Faiz Forever / Kanika Aurora
Gulon mein rang bhare
Baad-e-naubahaar chale
Chale bhi aao ki
Gulshan ka karobaar chale
Come bahaar or spring and we all end up quoting Faiz Ahmed Faiz conjuring up evocative and tantalizing images of a riot of flowers bursting with a million hues beseeching your beloved to come so the garden can get on with its business of blossoming.
Faiz Ahmed Faiz , the romantic, revolutionary poet extraordinaire was born in Sialkot a hundred and ten years ago on February 13th, 1911 . He shared his hometown with Pakistan’s national poet, Allama Muhammad Iqbal. Linguistically, and culturally he belonged to Urdu, but Faiz Saheb was also well-acquainted with Punjabi and English; he composed some poetry in Punjabi and earned a Master’s degree in English literature as well as served as a lecturer of English and British Literature for a time at the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College in Amritsar (in present-day Punjab, India).An uncle of mine was recently speaking about the junoon he caused when he came to visit.
Interestingly, during his time in Amritsar, Faiz also met his future wife Alys in 1938 at the house of a colleague at the college.Faiz and Alys shared the ideals of freedom and love for humanity and justice, and even though in some ways they had the opposing temperaments, they eventually fell in love.They married in Srinagar in October 1941 and their nikah was performed by Sher-i-Kashmir, Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah, the leader of the National Conference.It is a little known fact that Alys had been christened Kulsoom, by Faiz’s mother and ‘Dast e Saba’ which was written during his imprisonment with the above mentioned ghazal was dedicated to her making everyone wonder about the identity of this mystery woman.
Ishq dil mein rahe to rusva ho
Lab pe aye to raaz ho jaaye
Typical Faiz. Once an emotion or an idea is rendered into poetic expression, it perhaps acquires a multiplicity of meanings and gets shrouded in ambiguities,
During his lifetime, he was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature and even received the Lenin Peace Prize, awarded by the Soviet Union, in 1962.Posthumously, he was conferred his nation’s highest civil award, Nishan-e-Imtiaz, in 1990 although during his lifetime he remained in conflict with the Pakistani government.
Faiz’s early poems had been fairly conventional, romantic treatises on beauty and love, but while in Lahore he began to expand into politics and community concerns. In 1942, he left teaching to join the British Indian Army, for which he received a British Empire Medal for his service during World War II. After the partition of India in 1947, Faiz resigned from the army and became the editor of The Pakistan Times, a socialist English-language newspaper.
Poetry has the ability to rouse and soothe, lull and awaken our weary souls. Faiz’s poems especially, have a remarkable ability and the potential to transcend borders, religions, language and culture. They are an important thread that attempts to suture the hopes and beliefs of peace seeking souls of the sub-continent helping us imagine how to create new futures.
Yeh daagh daagh ujaalaa, yeh shab gazidaa seher Woh intezaar tha jiska, yeh woh seher to nahin Yeh woh seher to nahin, jis ki aarzoo lekar Chale the yaar ki mil jaayegi kahin na kahin Falak ke dasht mein taaron ki aakhri manzil Kahin to hogaa shab-e-sust mauj ka saahil Kahin to jaa ke rukegaa safinaa-e-gham-e-dil
These immortal lines expressed his anguish and dismay at the colossal cost the Indian subcontinent had to pay for freedom from the British Empire in 1947. The poem is entitled Subh-e- Azaadi.
This stained blemished light—this dawn Surely this wasn’t what we we’ve all been longing for. Not the morning we had set out to find In the wilderness of the skies, the stars final resting place
Somewhere there was hope that weary waves will find their shore Our sorrow laden ship would at last come home to anchor… Faiz ended the poem with these lines: Abhi giraani-e shab mein kami nahin aai Nijaat -e-deeda o dil ki ghadi nahin aai Chaley chalo ke wo manzil abhi nahin aai.
The Night’s heaviness has not yet lessened The moment of salvation for our hearts and eyes has not yet arrived; So let us go on, that destination is yet to come….
He was imprisoned twice (1951-1955, then for over 5 months in 1958-1959) for his support of leftist politics in Pakistan. He eventually fled to Moscow and spent some of his last years in Beirut. Woh baat saaray fasanaay mein jis kaa zikr na tha… Woh baat unko bahut na-gawar guzri hai…
In his poem Intesab, he writes: Aaj ke naam Aur Aaj ke gham ke naam Aaj ka gham ki hai zindagi ke bhare gulistaan se khafaa Zard patton ka ban Zard patton ka ban jo mera desh hai Dard ki anjuman jo mera desh hai
Let me write a poem for this day This day and the anguish of this day The sorrow that does not acknowledge life’s beauty For the wilderness of dying. dry leaves which is my homeland For the carnival of suffering which is my homeland….
Some of his finest work, however was written during his imprisonment. “Aaj bazaar mein pa ba jaulan chalo” (“Let us walk with fetters in the street”) which has a rather fascinating incident associated with it. It is said that when Faiz was being taken from the jail in Lahore, in chains, to a dentist’s office in a horse cart (tonga) through the familiar streets, people recognized him and began following his tonga. Chashm e nam jaan e shorida kaafi nahin Tohmat e ishq e poshida kaafi nahin.. Tearful eyes and a restless soul are sadly not enough. Being charged for concealing love is also not enough, he wrote.
Another glittering gem of a poem, Zindaan ki Ek Shaam has been exquisitely translated by Agha Shahid Ali.
Shaam ke pecho-kham sitaron se Zeena-zeena utar rahi hai raat Yun saba paas se guzarti hai Jaise keh di kisi ne pyaar ki baat. Sahne-zindan ke be-vatan ashjar
Sar-nigun mahw hain banane mein Daman-e-aasman pe naqsh-o-nigaar. Shaan-e-baam par damakta hai Meherban chandni ka dast-e-jameel Khaak mein dhul gayi hai aab-e-nujoom Noor mein dhul gaya hai arsh ka neel Sabz goshon mein nil-gun saaye Lahlahate hain jis tarah dil mein Mauj-e-dard-e-firaq-e-yaar aaye.
Dil se paiham khayal kahta hai Itni shireen hai zindagi is pal Zulm ka zahar gholne wale Kamran ho sakenge aaj na kal Jalva gaah e-visaal ki shamein Vo bujha bhi chuke agar to kya Chand ko gul karen to hum jaane.
A Prison Evening trancreated by Agha Shahid Ali proceeds as follows:
Stars spiral into the evening – staircase the night descends – and the wind comes near, then passes, as though someone spoke of love. In the courtyard, the trees are exiles who keep themselves busy embroidering the sky. The roof shines; the moon scatters light with generous hands; the glory of the stars mingles with dust and light polishes the blue sky silver. In every corner shadows ebb and advance, as though the heart were lifted by a wave of separation. This is the thought the heart returns to: that life, in this moment, is sweet. Let tyrants prepare their poisons, they will never succeed. They may snuff out the lamps in the rooms of lovers, but can they extinguish the moon?
“Going to Jail”, Faiz once famously said, “was like falling in love once again”. And lest we forget, very few poets express love in its myriad mysterious, mystical and mesmerizing moods as Faiz Ahmed Faiz.
Raat yun dil mein teri khoyi hui yaad aayi Jaise veerane mein chupke se bahaar aa jaaye Jaise saharaon mein haule se chale baad e naseem
Jaise beemar ko bewajah qaraar aa jaaye
Translated by Vikram Seth it reads:
Last night your faded memory came to me As in the wilderness spring comes quietly, As, slowly, in the desert, moves the breeze, As, to a sick man, without cause, comes peace. Other iconic poems such as Raqib se, Rang Dil Ka Hai Mere and Mujh se pehli si mohabbat Mere Mehboob na Maang have attained almost cult status in the hearts and minds of his followers.
Faiz shall continue to be celebrated for his poetry, his ideology and his unmatched talent to include political and social issues within the traditional frameworks of ghazals and nazms brimming with passion and rebellion. Words that can galvanize us into action and wake us up from our complacent stupor. Words matter. Words that ought to be spoken in defence of the downtrodden. Words that heal, words that nurture, words that continue to inspire and encourage us to speak up. Bol ke Lab Azaad Hain Tere, said Faiz. Speak up – for your lips are free!
Viva la Love. Viva La Revolution. Viva La Faiz.
NULL & VOID| OJASWINI TRIVEDI Null & Void Quoting nothingness In his eyes I find myself craving I look at him and I say I beg you to love me Maybe tomorrow doesn’t exist Maybe we get lost in our little world of sadness I lay here Next to you Your back turned towards me I count the moles The freckles The lines I’m trying to remember I’m trying to remember you Your chest rises with every breath And with every breath I sink The night feels long The blanket is cold An inch apart. We’re just an inch apart Yet Here you are Yet Here I am I take your arm Entwine my fingers I whisper, “You are mine.” And you, You’re lost in a fantasy A dream maybe Where I cease to exist. You seem peaceful, I seem greedy. Maybe I should go? But this was home You were my home. …I’m stranded. I try to remember your face Like patterns? Did I engrave myself onto you? Indent, charr? Anything? You’ll wake up Wash me off of you And I’ll lay here Thinking, Was I that easy to forget?
SLING SHOT: Let’s say we loved each other! Ojaswini Trivedi Barbed chains I don’t feel me when I’m with you For someone who swayed to your heart beat Stumbled upon the dancing shoes of our lives I don’t feel me anymore like the time when we were true. Like the two loyal birds living in a cage It was real? Right? Even if it was forced We learnt to grow, didn’t we? Even if you were my oxygen & I your only life jacket The last thread the lost hope The only chance at survival But let’s say we loved each other. Let’s believe the two birds lived in a seamless crave for freedom, where the abyss melted into the horizon. Shouldn’t you bring me closer to me, me to me, me to you, you to me? Then how are we here Resentful. Angry. When the thought of leaving you is like breathing in the first gasp of air Like every step away from you, Is one step closer to bliss.
The stranger across my mirror- Have we met? | Ojaswini Trivedi Colour to colour. Have you ever felt like you’re walking back into the same pattern.
Falling back into your ex- lover’s arms, the magical appearance of the slender bodied cigarette tangled up perfectly between your fingers after you’d promised yourself the 23rd ‘last time’ or driving without a destination in mind but gradually finding yourself at the corner of that house or person you left years ago.
Or just for a second, answer this-Have you ever broken up with someone thinking that it’s for your own good? And specifically in all unlikelihood, not just stepping away from a toxic, gruelling, narcissistic relationship but a truly genuine one. The comfortable one. Maybe the “too comfortable” one.
You find yourself in a coffee shop.
Wearing your favourite yet only saved for special occasions shirt, the top button unbuttoned. A dash of pink across the cheeks and a tinge of nude on your lips, ordering his exclusive coffee.
Black, no cream, three cubes.
You want him to be happy.
At the sight of you, he truly is, happy. His hands have blots and patches of acrylic, the side of his hands are painted maroon. The colour of my top.
As you sit across him, delving deep into his fancy brown eyes. You keep wondering.
Are you happy for him? Or are you happy with him?
You tell him you can’t do this anymore. You want out .
He’s taken aback at the abruptness of it, but seemingly calm about the words spoken.
The words that poured like sullen wine from your lips.
Distasteful and needy.
The decision that took months of reflecting, internalizing. You can’t pin point a problem, if there was, he would solve it. But you decide to act on this decision. Maybe some things just don’t fit.
Only after the failed futile attempts you realise, there’s never really a good time to part ways.
No perfect day, no perfect occasion. Well, no perfect temperament. Not for you, neither for him.
Yet, you are sitting at an arm’s length. Probably breathing the eye-gouging regret already.
You tell him.
Blatant. Honest. Guilty.
And then, as the course of time plays, you come to realise that that uncomfortable space, you inflicted on yourself needs to be filled with friends or alcohol or painting classes or gym or girlfriends night out or self help books or romantic movies or just plain loveless sex.
Eventually you succumb to the superficiality of it.
And so, you crave for that comfortable safe space. The eager familiarity. The known face in the crowd. The one who could protect you when you were lost.
Which brings us to the next part.
When the other person fulfils your need, is it safe to call it love?
What happens when the needs are met?
What happens when the needs are not met?
Is it still safe to call it love?
Wait. So are we just using each other? For happiness, money, safety, freedom, security, sex, comfort, loneliness, satisfaction, hunger, redemption?
What if we started loving keeping ourselves out of the equation. What if we just loved with complete detachment.
True love is when their closeness is liberating and not suffocating, when their leaving is tormenting and not relieving.
The patterns evoke, of how you treat them, what you feel and most importantly, how you treat yourself.
The continuous falling back into the comfort, the familiar sensation, the treaded path we walked for weeks together. We feel the urgency to crawl back into that. Our memory cells aching to sprint through those lanes, actions and people. Again.
The uncertainty is unsettling.
For people who repeatedly, nonchalantly say “Love yourself!”
Let me tell you, for those who are listening.
It’s the hardest thing to do.
Worse than the weekly-Sudoku and Mumbai’s traffic post rains. It beats the tragic hangover or even ramming your new car into a tree.
Loving yourself is the hardest thing to do.
Have you ever found yourself sitting in the car as the rain comes crashing on the glass shield. The sound of it, a melancholic tease, the rhythm in the familiarity of life falling apart.
We empathize with pain.
We empathize with our pain and are envious of our happiness. Almost as if it’s a time bound gig of your favourite artist.
But pain. So easy to hold on and so bloody hard to let go.
Trying to like yourself is like telling yourself it’s okay to screw up. It’s okay to feel lonely and sad.
It’s okay if you don’t fit into that dress. It’s okay for you to walk away.
It’s okay to let go when they expect you to hold on.
It’s okay if you feel differently at the different time due to a different reason for a different person.
IT IS OKAY!
Trying to like yourself is like breaking that pattern.
You detach little by little. You get uncomfortable little by little.
You break yourself apart..slowly.
Giving up cigarettes is like telling that psychosomatic slavery “ENOUGH!”
Revelling in the comfort of ‘too comfortable’, knowing it is stagnating your growth. Break apart.
Tell your toxic ex-lover that you wish him well. That you deserve better!
Buy that goddamn dress!
CPR yourself..
A friend once said, soulmates exist. There’s Yin And Yang in each one of us. The masculine and the feminine energy. And they, are each others soulmates. We are not incomplete. Our partners are not our ‘Better halves’. He/She cannot complete you.
Only you have that consent.
It’s you. Whole. Complete. Fulfilled.
So why the desperate search for completeness and fulfilment from the ones we meet. Or falling back to the apparent safe haven that is need based, desperate. Animalistic.
The taste of freedom when love is glorious, away from your attached heart.
The demands, the expectations.
The role-play of right’s and wrong’s. Good and bad. Would’ves and Shoud’ves.
It wouldn’t matter.
The pattern will break. We can break it.
Deconstruct. Dissolve.
Only thing vicious in this scenario would be your sole, selfish bliss.
Aren’t we all just craving to be happy?
Honey,
Be your own Superhero.
Henrik Ibsen’s WHEN WE DEAD AWAKEN Director: Sankar Venkateswaran Playwright: Henrik Ibsen
Director: Sankar Venkateswaran
Group: Jangama Collective, Singapore
Language: English
Duration: 1 hr 25 mins
The Play
The play consists of a few final episodes from the life of an ageing sculptor, who achieved fame at the expense of personal happiness. The artist in his old age has lost his inspiration, he wanders around aimlessly, has stopped producing art works and his marriage with his young wife is at the verge of a breakdown. He comes across a deranged stranger lady, who claims to be dead. He comes to realize that the strange lady was once his muse and model to his most famous work of art. His interests were only artistic while she suffers a certain death of soul due to the unrequited love. His wife breaks free from him to find life and love in a bear hunter, while the artist and the model dredge up and dig through a difficult past to realize that the life they led is irretrievable. Director’s Note
The questions are, why should we care about this play and the characters today? And how do we approach them? The answer to the first question, I think, is that these characters are like us, in their selfishness, denials and egos. My answer to the second question leads to another difficult question and is rather harsh. What if we deny the author his words, his rhetoric, the way the sculptor denies acknowledging a life beneath his model which then turned her into a statue! And when we do that to this play, we are left with a phantasmal envelope of silence where bodies move like ghosts and speak their silence. This might start to provoke our imaginations beyond the spoken, and we might start to see the irretrievable. We may begin to ask questions such as- are we awake? Are we dreaming? Or, are we dead? Do we need to wake from the dream or death? What happens when we dead awaken?
The Director
Sankar Venkateswaran is a theatre director and dramaturg from Kerala, India. He graduated from the Calicut University School of Drama and Fine Arts, and pursued his post-graduate training at Theatre Training and Research Programme (now Intercultural Theatre Institute), Singapore. Currently, Sankar has set up a cultural space in Attappady, Kerala, and works with the indigenous communities of the region. He is a recipient of the International Ibsen Scholarship 2013 (Teater Ibsen, Norway) and Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar 2011, and was a jury member for Zurich Theater Spektakel 2016.
The Playwright
Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906) was a Norwegian playwright, theatre director, and poet. He is considered by many as the ‘father of realism’ and remains one of the most influential playwrights of his time and is the most frequently performed dramatist in the world after Shakespeare. Ibsen’s dramas have a strong influence upon contemporary culture, and continue to be staged in different languages around the world today.
The Group
Jangama is a collective of five actors/performance-makers that strive to create work that may speak across cultural and linguistic barriers through their own forms and languages. The collective comprises of Lakshmana KP (India), Pooja Mohanraj (India), Hau Guei Sze (Malaysia), Caroline Chin (Singapore) and Alexander Beard (Australia). The five have been undergoing training at the Intercultural Theatre Institute in Singapore, an actor training institution that focuses on immersing actors in both Western and Eastern theatre forms. Each of them is working as independent artists in their own countries, while continuing to connect with each other and create work around the world.
Cast & Credits
Maia Rubek: Pooja Mohanraj
Arnold Rubek: Lakshmana KP
Ulfheim, a bear hunter: Alexander Beard
Irene, a stranger lady: Caroline Chin
Sister of Mercy: Hau Guei Sze
Translator: William Archer
Original cast of Ulfheim: Yazid de Jalil
Movement consultant: Lim Chin Huat
Voice and Speech consultant: Simon Stollery
Production photographer: Bernie Ng
Headshot photographer: Gabriela Neeb Supporting Institution: Intercultural Theatre Institute
Playwright: Henrik Ibsen
Director: Sankar Venkateswaran
Dwija Kanai’s MOIMONSINGHA GEETIKA Director: Goutam Halder
Story: Dwija Kanai Director: Goutam Halder Group: Naye Natua, Kolkata Language: Bengali Duration: 2 hrs 20 mins
The Play The ballads of Moimonsingha Geetika belong to a matriarchal society. Some of the characteristics of the matriarchal society are – choosing a husband, freedom of love, and marrying in old age. Love in this society is like a divine wild flower which the vices of city life cannot destroy. In this society, selecting one’s partner is valued over marriage. This folk literature is like the history of mankind. According to Dinesh Chandra Sen, a schedule caste brahmin Dwija Kanai created these ballads, now known as Moimonsingha Geetika. The ballad starts with a beautiful secular form. Far in the north is Gara Mountain. There lives a Brahmin with his six-month old daughter. The leader of a gypsy group Hoomra steals (kidnaps) the beautiful child one night. When the girl turns sixteen she falls in love with the prince Nader Chand. Hoomra does not like this love affair and ordered Mahua to kill Nader Chand. But Mahua kills herself instead of killing her husband. Afterwards the Gypsy Group killed Nader Chand. In Bengals folk literature Mahua (A ballad of Moimonsingha Geetika) has been representing womanhood of our society.
Director’s Note While reading Moimonsingha Geetika, the ballad of Mohua and Nader Chand had inspired me. We have performed many serious, political and social plays dealing with complex problems of existence. The ballad of Moimonsingha Geetika explores Love, along with the complexities, that mankind can treasure. This story speaks of ideals, norms and ethics of the society, the status difference and its effects on human relationships.
The Director President and founder member of theatre troupe Naye Natua, Goutam Halder was awarded State Award of Best Production for Meghnad Badh Kabya, State Award as Best Director for Chile Kothar Sepai, and Aditya Vikram Birla Kala Kiran Award. He has directed and acted in many plays for Nandikar, Naye Natua and other theatre troupes of Kolkata. He is trained in Kathak, Bharat Natyam & Classical Vocal Music, and is an actor – trainer in various institutions in India and abroad. The Playwright Dwija Kanai wrote and sang Bengali folk ballads of Moimonsingha around 350 years back. He belonged to the scheduled caste, but his works influenced the people of the society and they upgraded his status to that of a brahmin. There were times when these songs of Mohua were sung by everyone in east Moimonsingha in the undivided Bengal. It was the initiative of Sir Ashutosh Mukhopadhyay and the University of Bengal which officially appointed Chandra Kumar Dey to collect the ballads of Dwija Kanai. Sri Dinesh Chandra Sen collected these songs from Chandra Kumar Dey in 1921 and later published them as a book Moimonsingha Geetika.
The Group Naye Natua, a theatre troupe of Kolkata, has around 40 young talented actors, dancers and musicians, including casual and regular artists who are working tirelessly throughout the year. The group has performed in USA (New Jersey, Baltimore, Los Angeles, San Diego, Kansas, Nashville, Washington etc.), Canada (Toronto, Ottawa, Edmonton, Calgary – Alberta), Oman (Muscat), Bangladesh (Dhaka), Kuwait, Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Assam, Kolkata, West Bengal and many other places.
Cast & Credits On Stage: Goutam Halder, Dyuti Ghosh Halder, Santanu Ghosh, Parthib Roy,Tamsuk Routh, Pronay Biswas, Tanmoy Maji, Alamin Amin, Mousumi Ghatak, Teesta Mondal, Swati Dasgupta, Sanghita Dutta Chakraborty, Swaralipi Chakraborty, Sujana Sikdar
Music Associates: Satyajit Chowdhury, Nilansuk Datta, Probir Das, Niraj Mondal, Joydeep Biswas Costume: Dyuti Ghosh Halder Light Operation: Debashish Chakraborty Associates: Chandan Mitra, Bhola Chatterjee Make-up: Samir Ghosh Backstage & Technical Management (Sound): Soumitra Bhandari Story: Dwija Kanai (Moimonsingha Geetika) Dramatization, Music, Choreography, Set, Light & Direction: Goutam Halder
Peter Brook & Jean-Claude Carrière’s CHARAHARUKO SAMMELAN (Conference of the birds) Director: Deeya Maskey
Playwright: Peter Brook & Jean-Claude Carrière Director: Deeya Maskey Group: Actors’ Studio, Nepal Language: Nepali Duration: 1 hr 30 mins The Play Birds from all over the world gather together for a great conference. The nation of birds is in crisis, and urged by one of their flock, the Hoopoe, they have to chart a path to find their king Simurgh. For this they need to travel a long way towards the mountain called Kaf. During this journey, some die, some drop out, while others continue their quest of discovery, love, understanding, disappointment, destruction, unity and death. At last the survivors come into the presence of the great one, and discover that they themselves are the embodiment of the divine.
Director’s Note Seven years ago, I came across Conference of the Birds while attending a physical theatre workshop jointly organized by Actors’ Studio and Embassy of US in Nepal. Description of the seven valleys seemed mythical and ancient on one hand and new and ultra-modern on the other. It was the perspective and relevancy that enabled me to stage the ancient masterpiece in today’s context. Through physical gestures and dialogues, each actor has tried to convey different unexplored meanings of the text. I have left a few things as mystery.
The Director Deeya Maskey is a renowned actor, dancer and TV personality in Nepal. She initially trained as a professional Indian classical dancer from Allahabad, India and later completed her training in acting at Actors’ Studio, Nepal. Since then she has been practicing contemporary dances to explore a unique style by using the body, spatial relationship, kinesthetic responses and voice. Some of the famous films that she has acted in are Kagbeni, Soongava, and Fitkiri. She has worked as a choreographer for several theatre and film productions. She is also a judge in the Nepali edition of MTV Roadies show, Himalayan Roadies.
The Playwrights Peter Brook contributed significantly to the development of 20th century’s avant-garde stage. He established the International Centre of Theatre Research in 1970 in Paris. He has won multiple Tony and Emmy Awards, a Laurence Olivier Award, the Praemium Imperiale, and the Prix Italia. He has been called ‘The greatest living theatre director’.
Jean-Claude Carrière is a renowned French novelist, story- writer and actor. He is known for his works as writer and actor in Luis Buñuel’s films Unbearable Lightness of Being, The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, and Birth. He has received Best Live Action Short Film Award (1963) as well as Academy Honorary Award (2014) for lifetime achievement. He has also been honoured with the Padma Shree, award in India.
The Group The Actors’ Studio has been performing in Nepal and abroad for more than one and a half decade. It has carved a niche in Nepali theatre by staging artistic yet committed and socially relevant plays, and establishing the presence of Nepali theatre in the international arena by producing radical and experimental works.
Cast & Credits The Hoopoe: Suraj Malla Heron Aayushman: Pyakurel Partridge/Slave 2: Arjun Neupane Sparrow: Roshani Tamang Falcon: Gaurav Bista King 1/Dervish/Slave 1: Sudam CK First Exotic Bird: Anup Neupane Second Exotic Bird: Manoj Thapa Magar King 2/Walking Bird/ Bat: Anoj Pandey Old Man/Mahatma: Anup Baral Duck/ Thief 1: Prakriti Rayamajhi Nightingale/Cal bird/ Slave: Binita Thapa Magar Princesses: Sadhana Bhandari Parrot: Anu Dahal Peacock: Deeya Maskey Owl: Keshav Thagunna Thief 2: Aashish Shrestha Chamberlain/Executioner: Suryaman Limbu Double Bird: Shiksha KC Hermit: Bikas Neupane Guilty Bird: Ranjana Bhattarai Dove bird: Hena Nagarkoti
Production Manager: Dev Neupane Set Construction: Hum BC / Sagar BC Stage Props: Suryaman Limbu / Anil Subba Marketing Manager: Aayushman Pyakurel Costume Design: Sunu Rai / Binita Thapa Magar /Sadhana Bhandari Finance Manager: Keshav Thagunna Light Design: Anup Baral Light Operator: Dev Raj Sunuwar Sound Craft / Operator: Devendra Neupane Stage Manager: Anoj Pandey / Roshani Syangbo Documentation: Sushil Paudel Translation: Pushpa Raj Acharya
Playwrights: Peter Brook and Jean-Claude Carrière Direction: Deeya Maskey
Anil Saha’s ARSHINAGAR Director: Debasish Chakraborty Playwright: Anil Saha Director: Debasish Chakraborty Group: Tala Dhrupad Natya Sanstha, Hooghly Language: Bengali Duration: 2 hr 10 mins
The Play Arshinagar speaks about love and true emotions. In this era, where love has been commoditized, this story talks about the real definition of love and the magic it can create. Chaya Kumar, son of a rich merchant has to leave his wife on the next day of his marriage for business expansion.The newly wedded bride, Lilabati, lives with her in-laws, but feels a vacuum. But the power of love brings joy in Lilabati’s life and helps her overcome the void.
Director’s Note Presented in a folk form, the flight of imagination in the play soars without any bondage of religion, cast or culture. To express the language of love and fathom its power, music is a vital character in this play. Various folk songs in the traditions of Jhumur, Bhadu, Tusu, Sari, Jari and Sufi are wonderfully tuned in the atmosphere through which the story runs smoothly. Various workshops and endless brainstorming sessions on choreography, costumes, light, set and editing resulted in this brilliant play.
The Director Debasish Chakraborty, a theatre student of Sri Bivas Chakraborty since 1998, is a promising director of this generation. He joined Annya, a theatre group, under the direction of Sri Bivas Chakraborty and acted in numerous plays. He started his own theatre group Dhrupad in 2002 at Serampore. He has acted in many tele-serials. He has also acted in the feature film One, directed by Birsa Dasgupta, and performs in other theatre groups of Kolkata as well.
The Playwright Anil Saha was born in Bagbazar, Kolkata. He is a retired employee of State Bank of India. He joined a theatre workshop and is now a full-time theatre worker. He has acted in many plays and has been writing plays for 30 years.
The Group Tala Dhrupad Natya Sanstha started its theatre journey in 2002. The group has produced Simantika written by the eminent dramatist Chandan Sen, Hastabud dramatized by Pradip Moulik and based on the story of Sahajad Firdous, The Numbers based on Nikolai Gogol’s story, Ranger Haat by Manoj Mitra, Bodli by Anil Saha, Bhan by Amiya Chattaraj, Uro Megh by Mohit Chattopadhyay, Punajjanma by Dwijendralal Roy and many more.
Cast & Credits Chaya Kumar: Dhrubo Adhikari Lilabati: Shreya Biswas DebokiNandan: Arup Manna Surobhi Devi: Mita Roy Sarkar Mosai: Jayanta Chattopadhyay Bhnaru: Biswanath Saha Kanai: Parikshit Chattopadhyay Maya Kumar: Jayanta Chakraborty Raja & Sutrodhar: Debasish Chakraborty Paharadar Gautam: Bikash Chandra Panchir Maa: Mausumi Goswami/Sanchita Singha Roy Sokhi Dol Poulobi: Sarkar Gupta, Moumita Chakraborty Basu, Priyanka Dey, Sukla Pal, Sanchari Singha Roy Grambasi: Abhijit Chatterjee, Tanay Banerjee, Wasim Ali, Suman Chakraborty, Utsab Chattopadhyay, Iman Das, Jayanta Dhar Baul: Sourabh Dutta
Backstage: Suman Mukhopadhyay, Subhankar Mukherjee, Tapan Mallick Lyrics & Music: Bhaskar Choudhury Choreography: Abhijit Mahato Light: Debabrata Sarkar Set: Moni Shankar Make-up: Pratap Roy Title: Utpal Ghosh Harmonium: Subir Sanyal Rhythm: Tanmoy Sashmal Sound: Control Bivas Gupta Photograph: Sumanta Bora
Playwright: Anil Saha Director: Debasish Chakraborty
Satish Georgy Kashyap & Sandhya Sharma’s PHOOL SINGH – NAUTANKI (SWANG) Directors: Satish Georgy Kashyap & Sandhya Sharma
Group: Swang, A Folk Art Academy, Haryana
Language: Haryanvi
Duration: 1 hr 15 mins
The Form
Swang is a folk dance drama of Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh. It incorporates suitable theatrics and mimicry accompanied by song and dialogue. It is dialogue-oriented rather than movement- oriented. Religious stories and folk tales are enacted by a group of people in an open area or an open air theatre surrounded by the audience. The themes are drawn from subjects like morality, lives of inspiring personalities, folk-tales, stories from Indian mythology and in recent times, more current themes like health and hygiene, literacy, etc.
The Play
This is a hilarious romantic love story of Sialkot province and Multan State, now in Pakistan. King Gaje Singh is the ruler of Sialkot. He has two sons, Bhoop Singh and Phool Singh. Once, Prince Phool Singh returns home after a hunting expedition and asks his sister-in-law (Bhabhi) for water. She retorts by saying, “If you really want to dominate this way, go and get married to the beautiful Nautanki, so that you can ask her for water more gracefully”. Young Phool Singh feels insulted and is determined to marry Shehzadi Nautanki. How he marries Nautanki is a beautiful narrative of Swang/ Nautanki tradition.
Director’s Note
It is always a great pleasure for us to associate ourselves with Swang whenever we get a chance. Folk music and folk dances are the main ingredients of Swang. Phool Singh-Nautanki is a fantastic love story on morality and governance and leaves an impact on the contemporary world. The content of the story inspired us to work on this script. It came as a blessing in disguise. Shortage of an actor changed the design of the play in such a creative manner that it became an original Swang. Swang means to imitate, ‘Rang bharna, Roop bharna’. The final design is a classic example of Swang. Costume design was kept in its original mythological form. Nakkara, clarinet, dholak, harmonium and the singing chorus made this a memorable production.
The Directors
Dr Satish Georgy Kashyap got initial education from his father Pt. Shiv Kumar Kashyap. A trained surgeon, Satish left the field of Medicine and joined the family tradition and his passion. For further training he went to Denmark and learned Commedia dell’arte at Copenhagen. Under the leadership of his mentor Ole Brekke, he has performed as a clown in Sweden, Norway and Finland. Back in India, along with his partner Dr Sandhya Sharma, he became a disciple of Pt. Suraj Bhan Shastri and started performing the Swangs of Pt. Lakhmi Chand Gharana. Dr Sandhya Sharma learnt the wonderful art of folk drama, Swang, from her mentor and Guru, Dr. Satish Kashyap, while performing Swangs like Jaani Chor, Pingla-Bharthri and Nautanki. She is a trained folk dancer and has won various National awards. Presently, Dr Sandhya Sharma is working as Asst. Prof. of Culture in CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar and contributing in the research and development of Haryana Folk Lore and Culture, especially Swang.
The Group
Swang – A Folk Art Academy, is an amateur group formed by artists of the region and led by Pt. Shiv Kumar, an eminent Swang performer. Pt. Suraj Bhan Shastri, a disciple of Pt. Lakhmi Chand Gharana, and Dr Ram Kumar Yadav, a pioneer art promoter, are patrons of the group. Swang – A Folk Art Academy is primarily working for the preservation of Swang, an ancient folk theatre form of Northern India. The group has produced many ancient, mythological stories in Swang form and staged them all over India.
Cast & Credits
On Stage: Satish Kashyap, Sandhya Sharma, Vinod Goldi, Hawa Singh, Rajesh (Nagada), Om Parkash (Clarinet), Pankaj Bhardwaj, Richa Valecha, Chanchal Goyal, Ashish Sharma
Back Stage: Anil Saini, Shri Niwas, Mahesh Sufi, Ram Narayan, Ram Nivas
Directors: Satish Georgy Kashyap & Sandhya Sharma Joseph Stein’s KHAMOSHI SILI SILI Director: Suresh Sharma
Please listen to Prof. Manohar Khushalani’s Review & Discussion with Prof. Suresh Sharma
Playwright: Joseph Stein Adapter: Asif Ali Haider Khan Director: Suresh Sharma Group: NSD Repertory Company, New Delhi Language: Hindi Duration: 2 hrs 20 mins
The Play
This play is a translation of Fiddler on the Roof written by Joseph Stein. It is a musical that deals with the displacement of communities. The story is neatly bound to the Kashmiri situation in our country. Prithvi Nath loves his daughters, and goes against the traditional norms, allowing them to marry men of their choice. Shuhul, the third daughter chooses to marry a Muslim… Director’s Note
Going along with the central theme of the play, the contemporary situation of our society took the forefront. The final situation chosen is the plight of the Kashmiri Pandit community. This choice is to support the script with a relevant social background which can be projected on a larger canvas, and can highlight the pain and problems of the people who have been displaced from their own land.
The Director
Suresh Sharma did PG diploma with specialization in Acting from National School of Drama in 1985.
In 1987-88 he established the only non-government Repertory in the district of Mandi (Himachal Pradesh). From 1996-98 he worked as the Artistic Director of Sri Ram Centre for Performing Arts, Delhi. In 1998 he established the first non–government fully residential Theatre Academy in Mandi, Himachal Pradesh. Mr. Sharma has been felicitated by Sahitya Kala Parishad. Sangeet Natak Academy awarded Mohana, a play written and directed by him, under the Young Director’s Scheme.
The Playwright
Joseph Stein (May 30, 1912 – October 24, 2010) was an American playwright best known for writing the books for the musicals Fiddler on the Roof and Zorba. His greatest success came from writing the book for the 1964 musical playFiddler on the Roof, for which he won three major awards, including two Tonys.
The Adapter
A playwright, actor and director of great repute, Asif Ali Haider Khan obtained a PG diploma with specialization in Acting from Nation School of Drama. Later, he worked with NSD Repertory Company as an actor for many years. He received the Sangeet Natak Academy’s Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar for playwriting in the year 2006. Currently, he is teaching Modern Indian Drama at National School of Drama, New Delhi.
The Group
Established in 1964 with only four members, the Repertory Company is the regular performing wing of the School. It was set up with the dual purposes of establishing professional theatre on one hand and continuing with regular experimental work on the other.
Cast & Credits
Prithvinath Jutsi: Shanawaz Khan
Jungaash: Shruti Mishra/ Sampa Mandal
Shuhul: Meenu/Anamika Sagar
Sheen: Sakshi Sharma Nonika: Anamika Sagar/Rukmani Sarkar
Himaal: Aparna Menon
Didda: Bornali Borah
Leelawati: Sampa Mandal/ Shruti Mishra
Shambhunath: Deep Kumar
Gaffara: Sikandra Kumar
Bakshi Singh (Kimma): Shubham Pareek
Brijlal: Raju Roy
Rajguru: Rahul Kumar
Policeman: Naveen Singh Thakur
Somnath: Naresh Kumar
Badrinath: Virendra Singh
Paadshah: Shiddheshwar Kashinath Thorat
Makkhan Lal: Khwairakpam Punsilemba Metei
Krishanpir: Parag Baruah
Firdous: Ashutosh Banerjee
Grandmother: Shruti Mishra / Sampa Mandal
Chorus: Moti Lal Khare, Abdul Kadir Shah, Naveen Singh, Thakur, Md.Suleman, Dharam Singh Bisht, Naresh Kumar, Virendra Singh
Bijja: Aparna Menon
Male: Naresh Kumar
Male-1: Naresh Kumar Male-2: Virendra Singh
Kukka: Moti Lal Khare
Woman-1: Meenu
Woman-2: Shruiti Mishra / Sampa Mandal
Male-1: Dharam Singh Bisht
Male-2: Rampratap/Pradeep Aggarwal
Set Design: Bansi Kaul
Set, Props Execution: Rajesh Bahl
Set Execution: Ram Pratap, Dharam Singh, Manoj Kumar
Light Design & Operation: Govind Singh Yadav
Assistance: Md. Suleman, Pradeep Aggarwal
Costume Design: Kirti V. Sharma
Assistance: Pushpa Vishwakarma
Costume in-charge: Budh Ram
Chief Costume Coordinator: C.S. Bhatia
Assistance: Parvati Bisht
Sound Operation: Mukesh Kumar
Sound & Music Recording: S. Manoharan, Subhanjan
Property Design : Suresh Sharma
Property in-charge: Motilal Khare
Music: Kajal Ghosh
Rhythm Sequencing: Pakaj Banai Key Board: Kishore Kumar Malhotra
Mixing & Mastering: Mayur Malhotra
Recording Studio: Ved Films
Tabla & Dholak : Om Prakash
Octopad: Narender Kumar
Harmonium: Naveen Singh Thakur
Tumbkh: Feroz Ahmed
Rabab: Gulam Qadir
Gara: Fearoq Ahmed
Sarangi: Syed Yaseen
Kashmiri Diction: Ashwath Bhatt
Dance Classes: Sonal Modi Vorah
Choreography: Norbu Tshering
Make-up: Raju Roy, Shruti Mishra
Assistance: All Repertory Artists
Playwright: Joseph Stein
Adapter: Asif Ali Haider Khan
Director: Suresh Sharma
Watch Meet the Director segment for the play