Mapping South Asia Through Contemporary Theatre: Essays on the Theatres of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka
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For commercial re-use, please contact [email protected]. © Rupkatha Journal on Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities Review Article Mapping South Asia through Contemporary Theatre: Essays on the Theatres of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka Edited by Ashis Sengupta Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014. Pp. I-xviii, 250. Reviewed by Himadri Lahiri University of Burdwan, West Bengal. Theatre as a performing art is potentially an understanding the region from cultural points effective medium for bringing together of view. The book provides a well-researched sections of people across cultures and nations, picture of the contemporary South Asian particularly if it has the proper message to theatre in the five countries of the region convey. It is more applicable to a geo-political mentioned in its subtitle. It is, as Aparna area like South Asia with a history of shared Dharwadker points out in her Foreword to the moments and experiences. South Asian book, “is the first study to confront the countries, which are politically volatile, have problem of fragmentary approaches, and to experienced turbulent periods of intra- think ambitiously and systematically ‘beyond national identity politics and violent inter- the nation’” (x). South Asia, recognised as “a national hostilities. The ‘shadow lines’ that key geopolitical area,” provides the exist between warring communities and contributors of the book this “beyond the nations are the result of intensely felt, and nation” space for an intensive study of its violently executed, politics of ‘difference’ theatre movements. The approach in this although the fact remains that many of them volume is, as Dharwadker points out, “an share the same origin and similar history. inclusively ‘regional’ [i.e. South Asian] rather Artificially created national, political and than exclusively ‘national’ approach” (ix). religious prejudices which stem from It is, however, difficult to view the hegemonic forces operating within nations ‘regional’ – South Asian – nations as block efforts of people-to-people cultural exclusively defined cultural zones. Many of contact. It is in this context that the them share linguistic and cultural affinities publication of Mapping South Asia through that invite cross-border ‘infiltration.’ Indeed Contemporary Theatre: Essays on the Theatres cultural aspects and products like theatre of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri traditions and conventions, like Hollywood Lanka edited by Ashis Sengupta may be films and songs, defy material borders and considered to be a welcome gesture towards circulate among people of ‘other’ nations. This Rupkatha Journal on Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities (e-ISSN 0975-2935), Vol. VII, No. 2, 2015. Guest Editors: Diana Câmpan, Gabriela Chiciudean, Rodica Chira, Sonia Elvireanu, Maria-Ana Tupan, Imagology Centre, University of Alba-Iulia, Romania URL of the Issue: http://rupkatha.com/v7n2.php URL of the review: http://rupkatha.com/V7/n2/22_Review_Contemporary_South-Asian_Theatre.pdf Kolkata, India. Copyrighted material. www.rupkatha.com 190 Rupkatha Journal on Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities, V7N2, 2015 again paves the way for a people-to-people The books in the series, Series Editors Janelle understanding. Cultural groups like theatre Reinelt and Brian Singleton observe, attempt activists often go beyond restrictive state- “to expand their disciplinary horizons to sponsored ‘national’ cultural schemes and include the comparative study of launch their own plans of participating in performances across national, cultural, social, broader transnational cultural projects. This and political borders” and to explore the reviewer has suggested elsewhere that a strong “complexities of transnational cultural pan-Asian (of course including in its ambit productions” (xiii).The ‘cultural productions’ South Asia) cultural understanding can be in the context of the book under review are created “through cultural activities like ‘contemporary’ theatre performances in the building up theatre movements and five South Asian countries mentioned earlier. publishing and circulating anthologies of It is rather comprehensive in the sense that it writings from across different Asian covers not only the English language theatres countries.”1 Madeeha Gauhar points out in an but mostly those in the local languages, not article, South Asian Theatre Committee only mainstream genres but also sub-genres (SATCO) festivals in Lahore (1992), Dhaka specific to the areas; moreover, it goes to (1993) and Kathmandu created ripples among explore the dialogues between the linguistic theatre activists and audiences in several mediums of the productions, and between countries of the region and generated an urge genres and sub-genres. In the long critical for mutual cooperation in this regard. These and insightful introduction (“Introduction: festivals, Gauhar continues, enabled the Setting the Stage”) which is a pillar of strength audience “to see theatre from Nepal, Sri for the book, Ashis Sengupta, the editor, Lanka, India and Bagladesh, and also provided provides historical and cultural perspectives theatre activists to have interaction with the from which the theatre performances of the visiting actors/directors. SATCO decided to region may be viewed. The introduction which organise festivals in the region and facilitate contains surveys of performances across South contacts between theatre groups” (253). Asian nations also provides incisive, critical Dialogues between theatre artists, producers commentaries on the trends of the theatre and organisers across nations led to multi- movements in the countries. This will lay a national theatre productions like those of The strong foundation of South Asian theatre Sixth River, a project of Pakistani theatre criticism for the future scholars. For group Ajoka, and Dukhini, a collaborative convenience Sengupta has divided his project of Ajoka and the Bangladesh Institute introduction into several sections. In the first of Theatre Arts (BITA). Theatre as a creative section he redefines the term ‘South Asia’ art can thus offer scope for effective reiterating the fact that the imperialistic collaborative projects on a transnational scale. overtone hidden in the term has been replaced by a strong postcolonial consciousness. He The volume under review was conceived further extends the scope of the term by from such a broad perspective. It forms part of including diasporic elements beyond its “Studies in International Performance” Series. geopolitical boundaries. In the next section he shifts on to ‘contemporary South Asian 1 This was stated in an article entitled “Sharing a theatre,’ defining its meaning and scope. He is Future: Looking from Cultural Perspectives at basically concerned with the meaning of the Possibilities of Pan-Asianness.” It will be published word ‘contemporary’ which he discusses in Writing Out Identity: Individual Claims, Group discursively and then conceives the term as “a Perceptions, and Socio-Cultural Constructions of site of ‘conjoined yet incommensurate’ the Self in Asian Literature edited by Ulrike Middendorf and published by Ostasien Verlag elements, both past and present, in ‘multiple (Deutsche Ostasienstudien 9). configurations and variations,’ a site of what 191 Book Review: Mapping South Asia through Contemporary Theatre: Essays on the Theatres of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka could be described as different and competing countries by individual contributors and this temporalities, multiple and alternative is followed by his brief comments on the modernities, one transecting another” (5- essays in the volume, He rounds off with his 6).He argues that in respect of countries like revisiting of the objectives of the book itself. India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka the The first article of the book – Shayoni word ‘contemporary’ may be taken as ‘post- Mitra’s “Dispatches from the Margins: Theatre independence’ and ‘postcolonial,’ while in in India since the 1990s” – takes the 1990s as respect of “Nepal, which was never a ‘colony’ the main domain of its discussion. The as such, [it] should mean the stretch of time decade, she observes, was marked