Since long, drama has been an effective tool for expressing issues confronting society and making people ponder over them. New platforms to spread social messages have emerged but theatre continues to play a dominant role. Today many playwrights and directors are seized with the sharp divisions in society on the lines of religion, caste and region. Dealing with this in their own style will be two plays to be put on board tomorrow. Both drive home the point of acceptance of diversity and placing humanism above everything.
Lokesh Jain, a veteran theatre practitioner known for espousing social issues will stage Bharat Mata Ki Jai based on five stories of Khwaja Ahmed Abbas. Through five women protagonists, the play essentially searches for answers to who is Bharat Mata? A goddess, a princess or an angel? Or is it simply a figment of imagination?
“The five unassuming and ordinary elderly women occupying the centrestage in the tales show how they represent Bharat Mata through their noble and humanistic deeds. Written for children with the Partition as the backdrop, I thought considering today’s vitiated atmosphere where we view everything from the narrow prism of religion, region, caste and other identities, these stories are appropriate for grown-ups. So I have not changed the original content at all,” he quips.
The women in this contextual play are different and unique . While one is an intellectual and poet dedicated to freedom movement, another, a high-caste lady throwing to the wind social restrictions, embraces people from different religions. The third, a weaver sympathises with Khudai Khidmatgar of Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan donating all her jewellery and money. Spinning khadi, she wishes the fabric to be used as her kafan. The remaining two—a refugee from Pakistan pines for Rawalpindi to which she belongs, its people and pears and apricots is perfectly juxtaposed with the Muslim lady who dies in Pakistan visiting her daughter wishing till the end to return to India. Interestingly the last one is the true story of Abbas’ mother.
With female protagonists driving the play, Lokesh feels it will serve to draw attention to the status of women in the society. “Elevating the country to the status of mother is of no use when women are constantly subjected to violence and rape.”
A scene from “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” directed by Lokesh Jain
Lokesh’s treatment of the play is unconventional as it involves story telling with installations and props. “It is not the typical dastangoi as the clothes and other materials on the stage create a backdrop and add to the narrative giving scope to the audience to imagine and interpret,” he explains. Riveting is the use of songs from Hindi film Jagriti and the Pakistani one Bedari eulogising Mahatma Gandhi and Mohammad Ali Jinnah. “It is to depict the irony of Rattan Kumar (Syed Nazir Ali) who acted in both the films,” he points out.
The cast includes Arun Kumar Kalra, Rajeev Ashish and Divakar Sonkariya among others.
Story of heartbreak
The second play Dilapidated directed by Kaushik Bose, will be staged for the first time, is a romantic tale Written by the director, its title with ‘Dil’ written in Hindi is intriguing. Says Kaushik, “The play is on the word ‘dil’. Being a romantic story the reference is to the heart not only as an body organ but also as something which beats for love. The complete word ‘dilapidated’ connotes construction and deconstruction.”
The play says Kaushik is very different from his previous ones, Compunction and Flesh . “Starting as a love story, it finally emerged as the voice of youth revealing their problems and how they deal with them.” This, he says, was deliberate as he feels there are hardly any plays focused on this segment. “I wanted to drive home the point that the young may be computer savvy, using Facebook and Twitter, visiting malls and cafes, yet when it comes to love, it remains the same. The ways of expressing may change, earlier it was through letters now it is sms or e-mail.”
A three scene drama, it involves a girl and boy who are two ends of a spectrum. “Akin to North and South poles, she is free, spirited, intelligent, sensitive and full of life while he is reserved, sincere, a typical boy-next-door. Their meeting one evening changes everything for them. Starting on a hostile note, they slowly understand each other and finally work harmoniously. The crux is dissimilarity can be overcome, if there is emotional bonding,” says Kaushik. The use of jazz and retro music in the background highlights the dissimilarity of the two.
Kaushik firmly believes that as a creative person he ought to mirror the happenings in his surroundings. “My plays have always done this. If Flesh talked about gender and sexual identity, Compunction deals with human psyche of guilt. Likewise Dilapidated does not simply leave the audience with a romantic story.” On being probed as to what it is, Kaushik says: “The prevailing intolerance in the society. The underlining message is we can and should work together irrespective of the fact that we may belong to different cultures and backgrounds for the common good.” Going further, he discloses that it touches upon some sensitive issues concerning health care in India.
Mohit Gupta and Jahnvi Rawat play the lead roles. “They have been working and rehearsing for a year. We had a workshop too to to make them understand the depth and poignancy.”
Promising a twist at the end, Kaushik says. “The play is simple, humorous and has its emotional highs and lows. The audience is bound to be provoked and that is what theatre should do. Right?” We leave that to the audience.
( Bharat Mata Ki Jai will be staged at India Habitat Centre, 7.30 p.m. and Dilapidated will open at Akshara Theatre, 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.)
