Folk dances of India are fading from public memory for want of funds and poor patronage. For instance, Chhau, a masked dance performed by farmers in Odisha and parts of West Bengal, is on the brink of extinction. “The number of Chhau troupes are dropping significantly due to lack of funding and performance opportunities,” says Akashaditya Lama, founder of Big Bang Theatres Foundation, a not-for-profit cultural organisation dedicated to preserving these art forms.
Mr. Lama decided to save these art forms by involving the younger generation in generating awareness. “While tangible heritage, such as monuments, paintings and artefacts can be safeguarded within a museum, intangible cultural heritage, such as performing arts or oral traditions, are harder to preserve,” he says.
While pursuing his Diploma in Mechanical Engineering from Gwalior over two decades ago, Mr. Lama enrolled in a 40-day theatre workshop conducted by National School of Drama. He then joined Kala Samooh in Gwalior where he learnt the nuances of theatre, and came to Mumbai in 1997 with the hope of becoming an assistant director. He recalls his initial days of struggle in the city, going from one director to another, but failing to secure a job. “It was at that time that I decided I would do something for artistes who come to Mumbai in search of opportunities.”
Mr. Lama was finally hired as an assistant director with a low-budget film director in 1997 and since then, has worked with various production houses. But theatre has always been his first love.
Plays and workshops
In 2011, his Foundation started with the play, ‘Mohenjodaro’. A period drama narrated in Sanskritised Hindi, the play has ancient folk dances like Chhau, Naga, Bihu, Santhali and martial arts like the Manipuri Thang-Ta. “The story revolves around the clashes among different races in the pre-Vedic era, which eventually leads to co-existence. It is very relevant in today’s times,” says Kulvinder Bakhsish, director of the play. The play has been staged in well-known theatre festivals in India like the Kalidasa Samaroh, Ujjain; Nandikar National Theatre Festival, Kolkata and the Sutradhar Festival, Hyderabad.
Since then, the Foundation has staged six plays: one new production every year with repeat shows throughout the year. It conducts free acting workshops for aspiring theatre artistes and children from weaker economic backgrounds. So far, four workshops with 35-40 students in each, have been conducted all over the city, while plays have been staged across the country. “In our workshops, we try to teach every aspect of theatre acting whether voice modulation, dance forms, martial art, body language etc. and groom them,” says Ashok Banthia, a Hindi film, television and theatre actor and director. Children, particularly, pick up the various aspects of threatre fast, says Mala Dey, a National Award-winning costume designer for the film Rudali, who imparts voice culture training. “Their zeal and enthusiasm is captivating and motivates us to give them the best.”
The Foundation invites experts from various fields to impart training in theatre as well as traditional dance forms. “The sole aim of every expert that we invite, is to save the traditional art forms from getting extinct. They do not charge for the training,” says Mr. Banthia
The artistes, in turn, get an opportunity to showcase their talent. Says Muntazir Mirza (14), a lead performer in ‘Jashn-e-Eid’, a play based on Munshi Premchand’s novel ‘Eidgaah’, “I have been interested in acting right from childhood but did not know where to get trained. With financial constraints, it was impossible for me to join acting classes. I have been associated with the Foundation for a year and have learnt immensely.”
For Santosh Kumar Das (23), too, acting was a cherished but far-fetched dream. He came to Mumbai from Jharkhand with the hope of earning a livelihood and improving his family’s financial condition. He joined Mr. Lama’s workplace as an office boy serving tea but the workshops kindled a dormant interest in acting. “I was given an opportunity to learn acting and since then, have acted in almost four plays,” he says. He aspires to make it big in the world of television commercials.
In Mumbai, the biggest challenge is always to find affordable space. “Due to high rents, we are unable to conduct workshops on a frequent basis,” says Mr. Lama, who has spent around ₹10 lakh from his savings so far. “Artistes are moving on to other sources of earning for their survival. There is a need to realise the urgency of the situation. Funds, documentation, national recognition can save them from disappearing,” says Mr. Lama. His desire is to open theatre workshop centres not only in every city but in every tribal area, with an aim “to assure that these artists earn a living and their dance form continues.”
Big Bang Theatres Foundation
Founder: Akashaditya Lama
Founded: 2011
Employees: 3
Funding: Self
