New Delhi, February 16, 2019:
Ambiance Performances and Street Plays
The youth forum at the 20th Bharat Rang Mahotsav today presented the following three plays:
Well-Done: The street-play by Navranng, The Theatre Society of Lakshmi Bai College, follows a situation where the state has created the epitome of irony by depicting the nation in the form of Goddess, overlooking their own incompetence in the field of women safety.In this phase of development and digitalisation, the patriarchal society is cultivating harassment with its numerous tools and equipment’s which tarnish the concept of gender equality.
Vivaran: The street-play by VSBS, a department of Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies, focuses on why life is crucial and how it encourages individuals to write their own story themselves with different emotions, feelings, dreams, hopes and aspirations which can be remembered after their final goodbye.
Emotional Abuse: A street-play by College of Business Studies, questions the reason that differentiates the human race from other forms of life with the optimum mix of emotions and logic that is utilised to ascertain the course of action in every situation. But often, due to certain external factors, the faith in this ability wavers and we take the wrong routes to channelise our emotions.
Ambiance activities bring cultural charm to Bharat Rang Mahotsav and reflects intricacies of our colourful culture. These performances show the lesser-known local, traditional, and folk forms from the states to the heart of the national capital. They are performed at intervals within the NSD premises at the auditoriums before the plays begin. Today’s ambiance performances were Mask Dance and Thangta.
The ritual Mask Dance form is an important element of monastery festivals celebrated in India, Bhutan and Tibet. It is performed with the sound of drums, longhorns and cymbals along with chants.
Thangta is a traditional dance form from Manipur. Its inception lies from the war environment of the state.
Director’s Meet
Directors Mr. Avijit Solanki (Kala DhabbaBaadal Ki Tarah Aa Raha Hai), Mr. Sunil Kumsar S.(Maze), Mr. Pradip Bhattacharya(Jakshapuri), Mr. BuddhikaDamayantha (The Department) and Mr. M.kRaina(Stay Yet A While), attended the session. Theatre critics Mr. Ajit Rai and Mr. Manohar Khushlani too attended the session.
“Till now I have done 53 plays. It’s been 12 years that I am working in theatre with them. Through the medium of theatre I have helped them to leave their past life and helped them to get out of the jail,”says Mr. Pradip Bhattacharya.
The discussion was quite intense as the directors turned the pages of their theatrical experience along with the plays. The interpretation and the logic behind their creations ignited an informative discussion for all the theatre lovers and students of NSD.
Plays
Goga Chauhan KaKuchamaniKhayal: The Rajasthani play by Siddique Mohammad ,MahapurushGogaji is popular as a secular god of the middle ages who was above caste, creed, Hindu, Muslim and Sikh. Gogaji of Rajasthan, as per a famous story, was born as a blessing given by Guru Gorakhnath. His mother could not bear children and went to meet Guru Gorakhnath who was then meditating on a hillock. He gave her a boon that she will bear a son and gave her a fruit called Gogal as a blessing. On eating thefruit she conceived and later Gogaji was born. He was called Gogaji after the fruit Gogal.(Open Lawn, 6:00 P.M)
Socrates: The Gujarati play by RajooBarot is a classic testimony of the most remarkable period of Greek history (Peloponnesian War period). The story dawns with the era of the staunchly democratic leader Pericles and his years of contribution towards the society of Athens, and culminates when Socrates, the brilliant thinker, is sentenced to death by a venom quaff. Greeks are known for their superior body built, and exquisite features. However, the story forms Socrates’image as ‘protuberant lips, flat nose, huge and lost eyes’ which is quite different from typical Greek masculine features.(Shri Ram Centre, 4:00 P.M)
Story of Lori: The Bengali play by Mayukh Dutta opens with two cats ushering in a retro-future backdrop. Three notorious business tycoons monopolize the ‘intangible cultural heritage’through diplomatic support of the greedy state-minister, by luring the Master Chef King, an indifferent, careless food aficionado. ‘Nerdy’, a pseudo-human-robot designs surveillance gadgets to track hapless commoners, daring their basic rights of singing lullabies and cooking food, which have now become red-listed.(LTG, 5:30 P.M)
Satya KePrayog(Based upon Mahatma Gandhi’s autobiography): This Hindi play by Devendra Raj Ankur is based on some of the untouched aspects of the self-written autobiography of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Gandhiji divided his autobiography into five parts. The play has a few excerpts from Part one – Janm, High School Mein, VilaayatkiTaiyari, SabhyaPoshak Main; Part two – PehlaMukaddama , NetaalPahuncha, Ko Jane Kal Ki?, Dharma Nirikshan, GharkiVyavastha, Deshki Ore, Hindustan Mein, Raj Nishtha and Shushrusha; Part three – ToofankiAagahi, BachchonkiShiksha, Saadagi, Desh- Gaman, Clerk Aur Beira, Dharma Sankat, EkPunyaSmaranaurPrayashchit, PatnikiDridhta; and from the last Part- PehlaAnubhav, GokhaleKeSaath Mein, Ashram kiSthaapna, Neel kaDaag, MazdooronKeSampark Main, MrityuShayya Par, and Purnaahuti. (Kamani, 7:00 P.M)
Stormy Weather: The English play by Jehan Aloysius is a murder mystery that keeps the audience guessing till the end. One morning, Noel, a man with many enemies, is discovered murdered in his bed with fifteen stab wounds. The prime suspects are summoned to the house by an unconventional inspector who interrogates each of them. Noel’s wife, sister and lover seem to have strong motives. The arrival of a storm complicates the investigation further, till the murderer is finally revealed.(Abhimanch, 8:30 P.M)
Living Legend
Renowned Indian stage, television and film actress, Shrimati Uttara Baokar, attended the ‘Living Legend’session and addressed the theatre loving audience at 2 P.M, Bahumukh, National School of Drama. She has worked in notable plays as Padmavati in Mukyhamantri, Mena in Mena Gurjari and Desdemona in Shakespeare’s Othello.
Tomorrow’s Highlights for performances:
Here is a brief information about the plays happening tomorrow.
- Kola
Playwright: Mahesh Elkunchwar
Director: Achyutha Kumar
Group: Theatre Tatkal, Bangalore
Language: Kannada
Duration: 1 hr 45 mins
- Kanka O Leela (Based on MymansinghaGeetika)
Playwright: Manish Mitra
Director: Mary Acharya
Group: KasbaArghya, Kolkata
Language: Bengali
Duration: 1 hr 30 mins
- Jai PathalaBhairavi
Playwright: Bhoja Raju Garu
Director: SurabhiJayachandra Varma Rekandar
Group: Sri VenkateswaraSurabhi Theatre, Hyderabad
Language: Telugu
Duration: 2 hrs
- Encryption (Hamlet)
Playwright: William Shakespeare
Dramaturgy: Vishala Ramachandra Mahale
Director: Susheel Kant Mishra
Group: NSD Students’Diploma Production, New Delhi
Language: Hindi
Duration: 1 hr
Director’s Meet
(Venue: Yoga Hall; National School of Drama, Time: 11 am to 1 pm)
Name of the directors attending the session:
- Director: Mr. Md. Siddqui (Goga Chauhan KaKucchamaniKhayal)
- Director: Mr. RajooBarot (Socrates)
- Director: Mr. Mayukh Dutta (Story of Lori)
- Director: Mr. Devendra Raj Ankur (Satya KePrayog( Based upon Mahatma Gandhi’s autobiography))
- Director: Mr. Jehan Aloysius (Stormy Weather)
Corporate Comm India(CCI NewsWire)
