Problems of Amateur Theatre: II PRABHAKAR MAC'\WE

n the basis of a few plays I happened to see in the last three years, as a layman Ointerested in the art ofdrama,I venturedto put my views before this learnedaudience. I haveseenHindi,Hindustani, Urdu,Punjabi,Bengali,Assamese, Oriya, Maralhi,Gujarati, Malayalamand plays in Delhi, Nagpur, Saugor, Khamgaon, Gauhati, Cuttack, Ahmedabad. TrivandrumandMeerut. Someofthemwere producedand acted by amateurs. In some cases, the amateur cast took the help of some professional director or even occasionally a professionalactor wasemployed. Thistype ofamateur Indianplay lacksany shapeor definablecharacter,as levelsof acting and even play-writing differ from language to language.Toillustratemy point,withoutany disrespectfor any linguistic group,it canbe safelysaid thai the interpretationofa ~ . 'icular role by, say, a Punjabi college girl willbe verymuchdifferentfromthe samerole beingdoneby a Bengalicollege girl, all otherthings remaining equal. Before we start discussing the subject, let it be clear that amateur acting in is comparatively of a later growth. In the Natyashastra or in any other traditional treatiseon dramatics there is no reference to amateur drama as suchin any form. So much so that in Hindi there is no oneuniform word forthisactivity, there is a coinage like tn)'avmay~ or apatu which is negative andshauJdya has a r:' ~ -J erer ' s non-seriousness about it In my opinionthe problems of amateur theatre are as follows: I. Paucityof good stageable original plays. 2 Bad translations and weak adaptations. 3. Tendentious plays. 4. No understanding andlor respect for the writer or even the theme. 5. Difficulties in choosing the cast. 6. Poordirection and insufficient rehearsals, lack ofteam-work, 7. Insufficient knowledgeof stage-decor, sets and lighting. 8. Sustenance ofthedramatic enthusiasm. Someof theproblemswould seem to be conunon to non-amateur dramatic activitytoo. I. Firstthing first-s-the play is the thing.In spiteofthe fact that a lot of one-act playsare beingwrittenin Indianlanguages, theproblemis thatthere are no good stageable successful full-fledged plays or even one-actplays. The exceptional ones were so much oft-repeated that in each languagethere is a Bishop s Candlesticks, Sabse Bam Admi, Udyacha Sansar or somepopularwittystuff.It may he worthseriousconsiderationwhether dramaticactivity is on the decline after independence in particular or the energy of the dfiifua-wnte<1l is diverted to scribbling for the screen or for broadcasting? Let us take the case ofBengali.

S"'grd N.lilk Vol. XXXVJII. No.4, 2004 PROBLEMS OF AMATEUR THEATRE: II 49

whichhas a rich variety ofliterature in poetry and fiction but in comparisonthe language lacksin drama. Nobody now talks ofD.L. Roy seriouslyand the later dramatistshave all beenwritingrather difficult problem-playsor playswhichare not fortheamateur. So many persons come to me to enquire about a good Hindi play to be staged in some anoual function of an educational institutionor at some literarymeeL And but fortheexceptionof acleverpiece by 'Ashk' or a similarothercontemporary,Hindibasveryfewstageableplays fortheamateurs. In Marathi,Malayalam or Punjabi, there are, bowever, many such plays publishedand produced But taking all these into consideration,such playsare very fewwhichcan stand translation and would not lose their appeaL The projectofsuchtranslations wassuggested by one of the languages and a special committee appointed by SahityaAkademi thought thata distinction ought to be made between purely literaryclassic playsand the stageable playsofephemeralvalue. VeryfewdramatistshavecombinedintheirworkboIhthequalities ofliterary excellence and popularappeaL 2. There are a few drama-writers as adapters and producersin our country, ofno mean repute, and the name ofSombhu Mitra, P.L. Deshpande, GuplanNair, MadbukarRaaderia, SheilaBhatia and so many others are a matter ofpride for any language. But discussing with some of these persons, I have found that while there is a rage in Maharashtra for translated plays, adaptations in Bengali are very common. In Punjabi,a few translations wereattempted,while in Urdu,the FrenchfarcesorstageversionsofShakespeare werestill popular with stage-goers. The greater difficulty is in adaptingSanskritclassics;we have manytimesseen what a travesty ofthe originalis presentedin Englishbyamateurs or some poor translations are even broadcast. There is not a single standardtranslation ofa good GreekplayinHindi,whilein Malayalamand evenin wegeta few. Ibsen,Shawand Wilde are popular but the adaptations oftheir socialplays soundsometimes so differentin our social conditions. People think that any novel or story can render itself to dramatic adaptation. Such thinking is fallacious. Wemeet sometimes with a good adaptation ofChar Adhyayor Godan. But I havealso seenvery boring adaptations ofRamo RajaBahadur(Malayalam) or Chitralekha (Hindi). Ihad theexperienceofadaptingthe following novelsforthemedium ofradio-drama: Banbhatt ki Atamkatha. Astik; Prithvivallabh and others. I bad produced a series of half-an-hour radio-plays adapting famous novels in Indian literatureand the difficultywasapparent­ mostofournovels tend to be loaded moreon thereflectiveside,ortheyaremoredescriptive and lack in dramatic tense situations or dialogues which are necessary ingredients of a gooddrama. There is no 'grip' in most ofthese so-callednovelsand so the fieldofdrama seemsto bebleak and barren throughoutmodernIndianliterature. Thereare somesparkling technical achievementsor some didactic stuffwrittento order. Botthere isverylittleon the side ofachievement in 'great drama'. So the very foundation of all such activityis.weak. Yearin and year out the amateur troupes go on harpingon the samepseudo-dramatic stuff byD.L.Roy,Atre or Seth GovindDas.Ifthereis no goodscript,thecorollarywhichfollows so PRABIIAKAR MACHWE

is that half ofthe dramatic interest is marred. Good acting, direction, team-work etc., can only compensate the remaining fifty per cent A badly written play can at the mostbecome merely entertaining,hut it does not render itselfinto a good play when staged. 3. Some political organizations started a cultural ' front' and tried to use 'drama' as a means of propaganda.Insteadofstimulating the creative art, they channelized it andtried to use this mediumto the extentofexploitation. On the one hand, such organizations as IPTA, INTA, Sarvodaya Kala Pathak and soon tried to bringthe dramatistdownfromthe so called ivory tower to the realistic planeandby reviving some formsoffolk-dramabrought play-production near the masses; on the other hand,havingobviouslimitationsof their firstloyaltybeing to 'party-lines', they allowed art to become a handmaid ofpolitics. There was a basic contradiction in such an approach. Whiledramawasexpressedto be forthe masses, the inspiration did not come from thembut from a particular dictum about masses. The parallel can be taken from the West German playwrightCarl Zuclanaver, who began as a play-reader with the East German playwright . . He started with expressionism and is now an exponent ofZeikdrama, He recorded in an autobiographicalaccount, "I hadgrasped a fundamental fact, that a house must bebuilt fromthe basementup, and not fromthe roofdown, that growth does notbegin at the blossoms but at the roots." Had this been understood well by our 'progressive' playwrightsthey would not have erred on the imitative side. Balwant Gargi's usage of oo fixed dialect in his plays like Lohakutta, or Kishen Chander's deliberate treatment of exaggeration and lampooning, Bhasin's caricaturist style would have been more effective and artistic. So these plays with a tendentious and partinost approach could not catch the audienceortakethemby storm,as theydid in a fewBengali famine plays or Keralaelection plays. But all things considered, in such plays propaganda deteriorates into catechisms very soon, and the amateur activity hehind it is augmented by extra-dramatic motivatioos' which we need not discuss here. These are problems for sociology or psychopathology and Dol dramatics. 4. Coming fromthe plays to the players, leaving aside the tendentious in which play of any sort is as good as the other so far as it strictly satisfied the purpose and as 10Dg asit is 'useful'-the next problem is about the amateur actors themselves. They have a very raw and even ill-educated background.Sometimes the middleman that is the producer bas also little or no respect for the literarymerits of the play itself. lie thinks himself, in nine cases out of len, to be greater than the writer. The result is obvious. I know of cases whero o~inary producersor even uneducated actorshave padded the scripts ofgood playwrights ~I~ cheap humour or some such unnecessary supplements, supposed to be done for relief", I knowofmy own experience when I wrote a play ofsuspense, a sort ofthrillerfor a ~o drama festival. Tomy surprise, there was a world ofdifference between the original scnpt and the way it was broadcast. It was further given to me as explanation that all thai modifications were thought necessary to keep the listeners' attention arrested. Thus, these producers and even the amateur actors have funny notions about the 'audience' or the PROBLEMS Of AMATEUR THEATRE: II 51

'Iistener', not unlike the notions ofthe film-producers. They take it for granted that the spectators are below the average and need mere entertainment, and all intellectual pre­ occupation is only forthese'art-folks'. Thishigh-browapproachisverywrong.Ouraudience in all language-groups are fast advancing and the producers of amateur groups should neverthinkthat ifthey givethem anything literary, bighlyartisticor reflective intheformof a playthat will fall flat on them. On the contrary, such argumentsare used as a convenient camouflage for one's ignorance or unwillingness to take pains. So I feel that the amateur troupes should first learn to respect the writer and understandthe theme containedin the drama. All actions,decor or even management is merelya meanto thatend.I only ventilate andvoice the complaint ofmany playwrights who are not presenthere. 5. The next difficulty is to choose the right cast. After one has fixed the play and the producer, many times the amateur groups lack the understanding of choosing the right person for the right role. Many times the arguments thrust forward is that there is no alternative or no choice. But my counter-reply to such half-heartedzealots;s, who has forced you to produce a play? Ifyou can't get a good play or goodactors,betterpostpone it to a future day rather than put up a roughshod second rate performance. The difficulties arestill greater in choosing the female cast. Some colleges are constantlyaskingfor plays without female roles or plays without male roles. The alternative arrangement ofboys actingas girls and vice versa seems horrid in these days ofthe 'silver screen'. thoughthat was the common practice in the past on the Iodian stage. In the Drama Festival at Delhi. many troupes did have such 'unnatural' casts. With the amateur, the difficulty is all the morebecauseeach amateurfeels himselfto bea hiddenHenryIrvingoralatentSirLaurence Olivier. It is true that even great actorswere not born buthad to undergoa strenuous period of self-trainingand hardwork. But that is true of every arL In India,the difficultyabout acting and actors is that there is no university where there is a chair for dramaturgy and there are very few institutions where dramatics is taught not only in theory but also in a practicalform.The campswhich are held are all conductedin English,takingEnglishplays as the base, run by persons whose knowledgeofIndianlanguagesis nextto nothing. And when questioned, the ready reply is there, drama is a universal language. Where is the questionofany Indian or foreign language? Ii Directions and rehearsals: the great problem, after making the parentsof actors or actresses convinced that they are not wastingtimein the dramatieactivity, is toconductthe rehearsals. In a city, distances are a problem.ArrOngements for transport are not always satisfactory, the timings do not suit everyone uniformly. And like actors,producersin our languageareas are also a medley ofself.hypnotized,untrained pseudo-intellectuals. For,a good producer not only should have an understanding ofthe text ofthe play but also possess a sympathetic yet firm understandingofthe psychologyofthese actors and actressesdrawn from all walks oflife. In an article on 'Avaitaniknatako' in the Gujarati monthlyYuvak(January '56). PushkarCbandravarkarhas madean analysisofthesituation ofamateurdrama in schools and colleges. Hewrites:"Generally, the lecturersand teachers S2 PRABHAKAR MACHWE

oflanguages and literatures can show greater interest, But it is far from the truth to think that one who can teach drama well, by virtue ofhis knowledge ofthe literary drama, canalso be a good producer. They may be teachers ofliterature but Dotacting, and so long as they are not so, perfection cannot be achieved." In big cities, there is another class ofpseudo-producers. The dilettante, who considers drama as another ofhis means ofcareerism and ulterior success. Such people show very great enthusiasm, sometimes they also invest money but their genuine aim is not drama but something else. Such people are abundant in this field. They have commercialized the founts of the dramatic art. Like the politicians trying to exploit drama as a means, the commercial world is also constantly vitiating the love for drama. The film world has seenits nadir, where buth high capitalist interest and vitriolic penmen have made an unholy alliance. Let us say ' Hands offdrama' to both ofthese exploiters! Direction or production ofa drama is a specialized art. But in broadcasting as well as on the stage, a good writer or a good lecturer or a good designer ofsets is not unlikely to be mistaken as a good producer. A goodproducer must have experience to his credit besides other factors. He must have an all-sided understanding of this cumulative art, He must know the human material he wants to use. He must be in touch with what is happening in this field in the world as well as in Indian language areas. He cannotbe oblivious oftradition nor ofexperimentation, Wehave many producers in our country who emphasize only oneof the two aspects. In Bengal, Maharashtra, Andhra, and Kerala, there are some exceptionally talented producers but they are so few as compared to our growing demands. We should have a regular school for producers and actors at the earliest. The greatest defect in all amateur dramatic activity is the lack ofteam spirit. ID Delhi alone, there may be two dozen groups who can never come together. This individualism to the extent ofexclusiveness ingrained in our character always obstructs all our social work. I have known ofcases where two groups have fallen out only because two persons cannot get on well together. The tales ofone group spliting into twos and fours are unending. It is true that the artist has a little super-ego and some concession has to be made for it, but it should not be at the cost of the work itself. This want of team-work presents a major problem, for resolving which there is no formula. 7. Stage-decor, settings, lighting: I can here cite a few funny instances observed by mein various plays. In Assam and Orissa, I found the background music technique employed in a few plays, which sound very odd. In the films too, sometimes the synchronization is not ~p~ but here the difference in the singing and the speaking voices is so apparent thatil lS.awlUl to stand it. ID stage-sets, gcnerally the same fallacy ofyielding to the temptatiOD of the easier is very common. ADd so in Delhi in mythological plays, I found Moghul court :urangements and even cement-ballustrades, and in a historical play, the modem foorware IS a very common auachronism. Care ought to betaken in avoiding suchjarring details. The letter wntten by Shakuntala could obviously Dever be"on a parchment or the father of Shakuntala cannot sing in ragas discovered by Tansen unless one wants to make it a farce· PROBLEMS Of AMATEUR THEATRE: II Sl

Similarly, riotous overdoing ofthe lighting variations mars the overalleffectof a play. All these things are mere means, accompaniments and should neverbe treatedasends. In one Punjabi play, the village situation was over-done by abusive language, spittingon the spot or peeling the sugarcane with'teeth and such odd trivias. Humour being introducedas an unnecessary interlude ortrying to force in a comiccharacterwithclichesisalsonotnecessary. Thegeneral world-trend in art as well as stage-sets is towardsmoresymbolic, suggestive, simplified arrangements, but we under the narne of tradition, stillclingto theornateand the bawdy, thefalse notions of grand drama!The sooner all this isbroughtto theminimum, the better. Backgroundmusic or recording ofsound effects are alsoused notvery infrequently. They can be avoided and used only as an opadharma (exceptional deviation) and not as a rule. S. The greatest ofall problems is to consider how the sustenance of dramatic interest in amateur troupes can be pepped up. There is no uniform way whichcan be suggested. But it is absolutely necessary if the scattered enthusiasm for dramatic art is to be continued. Otherwise, it ebbs out very soon. I have only attempted to pose a few practical problems. No one, not eventhe State,bas the answer for all these complicated questions. You, learned and experienced masters of this art, might be able to suggest some solutions. Withthis humbledesire, I concludethese rather sketchy and cursory observations.

DISCUSSION

PrabhakarMochwe: I do not know ifyou haveread my paper. I, therefore, feel inclined to tell you in a few sentences how do I look at the effortsofour amateurtheatre. Amateur organizations appear like mushrooms all over the country and like mushrooms do they disappear in no time. There are too many dilettantebusy bodies in the field. Theyput up a company, put up some show not out of love for drama but for an oppor1UDi ty to build a career for themselves by drawing attention ofPersons who may distribute favours. One troupe splits up into two, three, four, six or more. Eachone ofthem is mannedby persons who pose as experts. As a result, we do not get either a dramaor a theatreout ofa hotch­ potch they cater. Some political organizations indulge in having what they call a cultural front, They use drama as instruments of propaganda. Organizations like IPTA, /NTA, Sarvodaya Kala Pathak on the one hand brought dramatist from the ivory tower to the realistic plane, revived some forms of folk-drama, broughtplay production nearer to ~e masses, but on the other hand having limitationsdue to their loyalty to partyreducedtheir an to propaganda.There is a basic conttadiction. Whiledramais regardedasan art thathas much to dowith the masses, the inspirationdoesnever come from the masses th~e1 ves but from a particular dictum about the masses. We know West-German playwnght Carl Zuckmaver started witb expressionism. He has nowbecomeanexponentofZeikdrama. He Conveys that a house must be built from the basementupwardand not from the roofdown. S4 DISCUSSION

Had it been well understood by our playwrigbts, we could have had today many good plays, plays like those writtenon Bengal famine and Kerala elections etc. But as plays with propaganda motive deteriorate into catechism and the amateur activities are augmentedby extra-dramaticmotivations,playsfail to catcb the imagination ofthepeople and theatresfan to grow. That isthe reason why we find that there is no good drama in our Indian languages. We should organize genuine theatrical societies. Chairs must be founded in every univer­ sity for teachingthe art of dramaturgyand men like Dr Mulk Raj Anand, Shri SombhuMitra and peoplewho have done great work in the field should be asked to lend assistance in the matter ofdrawing up a curriculumofstudies. MulkRaj Anand:There are three papers on the same subject. I would like to suggestto our friendsthat we would first hear the other two and then engage ourselves to the discus­ sion of all the three papers. Shri Machwe bas dilated on (I) the paucity ofplays, (2) the amateuradventurism,(3) chairs for dramaturgy. I would now request Shri Sombhu Mitrato give us hisviewson theproblem. . SambhuMitra: I have written a very sbort paper. I have not discussed the subject froma long-distance view. I find myself so placed, so mercilessly compressed by tax-hunters, rent-huntersand thisand that factionthat I can hardly move about. It is therefore that [have . dcaltwiththe immediateobstacleson our way. They arc: (I)Amusement tax, (2) Highrents chargedby house-owners,(3) Paucity ofgood plays. We have agreed not to waste our time by repeated reference to the Amusement tax and the pre-censorship ofplays. We do feel, each ofus working in the field, that they should go lock, stock and barrel as one of our colleagues here bas justly demanded. I come to my third point i.e, paucity ofgood plays. I willnot makesuch a sweepingremark as Shri Prabbakar Machwe has unfortunately made. Surely our languagesbave several good plays and playwrights. I believe Shri Machwewill not say that Chenra Tar and Raktakarabi were originally written in some non-Indian language. There are many good plays. While we discuss plays we make distinction be­ tween theatrical plays and literary plays. I do not know wbat is exactly a literary play. Raktakarabi was said to be a literary play. We found it was actable too. Most ofthe so­ calledliteraryplays I read, I find are actable. But there may be plays whicb I would not care to producenot becauseI findthem worthless, but because I have no mood in me to produce them. I admit I bave no right to ask every playwright to play to the tune ofmy mood, which thcy may believe to be ofa peculiar nature. I do not blame them either. Nor do I say they write rot. The fact remains that I do not get plays I look for. But even that does not worry me as much as the want oftheatre does. Where to put a play even if! get one ofmy liking? I bave plays ready for performance. But where shall I perform them? I know I can hire the New Empire. But do you know the rent I bave to pay? You would be staggered. And I do ?ot wantto shockyou. The New Empire has other clients too. I cannot make a monopolyof It. I have to wait for my turn. And it comes to me not more than twentyfive times a year. Twentyfiveshows a year cannot keep a theatre going even ifit is an amateur one. Giveme a theat;

resources are limited. State Governmentsmay, if they will, give theatresor loansby wbich wecanbuildtheatres. Wecanpay the moneybackin installments withinterest. Butwho will negotiate? Weare smallfries intheirestimation.[hope thisSeminar composed ofsmallfries from every part of India will convey to State Governments our wisbes and worries. A responsive cooperation is needed now from every well wisherofdrama.Weare readyfor suchcooperativemove. Let us find out what the State Governments do. [fthey do stick to theircallousattitude, we know what move we will make. Mulk: Raj Anand: The next paper is also an amateuractivities. Wehave agreedthat the threepapersshould be considered together. I, therefore, inviteShri Sondhito giveus a gist of the paper written by Shri Inder Dass who has been unavoidably detained somewhere else.ShriDassbas instructedthe SeminarthatShriSondhiwilldeputize forhim.ShriSondhi isaneminentworker in the field ofdramaand I believetheSeminarwillbebenefitted by his personalobservations also. G.D. Sandhi: In the peculiar circumstances in which our country is situated so far as drama is concerned, amateur theatre activity dominatesthe scene. On its encouragement and promotionlies the future hope for the establishmentofa nationaltheatreand dramatic renaissance. Itis obvious that amateur activity cannot accomplish this great mission unless it is encouragedand promoted and channelizedin the right directions. Thereis an abysmal lack ofany unified plan. You have read the paper [ suppose. I will only touchthe points raisedin it for your comments. They are: I.No endeavour is being made to pool resourcesand work in collaboration and coordi­ nation. A central committee ofcoordination should be set up and it should deal with the handicaps of the amateur players and help them to overcomethese. 2At present, there is a dearth oftalents at the disposalofthe amateurs. It is, therefore. proper that along with coordinating bodies. theatre training centres should be founded bothat the Capital and in the regions. 3.There is generally a lack ofsustainedenthusiasm.senseofresponsibility. seriousness anddevotionto the cause.Youngwomenare generallyunwillingto actinminorrolesorthe rolesofold women. 4.Arnateurs cannot secure persons who specialize in various arts and crafts necessary for a dramatic performance. In England,amongst amateurs.there are personsfairlyprofi­ cientas painters, electricians, carpenters, designers or tailors, and so 00. 5.There are no suitable balls where amateurtheatricals can be held, nor evenplaces for rehearsals. [ feelthepointsraisedby the writerarenolonlyrel...·ant butdemandimmediate attention. Sachin Sengupta: I take the floor not as the Directorof the Seminarbut as a playwright Who have been writing for the Bengaliprofessionaltheatrefor over a quarterof a century. I have carefully gone through the papers written for this Seminar and have listenedto the discussinnsvery attentively.I am really happy to fwd that everyoneof us.presenthere.has franklyput forward his viewson the bettennentofthesituation. ButI feelI shouldnotlet go SOme remarks ofsome ofmy colleagues without any question. Some ofthe remarks are neither based on facts, nor are they fair. Shri Machwebas made a very sweeping remark S6 DISCUSSION

while he said, "There are no good plays in Indian languages." Those who have written papers for the Seminar on language dramas have apprised us of'the existence ofgood plays. The writers are veterans like Mama Warerkar, c.c. Mehta, , ProfK. Narain Kale and scholars like Dr Mansinha, Dr Amar Mukerjee, Shri , Shri J.C. Malbur, Dr K.M. George, etc, It is evident that Shri Machwe does not agree with Ibem. lIe has every right to disagree. But he has not told us what he considers to be a good play. I cannot, therefore, tell him that even such plays which are good in his opinion do exist in our languages. He has suggested that IPTA produced some good plays on Bengal famine and Kerala elections. From Ibis suggestion ofhis we may have an idea ofthe quali­ ties he expects in a play. If! have not misunderstood his appraisal, I would venture to tell him that there are hundreds ofsuch plays. Amar Mukerjee: I have given the names ofa few such plays in my language. Adya Rangacharya: I have also stated in my paper that we have some really brilliant plays. Mama Warerkor. Surely Indian languages have many good plays, their absence would have made the presence of!ndian theatre an impossibility. We know there is such a thing as Indian theatre. Continual run ofbad plays would have made its existence impossible. Sachin Sengupta: Another point on which Shri Machwe has spoken at lengIh is the party loyalty oforganizations like IPTA. I happen to be the treasurerofthe all-India organi­ zation of the Indian People 's Theatre Association and the President of its organization. I am working in these capacities for the last six years. I hope you will believe me when I say that I am in a position to declare that the IPTA has no partyaffiliation. It does not use any party fund. Itis a free organization composed ofprogressive artists and writers ofdiverse political beliefs. I know very well that when the !PTA was founded it was more closely associated with a certain political party. But Shri Machwe himselftells us that it was only then that the IPTA had produced plays which took the audience by storm. Its closer relationship with a party did not at that time degenerate its productions. Shri was responsible for its very first hit play, . Shri Balraj Sahni, Mrs Dina Pathak, even Mama Warerkar worked for IPTA. And if! am not wrongShri Machwe himselfwas for some time associated with its activities. None ofthem, I can emphatically say, has suffered moral, mental and destructive degeneration due to that After all, loyalty to a party is no offence. I do not believe that a good play cannot be written by reflecting a party-view of ":,,,ial reconstruction. In a democratic country, parties have distinctive roles to devise d~verse pa~ems ofsociety in order to test which is the best for its people. Shri Machwe has CItedthe views ofa West German playwright who has asked playwrights not to forget thai a house should be built from the basement upwards and not from roofdown. Although a drama cannot be compared with a house, I feel that Carl Zuckmaver was not wrong . The IPTA, more than any other organization in India. is aware ofit. That is exactly wby it pays ahnost a devotional attention to people's arts and to the people's way of life today. Even today It produ~es plays which reflect the people on the pavements and the tillers and the workers', In spite of their sincere efforts, I have to admit that the solidarity it had once attained IS rapidly losing adhesion not because ofthe deterioration in the quality ofits play AMATEUR THEATRE 57

bUI becauseofthe non-party role it has decided 10 play.I wishit has assumedits earlierrole. Thatwould have, at least, given it back its solidarity. Shri Inder Dass has regrettedthe lack oforganization,lack ofcoordination, lack ofdisciplinegenerallywitnessedin theworkings of amateur organizations, I have told you the other day that drama and theatre find them­ selves bogged in a no-man's land. Nobody has any generous bend of mind to come 10 its rescue.Shri Inder Dass's suggestion for a coordinationcommitteeis good on the surfaceof it But,Iamafraid, itwill nol work.Therewillbealwayssomedifferences of opinionamongst genuinelovers ofdrama. I cannol envisage a committeeofexpertswho will beunanimous aboutthe essential elements ofa play. And even ifil could be so, playwrightswouldnever acceplit, nor the producers. Any advice put forward by the committeewouldbe takenas an imposition, When we say a play should be like this, a productionmust satisfy this or that particularpattern, we do actually want things 10 bedone according10our wishes. If! am not wrong 10 suppose it, we will find thaI the proposed committeewill fail 10 delivergoods. Ba/raj Sahni: Drama is, as I have said in my paper, an extremelyvest subject, So much can be said on every little aspect ofthis multi-faceted art thaIit requiresa deep study and a profound experience to tell exactly which will lead It to whal. Each of us has a different idea in regard to il. Shri Machwe has referred 10 IPTAand other organizations which he believes stand for party ideologies. Shri Sengupla says !PTA has no party affiliation al­ though he believes affiliation with a party does not necessarily degenerate drama. The causeofthe rot lies somewhere else, he says. I have workedwith the IPTA.I still work for it not certainly 10 patronize it bUI for the attraction ofitshealthy outlook. Dina Pathak: Whatever may be the defects of!PTA, I must tell you that my long con­ nectionwith it has been ofgreat benefit to me. My attentionwould nol havebeen drawn10 the folk-form if! had nol been with the !PTA. I shall be guilty ofabject ungratefulnessif! deny this facl simply because some people do not like its activities. Mu/kRaj Anand: On the question ofexploitationby variousorganizations of theatrefor theirownpurposes, I think, ifil is nol humourous itwouldbe tragicif we begin 10find fault with various organizations. I would therefore request my colleagues10keep their observa­ tionsrestricted10 (I) paucity 0: plays, (2) coordinatingcon,unil1ee (3) training ~hool and (4) ofcourse,removal ofEnterlammenl Taxand pre-censorship ofplaysbythepolice. On the lastpoint we are all agreed and we have decidednot to discussit any moreat thisSeminar. PrabhakarMachwe: I would like10discuss firstthe paucityofplays. IIis necessarythaI we depute one or two persons 10 work on this particular problem. There may be plays pleasantto read bUI are absolutely unactable. There may be plays surelyactablebut devoid of any literary merit, A combination ofboth is whal shouldbeaimed al. It is very unfortu­ natethat plays are adjudged good or bad on their literarymeritsand deficieDcies alone.The experts I propose 10 depute 10 look 10the matter should contact playwrights and discuss Olatters with them so that the latter may know what is expectedof them. Now,I will speak a fewwords on the training schools. No doubt we shouldhave them.Bul they shouldnot be inslitutionsfor specialization but for general training for technical needs and a~ for the fundamenlal requisites of the art of play-writing. A network of theatres won I help us unless we have enough good plays 10puI on their boards. 58 DISCUSSION

B. KanakalingeswaraRao: The Akademi should send a batch of competent observers to every State to study the position and to report. E.Alkazi:Without our knowingwe have come to the question if there is any possibility of setting up a body of adjudicators. In England, the adjudicators have been found to be very useful. There are two types ofthem. One for adjudging local festivals and national ones too. They are honorary workers devoted to the cause of drama. They travel allover the country spending their own money. They study and advise participants at festivals how to reach and maintaina certain standard. The adjudicators ofthe other type are more concernedaboutproductionsof dramain general.They are paid workers, fullytrained.Itis theirjob 10 see that the standarddoes not deteriorate. Wecan sel up similar bodies hereon regionalbasis. I believethey would be found very helpful. K. Narain Kale:Someofus have said that we lackgood plays without looking forthem. Plays are being written everyday by writers who are not known to persons who poseas experts. But I tell you from my experiencethat really good plays may be had if we careto havethem. I knowofa competition. There were twenty-six entries. Names ofwriterswere kepta secret The adjudicators foundthat out of those twenty-six manuscripts, six or seven were found to be actable as well as of literary value. Ifwe have a body ofadjudicators for each language, I am sure, we will be able to discover good plays which the amateurscould take up for production. ce. Mehta: To set up a body ofadjudicators is a good idea no doubt But the most importantpoint about it is who will form these bodies. We have already such bodies in almost all the States, They are set up by various departments ofthe State Governmentand also by those of the Union Government. But they have been proved to be ridiculous. In Bombay, I alwaysfindthatwivesofl.C.S. officials, PublicityOfficersand personsinnoway connected withdramaand theatreare part ofsuchbodies. Once I was placed in such.body withnowomanin it Wethoughtwe would bevery fair. So we took great care to go through the manuscripts. But the Governmentmust be prompt to prove its efficiency. And believe me, ladiesand gentlemen, the PublicityOfficer announced the result without evenconsult­ ing the adjudicators. You would say that you would select adjudicators yourselves. You can do that But you cannotstopthe Governmentfrom having adjudicators of their choice. Neitherhaveyou yourselvesagreedas to what should be the form and content ofthefuture dramas.From the speecheson amateur theatre, I find that not two ofus think alike. Shri Machwewantsa type of play whichShriSengupta does not want. Shri Inder Dasssaysthat amateurorganizations lackin everythingthat is needed,white Shri Sombhu Mitra saysthey have talent,ability,imagination, everything required for good productions, only theyhave not enoughgood plays and houses. Adjudicatorswe appoint will hardly know whattodo. They maybringtheplaywrightstogetherbut I am afraid theycannot make the writerswnte suchplayswhichthestalwartswillacclaimas good. As regards training institutions.Iwant to knowwhatto train,whomto train, how to trainand who would train. Wemustfirst ofall decidewhatshapewe wantto giveour future dramaand theatre. Once we settlethatwewill find no difficultyto proceed with adjudication and training, etc. Balraj Sohni: I agree to what my esteemed friend Shri C.C. Mehta has said just now. AMATEUR THEATRE

Unless we are very clear about the shape we wanttn giveto our drama and theatre,wewill notbeableto chalk outa plan which wemay implement ButI feelI shouldwarnyouagainst thatkind of coordination which Shri Inder Dass proposes for your acceptance. Coordina­ tioncan never be forced from the top. It has to grow from the bottom. Once upon a time I triedto coordinate the activities ofvarious groups. I failed. IfShri InderDasstakes from eachgroupits best artists and fonn a group, he will killall the groups. But I believeall the groups ofa particular city or town may,on occasions,unite to givea performance just toset up a standard TIme has come, I think, when our country can legitimately ask for certain facilities from the Government. We can ask SangeetNatakAkademito recommend to the Government formaking such arrangementsas wouldhelptroupesfromtheregionsto come to Delhi and to give performancesin Hindi or in regional languages. Nirmala Joshi: The Akademi holds festivals in whichtroupesfromregionsparticipate. All languagedramas are represented. Snehlata Sanyal: The festivals are all right But what Shri Balraj Salmisuggestsis al­ most the same what Shri Inder Dass wants. Balraj opposes Dass but puts forward a pro­ posalsimilar to what Dass desires us to do. Boththe proposals are encroachment uponthe freedom ofexistingtroupes. Those whowanta centralcommittee do, Ibelieve, intheirheart or heartsdesire to have the last say in matters relating to dramaand theatre. I do not think that any individual or a group of individuals can give a shape to our drama and theatre whichwemay legitimatelycall national.Whatwewantisperfectfreedom andnodirectives fromany quarter whatsoever. Sachin Sengupta: While listening to arguments in favour ofcoordinating committees, bodiesofadjudicators, training ofplaywrightsand producers,I was seizedwithan appre­ hensionthat some ofour friends in this Seminarwere thinkingin termsofregimentation. May I ask who are we to give directives and to step forward as adjudicators? Have we provedourselves worthy oftaking the leadership?Ifwe feelwe have, thenwhydo we say thatwehave no drama, no organizationalability, no talent,no training? Were we notwork­ ingin thefield forthe past two or threedecades?Ifwe hadfailedas workers,howcouldwe succeedas adjudicators, as trainers and as organizers?PersonallyI do not feel that we had failed in the past But some ofyou have categoricallystated that we have nothingto be proudof. Doyou mean to say that everythingwill turn goodifwefollowyourinstructions? Arc we to understand that what you do not like is no good? Pardon me friends if/tell you thatyou are not looking at the situation from the properaogle.Youhave keptone ofyour eyes on the Westerntheatre and the other on our past You want to mix the two with this beliefthatthe mixturewould giveus brilliantdramasandmoderntheatres. Whenyoutalkof settings, lightingequipment, decor, etc. you forgetthat you will have to ~ your theatre to the people who could not support the Bhavai playersand other folk artists who had no demand for costly parapbernalia. . . . I had occasionsto meet certain leadersofdramaticactivitiesworkingm differentcoun­ triesOfWcstern Europe. They were very generousto discussthe variousaspectsofdrama and theatre in their respective countries. Believe it or not, they told me that they found Indiantheatreis better placed in the matterofmass-contact. Wearenot reallyas blackas we 60 DISCUSSION

paint ourselves, There are very many bright spots in our theatrical ventures. We have got to make them brighter not by introducing expensive equipment which we can hardly afford to purchase or maintain, hut by putting increasing emphasis on the composition ofplays which do not demand rich paraphernalia. How can we do that? Mrs Sanyal has revealed the secret to us by giving freedom to our playwrights, artists, and producers. This demand for freedom frightens many. They warn us that it will create a havoc and will degenerate drama. Those who say like that do not know that art itselfhas within it an urge for selfrestriction. Artists may be swayed from time to time hy the forces ofcontemporary events, hut ulti­ mately they have to surrender to their arts. I have seen many playwrights and artists, who started work as rebels or propagandists, had to calm themselves down when they came to know more oftheir arts. We must not be unnecessarily worried over the defects ofour art endeavours. No had play or had production survive the test ofthe public scrutiny. They do change or die natural deaths ifthey lack in vital resources oftheir own . Allow them to grow as the Chinese say, let every flower blossom full. . Don't be shy ofpolitical plays . The people need them. We are not concerned with this political system or that, we are concerned with the fulfillment ofman . And as politics have today come to shape man's destiny, arts must take the responsibility of reflecting the political life ofman. This is wbat the artists ofthe present generation have realized. Itis no good commanding them-hands offpolitics. But unfortunately people are not found to be wanting to give vent to an idea which grew at a time when the politicians assumed su­ premacy over art and culture by threat and cajole . Thcy succeeded to establish that the last say in all matters must be theirs. That age is past never to corne back, but that dictatorial mentality still moves many a politician. It is due to this that the theatre even in rich countries are kept in constant fmancial want and under constant administrative surveillance. It is due to this that Governmental ventures received more financial assistance and favours than the so-called national councils and organizations. It is due to this that drama and theatre are given no place in the national planning. Let us not imitate this type ofpoliticians to raise slogans which were raised in the past to put arts in shackles. Do not throw out directives, do not pose yourselves as adjudicators, Only please prepare fields for the free growth of arts. Some will wither out but a few will blossom forth. And the bloomed ones will be the pride ofthe nation as the sun:ivals ofthe past have been our precious heritage. Theatres and more theatres and free theatres should be our urge. Freedom to write and produce plays should be our demand Our past failures are not more disgraceful than the fact that not a single theatre house has been built anywhere in this sub-continent since we had attained freedom. This fact alone tells us wherein lies the malady.