved in rioting, but who doesn’t realise the enormity of it until her own family is endangered. In Know The Truth, the obfuscation of facts by the government-owned media is highlighted. Bunny plays a newsreader here. In Points, 10 points against communalism are charted out. The most powerful part is perhaps the final monologue-Invocation-which addresses the audience. The character picks up a phone directory and selects 1,000 names at random. She then asks the audience if anyone can guarantee the safety of each of these people and, more importantly, what the surety is that any of them is safe from communal violence.
‘‘I have used minimum props in the play. There are many newspapers scattered on the stage to signify the news of communalism coming in from across the globe. The violence we are talking about is not only set in India, but also in Iraq, Afghanistan and other places,’’ says Gaur. The lighting is subdued and just enough to complement the character. Interestingly, the play is bilingual—the first monologue is in Hindi while the other three are in English.
Rashi Bunny, who has worked with Gaur for the solo Madhavi as well as Tatt Niranjana, is also the founder-director of the Banjara Theatre Group, which functions out of IIT-Kharagpur. ‘‘This play has been very hard for me because I have always been sheltered from violence. When Arvind Gaur told me the horror stories, I was devastated,’’ she says. Madhavi is travelling to the Armenia Solo Festival in September.
Arvind Gaur is also planning to take Hidden Fires to various colleges, starting with IIT-Mumbai in September. ‘‘Theatre should reach places where it’s needed, and the youth need to be sensitised the most,’’ he says.
Girish Karnad's Tipu Sultan
Whose culture is it anyway? (Suresh Menon)
Deccan Herald - July 25, 2004 | Articulations
URL: http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/july252004/artic2.asp
Whose culture is it anyway?
by Suresh Menon
It took courage for Girish Karnad to proclaim publicly that Tipu Sultan is the greatest son of Karnataka. Given the level of intolerance and the artificially cultured thin skins all around, he was inviting trouble both from the Kannada chauvinists and the right wing fanatics. When someone asked him at a function – I think it was the writer Sashi Deshpande – if he wasn’t worried about how the those who view history through a saffron haze would react to this, Karnad was both forthright enough to admit that it was a chance that creative writers had to take, and practical enough to see the effect it would have on the sale of his book containing the play based on Tipu’s dreams.
Five years ago, when The Dreams of Tipu Sultan was being staged on the bicentenary of Tipu’s death, Karnad had to deal with the Bajrang Dal whose notion of history he had upset. Gandhi called Tipu the embodiment of Hindu-Muslim unity, and G S Sardesai, in his New History of the Marathas, wrote: “Tipu expended large amounts of money to set up new idols in Hindu shrines. Forty thousand Brahmins received alms and rations. Thus he announced to the world how, though a Muslim, he served the interests of the Hindus...” But the forced conversions negated everything.
It is true that Tipu forced conversions, but he also donated generously to the Hindu shrines at Sringeri, Melkote, Nanjangud, and Srirangapatna. But opposition to acknowledging one of the earliest Indians to fight colonialism, is seldom based on facts. Tipu is one of the most fascinating characters in our history, a soldier (“he spent half his life on horseback”), and administrator of rare ability. Extremists are boringly similar, and it doesn’t matter what their religious, ethnic or political leanings are. They settle on a ‘cause’ – it could be a movie about lesbianism, a historical work that doesn’t give enough lines to their hero, an art show that is perceived as an insult or a newspaper editorial they don’t like – and then go about hacking at it with energy and assumed hurt. There is something almost existential in their choice. It is as if they are saying, like the existentialists in another context, that since all paths are meaningless anyway, it only remains to choose one and then throw all your weight behind it. For the existentialist, it could be sex, mysticism, or physical hardship.
It is not necessary that foot soldiers should understand what they are fighting for. When a local newspaper welcomed the millennium with a piece quoting Dante, it irked some of these elements who stormed into the office asking for the writer. When told he was not available, they asked, “Then let us meet Dante.” What they would have told the 13th century Italian poet has not been recorded.
While the fanatics have been pulling in one direction or the other, Indianness has been left undefined. I remember when the artist M F Husain’s work was vandalized at a Mumbai gallery because he was “besmirching the culture of our country.” The artist said then, “But this is my culture too.” Yes, regardless of religious, ethnic, political, sexual preferences, the culture of our country is the common heritage of all Indians. Karnad is reminding us of this, both through his play and his pronouncements.
// posted by khakhi shorts @ permanent link
Deccan Herald - July 25, 2004 | Articulations
URL: http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/july252004/artic2.asp
Whose culture is it anyway?
by Suresh Menon
It took courage for Girish Karnad to proclaim publicly that Tipu Sultan is the greatest son of Karnataka. Given the level of intolerance and the artificially cultured thin skins all around, he was inviting trouble both from the Kannada chauvinists and the right wing fanatics. When someone asked him at a function – I think it was the writer Sashi Deshpande – if he wasn’t worried about how the those who view history through a saffron haze would react to this, Karnad was both forthright enough to admit that it was a chance that creative writers had to take, and practical enough to see the effect it would have on the sale of his book containing the play based on Tipu’s dreams.
Five years ago, when The Dreams of Tipu Sultan was being staged on the bicentenary of Tipu’s death, Karnad had to deal with the Bajrang Dal whose notion of history he had upset. Gandhi called Tipu the embodiment of Hindu-Muslim unity, and G S Sardesai, in his New History of the Marathas, wrote: “Tipu expended large amounts of money to set up new idols in Hindu shrines. Forty thousand Brahmins received alms and rations. Thus he announced to the world how, though a Muslim, he served the interests of the Hindus...” But the forced conversions negated everything.
It is true that Tipu forced conversions, but he also donated generously to the Hindu shrines at Sringeri, Melkote, Nanjangud, and Srirangapatna. But opposition to acknowledging one of the earliest Indians to fight colonialism, is seldom based on facts. Tipu is one of the most fascinating characters in our history, a soldier (“he spent half his life on horseback”), and administrator of rare ability. Extremists are boringly similar, and it doesn’t matter what their religious, ethnic or political leanings are. They settle on a ‘cause’ – it could be a movie about lesbianism, a historical work that doesn’t give enough lines to their hero, an art show that is perceived as an insult or a newspaper editorial they don’t like – and then go about hacking at it with energy and assumed hurt. There is something almost existential in their choice. It is as if they are saying, like the existentialists in another context, that since all paths are meaningless anyway, it only remains to choose one and then throw all your weight behind it. For the existentialist, it could be sex, mysticism, or physical hardship.
It is not necessary that foot soldiers should understand what they are fighting for. When a local newspaper welcomed the millennium with a piece quoting Dante, it irked some of these elements who stormed into the office asking for the writer. When told he was not available, they asked, “Then let us meet Dante.” What they would have told the 13th century Italian poet has not been recorded.
While the fanatics have been pulling in one direction or the other, Indianness has been left undefined. I remember when the artist M F Husain’s work was vandalized at a Mumbai gallery because he was “besmirching the culture of our country.” The artist said then, “But this is my culture too.” Yes, regardless of religious, ethnic, political, sexual preferences, the culture of our country is the common heritage of all Indians. Karnad is reminding us of this, both through his play and his pronouncements.
// posted by khakhi shorts @ permanent link
Madhavi solo play by Rashi Bunny
MADHAVI
Solo By Rashi Bunny
directed by Arvind Gaur
based on Bhishma Sahni's play
Solo By Rashi Bunny
directed by Arvind Gaur
based on Bhishma Sahni's play
Solo play Madhavi By Rashi Bunny
Why Madhavi
A story based on character older than 5000 years. And still alive…
A Madhavi, who lives in a society that thrives under the auspicious umbrella of ever-forgiving religion and traditions. The norms, the rules of a society that have only changed names from Madhavi to Mansi or Mona. Theories not documented on paper but in the closed minds of society, and practices only made modern but still the same. Daughter is wedded and father performs the sacred rites of “Kanyadan”. Still a “Daan” or donation. Yayati gives away Madhavi because that’s what his “duty” binds him to do. Madhavi stands amidst the keen stares of men in King Haryasch’s court where the kingdom’s astrologer weighs upon Madhavi’s body - her statistics, skin, shapes… How different is any matrimonial add of today’s national news papers? Lecherous Divodas accepts Madhavi because she is prolific son–generating machine. A son is still considered a choicest choice. Galav markets her professionally and stoically.
A woman of beauty and intelligence born with unique gifts and special abilities spends her entire life in abiding by and standing for the secret promises, vows, desires and aspirations of the man who fathered her, the man she loved and men whom she consummated without marriage. Each man utilized her for his selfish interests in the name of “Dharma”. They framed her youth, beauty, sincerity and devotion and painted the colors of their desires and ambitions on the canvas of her fading individuality. They used her boons to avail their interest and she kept on giving and yielding and sacrificing for the sake of respect, love or plain duty. “Dharma” is, you see, the umbrella under which all wrongs will be shielded because it has got a sky above it, large and valuable of the scriptures written by men and rules created by men.
We may call ourselves an evolved post-modernistic world but is there a woman who at a certain age or stage in life, did not sacrifice for a man who thought his ambitions and wishes more important or more noble or more sacred than her dreams?? Madhavi still lives - more conventional and easily identifiable in rural set ups and more masked in the metropolis.
Late Bhisma Sahni was a writer of the masses and not classes. His characters and stories, like Chekov, are based on triumphs and traumas of a common man; not very well known characters but people with great sensitivity, sensibility and zeal for life. His plays have a whole panaroma of varied character who even in their stereo-typical presence convey various shades of “man”. Wound with its own wit and humor, the plays are essentially tragic.The content, the theme, the treatment of the issues in his plays are socially relevant and progressive even if they have historical or mythological base. With great sensitivity and panache, the tragic tale of a simple dutiful girl is told who is merely a victim of an inherently flawed system, created by man himself.
Unlike classical or Greek tragedies where the grand tragic end of the character was determined by his height and status in royal hierarchy here the playwright relies on destiny as much as making the special talent of the protagonist as the cause of his/her own disaster while restraining from making the play slogan-based.
Madhavi is not a myth, she is a reality. Madhavi has not been vanquished by history, sadly like the legend of Gaea, she still lives either in the self-imposed glory of her sacrifice or the heart-rending solitude of her abandonment…
THE MAKING OF MADHAVI
Madhavi is a result of an agitated exploration that continued to pose questions again and again about the presentation, representation and performance. A 3-act full-length play with more than 16 characters written by an eminent writer like Bhishma Sahni to be converted into a Solo performance? So many characters - all old stereotypic chauvinistic male except one - all to be performed by a young girl? That too a girl whose parentage, bringing up and urban modern education made her almost odds with the female character Madhavi, on whose life and destiny the play is written. The text was opened layer by layer and discarded completely line by line to explore the basic essence of the script. As that became clearer through brainstorming and discussion and fierce argumentation between the actor and the director, Bhishma Sahni’s script was picked up again and it was inventively interpolated so as to make it available for a solo performance.
From text one moved to images. What sort of visual landscape could we create so as to not just depict the life of Madhavi but also take the audience as a participant in the journey through her life? Almost magically cloth canvasses encompassed in vividly shaped light bamboo structures emerged that not only aesthetically excited us but also had promise in terms of flexibility of movement by way of Solo performance to depict many locales, time periods and psycho-physical spaces of various characters. We thought of collaborating with modern imaginative painters to render symbolical images on these canvasses. As usual, the lack of funding forced us to be resourceful and
we discovered something, what lead to us to an absolutely unexpected thrilling journey. We discovered during the first performance that the use of colours on the canvas by the actor during performance, almost invented a new language in performance. The selection of earth colours like turmeric, henna, sindoor, clay etc was natural. The bamboos, canvasses and wheat-flour, rice and color powders on stage at one moment brought the royal galore of the kings and kingdom, forlorn peace of Ashram, harrowing heights of long journeys in jungles and a sudden transition into neutral platform for narration.
Now the painting at the opening and during the performance became a play of colors for the performer that was not at all aimed to represent the psycho-emotional state of the character. What came as a wonderful welcome surprise was that what one was touching a dangerous area - the sub-conscious of the actor during the performance. For, it was realized that through the coloring of the canvasses the boundary between the actor and character was blurring and sharpening recurrently. Although since the process was more or less a continuum and to pinpoint was hard, mostly the result was actually the sub-conscious response to the sub-
text of the play MADHAVI. So many characters (real, fictitious and from the play) merged and forged their individuality, the actor maintained the alienation of an actor and journeyed with them, a facility imposed by the design of the play as a solo performance. And the idea was to take the play as Story-telling (katha-vachan style) by a modern urban girl talking of the life of a fellow member of the same species, many a times the narrator told the story while the body acted a character and many such interpolations were experimented on!
ABOUT THE ACTOR ...Rashi Bunny
Rashi Bunny ( राशी बनी) is an Indian Theatre and Cinema actor. She is known for her Solo plays Bhisham Sahni's Madhavi ,Manjula Padmanabhan's Hidden Fires and Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince with director Arvind Gaur.Rashi Bunny was selected as "one of the 50 Icons: Emerging personality of India" by Sahara India group with Rahul Gandhi. Acted in Duvidha film. Her solo Hidden Fires was invited for Queen's Award Project (UK) for Communal harmony. She also worked with Living Theatre Academy under Ebrahim Alkazi She is guest faculty at National Institute of Fashion Technology(NIFT) and has lectured widely in schools, colleges and institutes of repute in India and abroad.Rashi also organized theatre workshops for children in schools and worked with different NGOs on social issues.
A story based on character older than 5000 years. And still alive…
A Madhavi, who lives in a society that thrives under the auspicious umbrella of ever-forgiving religion and traditions. The norms, the rules of a society that have only changed names from Madhavi to Mansi or Mona. Theories not documented on paper but in the closed minds of society, and practices only made modern but still the same. Daughter is wedded and father performs the sacred rites of “Kanyadan”. Still a “Daan” or donation. Yayati gives away Madhavi because that’s what his “duty” binds him to do. Madhavi stands amidst the keen stares of men in King Haryasch’s court where the kingdom’s astrologer weighs upon Madhavi’s body - her statistics, skin, shapes… How different is any matrimonial add of today’s national news papers? Lecherous Divodas accepts Madhavi because she is prolific son–generating machine. A son is still considered a choicest choice. Galav markets her professionally and stoically.
A woman of beauty and intelligence born with unique gifts and special abilities spends her entire life in abiding by and standing for the secret promises, vows, desires and aspirations of the man who fathered her, the man she loved and men whom she consummated without marriage. Each man utilized her for his selfish interests in the name of “Dharma”. They framed her youth, beauty, sincerity and devotion and painted the colors of their desires and ambitions on the canvas of her fading individuality. They used her boons to avail their interest and she kept on giving and yielding and sacrificing for the sake of respect, love or plain duty. “Dharma” is, you see, the umbrella under which all wrongs will be shielded because it has got a sky above it, large and valuable of the scriptures written by men and rules created by men.
We may call ourselves an evolved post-modernistic world but is there a woman who at a certain age or stage in life, did not sacrifice for a man who thought his ambitions and wishes more important or more noble or more sacred than her dreams?? Madhavi still lives - more conventional and easily identifiable in rural set ups and more masked in the metropolis.
Late Bhisma Sahni was a writer of the masses and not classes. His characters and stories, like Chekov, are based on triumphs and traumas of a common man; not very well known characters but people with great sensitivity, sensibility and zeal for life. His plays have a whole panaroma of varied character who even in their stereo-typical presence convey various shades of “man”. Wound with its own wit and humor, the plays are essentially tragic.The content, the theme, the treatment of the issues in his plays are socially relevant and progressive even if they have historical or mythological base. With great sensitivity and panache, the tragic tale of a simple dutiful girl is told who is merely a victim of an inherently flawed system, created by man himself.
Unlike classical or Greek tragedies where the grand tragic end of the character was determined by his height and status in royal hierarchy here the playwright relies on destiny as much as making the special talent of the protagonist as the cause of his/her own disaster while restraining from making the play slogan-based.
Madhavi is not a myth, she is a reality. Madhavi has not been vanquished by history, sadly like the legend of Gaea, she still lives either in the self-imposed glory of her sacrifice or the heart-rending solitude of her abandonment…
THE MAKING OF MADHAVI
Madhavi is a result of an agitated exploration that continued to pose questions again and again about the presentation, representation and performance. A 3-act full-length play with more than 16 characters written by an eminent writer like Bhishma Sahni to be converted into a Solo performance? So many characters - all old stereotypic chauvinistic male except one - all to be performed by a young girl? That too a girl whose parentage, bringing up and urban modern education made her almost odds with the female character Madhavi, on whose life and destiny the play is written. The text was opened layer by layer and discarded completely line by line to explore the basic essence of the script. As that became clearer through brainstorming and discussion and fierce argumentation between the actor and the director, Bhishma Sahni’s script was picked up again and it was inventively interpolated so as to make it available for a solo performance.
From text one moved to images. What sort of visual landscape could we create so as to not just depict the life of Madhavi but also take the audience as a participant in the journey through her life? Almost magically cloth canvasses encompassed in vividly shaped light bamboo structures emerged that not only aesthetically excited us but also had promise in terms of flexibility of movement by way of Solo performance to depict many locales, time periods and psycho-physical spaces of various characters. We thought of collaborating with modern imaginative painters to render symbolical images on these canvasses. As usual, the lack of funding forced us to be resourceful and
we discovered something, what lead to us to an absolutely unexpected thrilling journey. We discovered during the first performance that the use of colours on the canvas by the actor during performance, almost invented a new language in performance. The selection of earth colours like turmeric, henna, sindoor, clay etc was natural. The bamboos, canvasses and wheat-flour, rice and color powders on stage at one moment brought the royal galore of the kings and kingdom, forlorn peace of Ashram, harrowing heights of long journeys in jungles and a sudden transition into neutral platform for narration.
Now the painting at the opening and during the performance became a play of colors for the performer that was not at all aimed to represent the psycho-emotional state of the character. What came as a wonderful welcome surprise was that what one was touching a dangerous area - the sub-conscious of the actor during the performance. For, it was realized that through the coloring of the canvasses the boundary between the actor and character was blurring and sharpening recurrently. Although since the process was more or less a continuum and to pinpoint was hard, mostly the result was actually the sub-conscious response to the sub-
text of the play MADHAVI. So many characters (real, fictitious and from the play) merged and forged their individuality, the actor maintained the alienation of an actor and journeyed with them, a facility imposed by the design of the play as a solo performance. And the idea was to take the play as Story-telling (katha-vachan style) by a modern urban girl talking of the life of a fellow member of the same species, many a times the narrator told the story while the body acted a character and many such interpolations were experimented on!
ABOUT THE ACTOR ...Rashi Bunny
Rashi Bunny ( राशी बनी) is an Indian Theatre and Cinema actor. She is known for her Solo plays Bhisham Sahni's Madhavi ,Manjula Padmanabhan's Hidden Fires and Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince with director Arvind Gaur.Rashi Bunny was selected as "one of the 50 Icons: Emerging personality of India" by Sahara India group with Rahul Gandhi. Acted in Duvidha film. Her solo Hidden Fires was invited for Queen's Award Project (UK) for Communal harmony. She also worked with Living Theatre Academy under Ebrahim Alkazi She is guest faculty at National Institute of Fashion Technology(NIFT) and has lectured widely in schools, colleges and institutes of repute in India and abroad.Rashi also organized theatre workshops for children in schools and worked with different NGOs on social issues.
Rashi pursued her training in Theatre Arts and Design at the University of Alabama and Rutgers University, New Jersey, USA.She is a recipient of Young Artist Scholarship & Junior Fellowship from department of Culture, HRD and Ruby Llyod Artistic & academic Excellence award and Best International Student Scholarship Award. She acted as lead in many plays, such as Beth Henley's Abundance and Jules Feiffer's Feiffer's People and worked with directors like Karma Ibsen, Ward Haarbauer and Anne Carmichael.
On her return to India,She worked with Arvind Gaur to explore the new language for solo performances.Rashi acted in many plays with Asmita theatre.
On her return to India,She worked with Arvind Gaur to explore the new language for solo performances.Rashi acted in many plays with Asmita theatre.
Acting.Bhisham Sahni 's MADHAVI, her first solo, directed by Arvind Gaur won accolades all over India and abroad.Manjula Padmanabhan's Hidden Fires was Rashi’s other solo directed by Arvind Gaur that has been selected by SKP as one of the best plays of year. It was also performed for Queen’s award project ( UK ) for Communal harmony. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince(French: Le Petit Prince),solo by Rashi Bunny directed by Arvind Gaur .It is only solo performance of The Little Prince in the world .It's being done in Hindi for the first time ,adapted by Capt.Rigved and for the first time a single actor is using multimedia puppetry to tell this world classic fable.Walking Through the rainbow, her latest solo directed by Arvind Gaur premiered in Chennai and deals with domestic abuse and other NRI issues.
She also acted in Mahesh Dattani's Tara & Final Solution, Vijay mishra's Tatt Niranjana, Swadesh Deepak's Court Martial and Sabse Udas Kavita, Munshi Premchand's Moteram ka Satyagrah, Rajesh Kumar's Me Gandhi Bolto .She also acted in many street plays.
These plays have been performed for various Theatre festivals, Institutions and NGO's in India and abroad including NSD, SKP, Nehru Centre, India Habitat Centre, Darpana Academy (Ahmedabad), IIT Kharagpur,Old World Mahindra festival(India Habitat Centre),British Council, Vivechana National festival, Gajanan Madhav Muktibodh Natya Samaroh, World Social Forum, Satta Festival, Jawaharlal Nehru University, IILM, PCVC, Stella Maris College (Chennai), University of Delhi, Jawahar Kala Kendra, ActionAid, Heinrich Böll Foundation, Armmono-II (ITI Unesco) and Nizhnevartovsk Theatre Festival.
Rashi has conducted theatre workshops for Engineering and management students, children, Youth and adults from all kinds of background and judged many drama competitions in Bengal, Delhi and Rajasthan. For,India Habitat Centre she has conducted Theatre workshops and was the coordinator for the Platform theatre. She is guest faculty at NIFT and has lectured widely in schools, colleges and institutes of repute in India and abroad.As Founding Director of Banjara Theatre Group at IIT Kharagpur, she also has designed and directed Many plays .
Critics' remarks
* It was a delightful solo performance by Rashi Bunny, as she brought to fore a range of human emotions in Bhisham Sahni's MADHAVI... it is an experiment both in its presentation by the director Arvind Gaur and its enactment by the actor Rashi.The Set and its use to my mind is indeed creative bordering on the genius. - The Hindu
* The play was among the very rare meaningful theatre we get to watch in our city. Thought provoking, overwhelming, it left so many fighting their tears. Each person present would have identified with the double standards of our society, each person sitting there would have felt guilty of having reduced the existence of a woman to a mere object, a commodity. Each woman would have relived some part of her life.- Hindustan Times
* All women will be able to see a part of themselves in it. The relevance of the issue makes the time setting immaterial.Even though the play is based on mythology, Madhavi. It was a delightful solo performance by Rashi Bunny, as is contemporary in its presentation and style...- India Today
* Its 'an actor's play'... The Kathavachan style has been adopted and the actor Rashi relates to the audience in day to day baat cheet…an intense and intimate theatre experience. -The Pioneer
* The solo performance is an experiment. Its like taking people through a journey.Even the set design is very experimental. There are blank canvasses on the stage and different colours placed in earthen pots,that symbolize the different colours of life.- First City
* The complex story of Madhavi, her trauma, tragedy and conflicts were portrayed with great sensitivity by Rashi Bunny.The simplicity of set design, use of bamboo structures, canvasses & helped audiences to extend their imagination to grasp the diversity and multi dimensional directorial interpretation of the play.- Navbharat Times
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashi_Bunny
She also acted in Mahesh Dattani's Tara & Final Solution, Vijay mishra's Tatt Niranjana, Swadesh Deepak's Court Martial and Sabse Udas Kavita, Munshi Premchand's Moteram ka Satyagrah, Rajesh Kumar's Me Gandhi Bolto .She also acted in many street plays.
These plays have been performed for various Theatre festivals, Institutions and NGO's in India and abroad including NSD, SKP, Nehru Centre, India Habitat Centre, Darpana Academy (Ahmedabad), IIT Kharagpur,Old World Mahindra festival(India Habitat Centre),British Council, Vivechana National festival, Gajanan Madhav Muktibodh Natya Samaroh, World Social Forum, Satta Festival, Jawaharlal Nehru University, IILM, PCVC, Stella Maris College (Chennai), University of Delhi, Jawahar Kala Kendra, ActionAid, Heinrich Böll Foundation, Armmono-II (ITI Unesco) and Nizhnevartovsk Theatre Festival.
Rashi has conducted theatre workshops for Engineering and management students, children, Youth and adults from all kinds of background and judged many drama competitions in Bengal, Delhi and Rajasthan. For,India Habitat Centre she has conducted Theatre workshops and was the coordinator for the Platform theatre. She is guest faculty at NIFT and has lectured widely in schools, colleges and institutes of repute in India and abroad.As Founding Director of Banjara Theatre Group at IIT Kharagpur, she also has designed and directed Many plays .
Critics' remarks
* It was a delightful solo performance by Rashi Bunny, as she brought to fore a range of human emotions in Bhisham Sahni's MADHAVI... it is an experiment both in its presentation by the director Arvind Gaur and its enactment by the actor Rashi.The Set and its use to my mind is indeed creative bordering on the genius. - The Hindu
* The play was among the very rare meaningful theatre we get to watch in our city. Thought provoking, overwhelming, it left so many fighting their tears. Each person present would have identified with the double standards of our society, each person sitting there would have felt guilty of having reduced the existence of a woman to a mere object, a commodity. Each woman would have relived some part of her life.- Hindustan Times
* All women will be able to see a part of themselves in it. The relevance of the issue makes the time setting immaterial.Even though the play is based on mythology, Madhavi. It was a delightful solo performance by Rashi Bunny, as is contemporary in its presentation and style...- India Today
* Its 'an actor's play'... The Kathavachan style has been adopted and the actor Rashi relates to the audience in day to day baat cheet…an intense and intimate theatre experience. -The Pioneer
* The solo performance is an experiment. Its like taking people through a journey.Even the set design is very experimental. There are blank canvasses on the stage and different colours placed in earthen pots,that symbolize the different colours of life.- First City
* The complex story of Madhavi, her trauma, tragedy and conflicts were portrayed with great sensitivity by Rashi Bunny.The simplicity of set design, use of bamboo structures, canvasses & helped audiences to extend their imagination to grasp the diversity and multi dimensional directorial interpretation of the play.- Navbharat Times
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashi_Bunny
Saturday, May 7, 2005
to sir, with love...my theatre workshop experience
to sir, with love
From : sakshi jain
Sent : Thursday, June 17, 2004 1:48:35 AM
To : arvindgaur@hotmail.com
Subject : to sir, with love
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Theatre…I always wanted to be a part of it…..always wanted to be associated with it in someway or the other….but I never thought it would happen….never thought I would be out there on the stage performing in front of the real public!!!….but now I realize how true it is when they say that when you are given a dream, you are also given the power to realize it.
I stumbled upon this workshop by chance…and to be completely honest…I had no idea who Arvind Gaur was…I had no idea I would meet such wonderful and talented people in this workshop…I had no idea I’m going to learn so much…and I had no idea at all that this one month would change the course of my life forever.
You might think I’m exaggerating when I say I feel like a different person, but that is what this workshop did to me. Above everything else, this workshop made me believe in myself. I might be getting personal over here, but I’d been told things by people that I wish nobody, especially no girl, ever gets to hear from anybody. I’d stopped believing in myself, and somehow I always felt I’m in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong kind of people all the time…..but this workshop made me feel right after a very long time…It felt so good to be sitting with all these people – people who’ve now become my friends and who don’t even know how much they’ve given to me.
This workshop gave me a purpose…something to live for…I always wanted to do something for the people…but I was always told I’m being stupid because in the concrete jungle that we live in, people who think like this just can’t survive…now I realize that people who think and work for the better society do survive – they struggle, because they believe in what they are doing. It made me question a lot of things, it made me see things from a very different perspective, and above all, it inculcated an understanding, patience and acceptance in me.
All these people - they were so different from each other, so unique, they had so much of life in them, and I’m not kidding when I say I was amazed by the amount of team spirit they had in them. I’ve worked in teams before, but never have I come across such a talented, yet understanding blend of people.
These guys have made their own theatre group now, and I can say it with confidence that it’s going to be brilliant, because these people have the will, the dedication to do it, and they will make it happen. I know its impossible for me to be a part of it as each member of the theatre group should be, but I’m sure these guys know that I will always be there for them, in each and every way that I can be. Somehow without our even realizing it there is a bond that has tied us together, and as long as we let it, it’s always going to keep us close – with or without communication.
Like I told somebody the last day when I said goodbye …life goes on…
I read somewhere long time back that as we move ahead in our lives, we meet new people, some of them just come and go, some leave their imprints in our hearts forever, and we are never ever the same again.
lotsa love
sakshi
workshop student,IHC 2004
17 june,2004
From : sakshi jain
Sent : Thursday, June 17, 2004 1:48:35 AM
To : arvindgaur@hotmail.com
Subject : to sir, with love
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Theatre…I always wanted to be a part of it…..always wanted to be associated with it in someway or the other….but I never thought it would happen….never thought I would be out there on the stage performing in front of the real public!!!….but now I realize how true it is when they say that when you are given a dream, you are also given the power to realize it.
I stumbled upon this workshop by chance…and to be completely honest…I had no idea who Arvind Gaur was…I had no idea I would meet such wonderful and talented people in this workshop…I had no idea I’m going to learn so much…and I had no idea at all that this one month would change the course of my life forever.
You might think I’m exaggerating when I say I feel like a different person, but that is what this workshop did to me. Above everything else, this workshop made me believe in myself. I might be getting personal over here, but I’d been told things by people that I wish nobody, especially no girl, ever gets to hear from anybody. I’d stopped believing in myself, and somehow I always felt I’m in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong kind of people all the time…..but this workshop made me feel right after a very long time…It felt so good to be sitting with all these people – people who’ve now become my friends and who don’t even know how much they’ve given to me.
This workshop gave me a purpose…something to live for…I always wanted to do something for the people…but I was always told I’m being stupid because in the concrete jungle that we live in, people who think like this just can’t survive…now I realize that people who think and work for the better society do survive – they struggle, because they believe in what they are doing. It made me question a lot of things, it made me see things from a very different perspective, and above all, it inculcated an understanding, patience and acceptance in me.
All these people - they were so different from each other, so unique, they had so much of life in them, and I’m not kidding when I say I was amazed by the amount of team spirit they had in them. I’ve worked in teams before, but never have I come across such a talented, yet understanding blend of people.
These guys have made their own theatre group now, and I can say it with confidence that it’s going to be brilliant, because these people have the will, the dedication to do it, and they will make it happen. I know its impossible for me to be a part of it as each member of the theatre group should be, but I’m sure these guys know that I will always be there for them, in each and every way that I can be. Somehow without our even realizing it there is a bond that has tied us together, and as long as we let it, it’s always going to keep us close – with or without communication.
Like I told somebody the last day when I said goodbye …life goes on…
I read somewhere long time back that as we move ahead in our lives, we meet new people, some of them just come and go, some leave their imprints in our hearts forever, and we are never ever the same again.
lotsa love
sakshi
workshop student,IHC 2004
17 june,2004
theatre workshop at India Hbitat centre
THEATRE WORKSHOP 2005
1st to 30 June2005
at India Habitat Centre
for young boys and girls (16yr plus)
The workshop will introduce the aspiring actor to the basic skills of acting.
This includes ensemble work, voice ,speech ,fun exercises &games , movement, personality development , better communication, approach to
character and improvisation techniques.
under the direction of
Arvind Gaur
(Director, Asmita Theatre group)
931-22-33-561
011-22116554
Fee: Rs. 3000/-
arvindasmita@yahoo.com
arvindgaur@hotmail.com
for more details contact
India Habitat Centre , Lodhi Road New delhi
Programme Desk
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR ...
Arvind Gaur who heads the Delhi ,India based Theatre group ASMITA is committed to innovative and socially relevant theatre. Starting off as a journalist and working for sometime for the electronic media, he set up ASMITA and earned a reputation in theatre circle in Delhi and outside.
In the past 12 years, he has directed 48 major plays which include Girish Karnad’s Tuglaq and Rakt Kalyan, Dharamveer Bharti’s Andha Yug, Swadesh deepak’s Court Martial, G P Deshpande’s Antim Divas, Albert Camus’ Caligula, Mahesh Dattani’s Final Solutions and Tara, Eugene O’neill ‘s Desire Under the Elms, Dario Fo’s An Accidental death of an Anarchist, Bertolt Brecht’s Good Woman of Setzuan and Caucasian chalk circle, Samuel Beckett’s Waiting For Godot, John Octanasek’s Romeo Juliet and the darkness, Neil Simon’s The Good Doctor.
also Vijay tendulakr’s Ghairam Kotwal, Munshi Premchand’s Moteram ka Satyagrah, Ashok Lal’s Ek Mamooli aadmi, Rajesh Kumar’s Me Gandhi Bolto ,Uday Prakash’s Waren Hastings ka Saand, Pinki Virani’s Bitter Chocolate ( solo by lushin dubey)
Bhishma Sahani's Madhavi & Manjula Padmanbhan' Hidden Fires ( both solo by actress Rashi Bunny),Walking Through the Rainbow ( joint production with PCVC, solo by rashi bunny)
Arvind Gaur has been invited to perform in theater festivals organized by National School of Drama, (Bharat Rang Mahotsava), Sangeet Natak Akademi, Sahitya Kala Parisad,Nandikar and Vivachana Theatre Festival, Old World Theatre Festival,national school of drama week end theatre, and Muktibodh Natya Samaroh.
Arvind Gaur has conducted many theatre workshops and directed productions in different colleges in Delhi. Such as L.S.R., I.P., Gargi, Jawahar Lal Nehru University, hindu college,I.I.T.(Delhi), Aditi college and School of Planning and Arhitecture. Workshops for children in schools and slums as well as Street Theatre performances on different socio-political issues organized and conducted by Arvind Gaur are many in number.
He has also conducted theatre workshops for Actors and Directors at Houston, USA and India Habitat centre, New Delhi. He also performed various plays in collobration with culture organizations like Theatre World, Paridhi, bahroop, Rainbow Cavaliers and NGOs like Mobile Crèches, Action Aid , haq, pcvc, Deepalaya , Heinrich Boll Foundation ,Asian Social Forum and world social forum.
Director Arvind Gaur has also collaborated with various Theatre artists and Groups specially in exploring a new language for Solo performances. His latest ventures include ‘Women in Black’ by Bubbles Sabharwal and “Untitled Solo” by Lushin Dubey in collaboration with THEATRE WORLD. Not only have these plays received great audience response from important metropolis of India, “Women in black” was invited to perform in Dubai and “Untitled Solo” was performed in Chicago, Dallas, Washington DC, Boston, Rochester , San francisco, Ohio, Harvard university & Stratford in USA and at the Edinburgh Theatre Festival last year and recently at Nehru Centre, London.
Recently ASMITA collaborated with Banjara Theatre Group, IIT Kharagpur and came up with two unique design experiments, first Based on late shri Bhishma Sahni’s MADHAVI, second Onassis Awardee Manjula Padmanabhan's HIDDEN FIRES. these two solo are performed by Rashi Bunny, young actress trained in Theatre design at University of Alabama at Birmingham and Rutgers University, New Jersey, USA. Madhavi has travelled widely for variuos theatre festivals and has received great appreciation and recived best performance award at the International Solo Festival in Armenia in september 2004.
1st to 30 June2005
at India Habitat Centre
for young boys and girls (16yr plus)
The workshop will introduce the aspiring actor to the basic skills of acting.
This includes ensemble work, voice ,speech ,fun exercises &games , movement, personality development , better communication, approach to
character and improvisation techniques.
under the direction of
Arvind Gaur
(Director, Asmita Theatre group)
931-22-33-561
011-22116554
Fee: Rs. 3000/-
arvindasmita@yahoo.com
arvindgaur@hotmail.com
for more details contact
India Habitat Centre , Lodhi Road New delhi
Programme Desk
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR ...
Arvind Gaur who heads the Delhi ,India based Theatre group ASMITA is committed to innovative and socially relevant theatre. Starting off as a journalist and working for sometime for the electronic media, he set up ASMITA and earned a reputation in theatre circle in Delhi and outside.
In the past 12 years, he has directed 48 major plays which include Girish Karnad’s Tuglaq and Rakt Kalyan, Dharamveer Bharti’s Andha Yug, Swadesh deepak’s Court Martial, G P Deshpande’s Antim Divas, Albert Camus’ Caligula, Mahesh Dattani’s Final Solutions and Tara, Eugene O’neill ‘s Desire Under the Elms, Dario Fo’s An Accidental death of an Anarchist, Bertolt Brecht’s Good Woman of Setzuan and Caucasian chalk circle, Samuel Beckett’s Waiting For Godot, John Octanasek’s Romeo Juliet and the darkness, Neil Simon’s The Good Doctor.
also Vijay tendulakr’s Ghairam Kotwal, Munshi Premchand’s Moteram ka Satyagrah, Ashok Lal’s Ek Mamooli aadmi, Rajesh Kumar’s Me Gandhi Bolto ,Uday Prakash’s Waren Hastings ka Saand, Pinki Virani’s Bitter Chocolate ( solo by lushin dubey)
Bhishma Sahani's Madhavi & Manjula Padmanbhan' Hidden Fires ( both solo by actress Rashi Bunny),Walking Through the Rainbow ( joint production with PCVC, solo by rashi bunny)
Arvind Gaur has been invited to perform in theater festivals organized by National School of Drama, (Bharat Rang Mahotsava), Sangeet Natak Akademi, Sahitya Kala Parisad,Nandikar and Vivachana Theatre Festival, Old World Theatre Festival,national school of drama week end theatre, and Muktibodh Natya Samaroh.
Arvind Gaur has conducted many theatre workshops and directed productions in different colleges in Delhi. Such as L.S.R., I.P., Gargi, Jawahar Lal Nehru University, hindu college,I.I.T.(Delhi), Aditi college and School of Planning and Arhitecture. Workshops for children in schools and slums as well as Street Theatre performances on different socio-political issues organized and conducted by Arvind Gaur are many in number.
He has also conducted theatre workshops for Actors and Directors at Houston, USA and India Habitat centre, New Delhi. He also performed various plays in collobration with culture organizations like Theatre World, Paridhi, bahroop, Rainbow Cavaliers and NGOs like Mobile Crèches, Action Aid , haq, pcvc, Deepalaya , Heinrich Boll Foundation ,Asian Social Forum and world social forum.
Director Arvind Gaur has also collaborated with various Theatre artists and Groups specially in exploring a new language for Solo performances. His latest ventures include ‘Women in Black’ by Bubbles Sabharwal and “Untitled Solo” by Lushin Dubey in collaboration with THEATRE WORLD. Not only have these plays received great audience response from important metropolis of India, “Women in black” was invited to perform in Dubai and “Untitled Solo” was performed in Chicago, Dallas, Washington DC, Boston, Rochester , San francisco, Ohio, Harvard university & Stratford in USA and at the Edinburgh Theatre Festival last year and recently at Nehru Centre, London.
Recently ASMITA collaborated with Banjara Theatre Group, IIT Kharagpur and came up with two unique design experiments, first Based on late shri Bhishma Sahni’s MADHAVI, second Onassis Awardee Manjula Padmanabhan's HIDDEN FIRES. these two solo are performed by Rashi Bunny, young actress trained in Theatre design at University of Alabama at Birmingham and Rutgers University, New Jersey, USA. Madhavi has travelled widely for variuos theatre festivals and has received great appreciation and recived best performance award at the International Solo Festival in Armenia in september 2004.
about the play ...Yama Gatha
Asmita theatre group presents,
DOODH NATH SINGH 's
YAMA - GATHA
8 May, 2005 at 7 p.m
LTG Auditorium , Copernicous Marg
Mandi house, New Delhi
Directed by Arvind Gaur
Music by dr.Sangeeta Gaur
Bhartendu Natya Utsava
(Sahitya Kala Parisad)
contacts....
0931-22-33-561,
011-22116554
please circulate to support relevant theatre
ABOUT PLAY
-------------------
THIS PLAY FOCUSSES ON THE BRUTALITY,CRUELITY & MANUPULATIONS OF THE 'ONES IN POWER',WHICH THEY DO IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN THEIR OWN IDENTITIES.THE MAIN AIM OF THE ''SYSTEM'' IS TO COME IN TERMS WITH THE OPPOSITION,NO MATTER IF FOR THIS THEY HAVE TO EVEN GET THEM 'KILLED'(UNDER THE SHELTER OF LAW)!FOR DEMEANING THE OPPOSITION, FALSE PROPAGANDA IS DONE AGAINST THEM AND EVEN 'RELIGION' IS MISUSED AS A SUPPORT TOOL.
'YAMA GATHA' THROWS LIGHT ON THIS NAKED TRUTH.THROUGH THE MEDIUM OF 'INDRA' & 'PURURVA',DOODHNATH SINGH,THE WRITER OF THE PLAY,EMPHASIZES ON THE CURRENT SOCIAL AS WELL AS POLITICAL SITUATIONS WHICH ARE PREVELANT EVEN TODAY.EVEN THOUGH THISPLAY IS MYTHOLOGICAL,BUT ITS CONTENT STILL SHOWS ITS'PARALLEL EXISTENCE' IN THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD SITUATION.THIS PLAY GIVES A STRONG STATEMENT ON THE 'UNANNONCED EXPLOITATION' THAT TAKES PLACE BETWEEN DEVELOPED COUNTRIES AND THE THIRD WORLD.
GLIMPSES OF 'CASTE SYSTEM' IN THE INDIAN CONTEXT CAN ALSO BE SEEN IN THE PLAY.IN THE PLAYINDRA IS THE EPITOME OF 'WORLD POWER' AND BRAHAMANA,RISHIKUL AND RAJA ARE HIS TOOLS.WITH THE HELP OF THESE TOOLS INDRA EXPLOITS THE PEOPLE AND GETS HIS OPPOSITION KILLED BY VERY MANUPULATVELY DECLARING THEM 'AGAINST RELIGION','AGAINST MANKIND'.HE CALLS THEM 'ANARYA' &'DASYU',SO AS TO ISOLATE THEM FROM THE MAINSTREM.'YAJNA' FOR HIM IS AN IMPORTANT MEDIUM OF EXPLOITATION.CROWD OF SERVILES,PARASITES,MUSIC,ALCOHOL AND WOMEN MAKE AN INTEGRAL PART OF HIS 'KUUT NEETI'.
IN THE PLAY,THE FAKE,CRUEL AND DISTORTED FACE OF POLITICS IS EXPOSED THROUGH INDRA.AND ON THE OTHER SIDE,VASHISHT AND PUPRUVA TOGETHER WORK FOR BRINGING LIGHT TO THE PEOPLE;THEY FIGHT FOR THIER RIGHTS AND THEIR WELFARE.NEITHER TO PEOPLE HAVE ENOUGH FIRE TO LIVE,NOR DO THEY HAVE ENOUGH RESOURCES TO SURVIVE.PEOPLE ARE EXPLOITED BY THE BRAHMIS & PUROHITS IN THE NAME OF SACRIFICES AND YAJNAS.PURURVA FIGHTS AGINST THIS EXPLOITATION.
INDRA IN THE BEGINNING FEARS PURURVA AND TRIES TO TEMPT HIM BUT LATER GETS HIM KILLED AT THE NAME OF 'DHARM SAMMAN NAYA'
.
'YAMA GATHA' ATTACKS THECRUEL AND TWO-FACED "SYSTEM" AND THE POLITICS OF RELIGION.THROUGH THE MEDIM OF WOMEN CHARACTERS LIKE URVASHI & EELA,THE QUESTION OF FEMININE IDENTIYI AND 'ASMITA' IS ALSO RISEN.THE CONFLICT BETWEEN THE TWO 'STREAMS OF THOUGHT' OR 'CULTURES' MAKES THIS PLAY STRONG AND OF A BIG CANVAS.
YAMA GATHA IS A DEBATE ON QUESTIONS RELATED TO POLITICAL,SOCIAL AND ECONOMICAL SITUATIONS.THIS PLAY IS BASED ON "MYTH" BUT WE CAN EASILY IDENTIFY THE IMAGES OF THE CHARACTERS IN TODAY'S WORLD POLITICS.THE APPROACH IS CONTEMPORARY IN ALL ASPECTS.
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