Jashn-e-Bhachpan, organised by the National School of Drama’s Sanskar Rang Toli on its campus and LTG auditorium recently, is arguably the largest theatre festival for children in the country featuring plays marked by multiple genres, presentational techniques and themes that thrilled children of different age groups. It is indeed an occasion that truly celebrates childhood.
Some of the plays presented at this fourteen edition of Jashn-e-Bhachpan seen by this reviewer stand out for their strikingly colourful visuals, interesting story lines and enthusiastic performances that evoked lively response from the children in the auditorium. Directed by Parag Sarmah, “Moi Tuniye Tun Tunalo” (Assamese) depicts the encounter with a beautiful and intelligent bird called Tuni. The children are rehearsing an item they will present in a school competition. As some of the participants forget their lines, the bird comes to their rescue, helping them out to remember their lines. Fascinated by her intelligence, they manage to put her in a cage. However, the children agree to free her if she tells them an interesting story. The bird agrees and narrates the story of a cruel and greedy king who is severely punished by her.
A scenes from “Moi Tuniye Tun Tunalo”
Spontaneous act
Seasoned director Parag provides his children cast enough room to perform in a spontaneous way to act, sing and dance. The music score rendered tunefully by singers, imparting elegance to the production.
“Real Wings”, which is directed by Ashish Deo Charan, is a parable in which a man wants to achieve the unachievable of trying to fly like a bird high in the sky. The man has achieved his ambition and yet he remains unsatisfied. In the process, he loses all the instincts essential for a man to lead a normal life.
The process of gradual loss of human sentiments in the ambitious man is conveyed by chorus and visuals. Director Ashish has also used various images including puppetry to create a visually rich theatrical piece that appease children.
Illusion of books
Written by Mike Kenny and directed by Shena Gamat, “Stepping Stones” (English and Hindi) is an exciting journey of a young girl, Cynth, who wants to see the world despite her mother’s denial of permission to embark on this adventure because she fears it is risky for a young girl to leave home all alone. Cynth descends down the hilltop to see for herself what lies beyond the valley and up on another hilltop. Her worried mother follows her incognito. On her way, she meets interesting people. After enriching her mental horizon she returns home. Symbolically, the play reveals the parent child relationship and a child’s curiosity to know more and more about the world around her. Children love this theatrical piece, adoring the young girl’s adventures and new discoveries.
Abdul Lateef Khatan’s acclaimed play translated into Bengali as “Hoi Boi Choi” which was directed by Arghya Dey Sarkar takes children to the world of book-worms who are delighted to see whole range of books to prey on. These worms are greeted by a lonely and old worm. Welcoming them all, he wants to form a colony of worms. Hungry as they are, some start eating away at the books of one subject and starts behaving in accordance with the themes of books. This results in the strange behaviour of these worms resulting in dissonance in their relationship. So they decide to have the contact with varied and wide range of books.
The director has designed his production with paintings that create the illusion of heaps of books. The worms personified by the young children move from one place to another in a rhythmic manner in synchronization with music rendered by vocalist with mellifluous voices. The production has entertaining as well has educative value.
Colourful production
“Gadhagi Loushing” (Manipuri) is a colourful production which deals at one level about ecological problem created by man’s rapacious nature and at another level it creates the jungle tale about a lion and the helpless wild animals who decide to offer voluntarily one animal daily to be eaten up by the hungry lion. In the original story, a clever fox with his cleverly planned plot manages to destroy a dreaded lion.
Writer-director Ningombam Jadumani Singh has replaced the fox with a donkey to suggest that donkey is an intelligent animal not a lowly one that carries heavy weight. The production vibrates with life and is visually rich. In the opening scene he uses rod puppetry to suggest the happy and harmonious world of forest animals. But with the felling of trees their lives become miserable. One of the highlights of the production is the mesmerizing visual of waterfall which goes down over a gorge.
“Totto Chan” translated into Hindi by Poorva Yagnik Kushwahais written by Tetsuko Kuroyanagi and directed by Vinod Rai is one of the most exciting, beautifully mounted and thought provoking plays featured in the festival. Capturing Japanese ethos through costumes, make up and style of movements, the play comments on conventional system of education that provides little room for a child’s independent growth and the development of his or her creative and critical faculties. Such system cannot provide satisfactory answers to satisfy the mind of an inquisitive and a sensitive child. Liberal, open minded and innovative teachers are required for this new type of education system. Towards the end the play depicts the devastation caused by nuclear bombing of Japan by America in the Second World War. Komal Kumari as the little Totto Chan becomes the darling of the audience who steals the show.
Fable of thirsty crow
Directed by Suvojit Bandyopadhyay, “Thirsty Crow Returns” (Hindi) is an attempt to recreate the fable of a thirsty crow that drops stones into a half filled pitcher with water and manages to quench his thirst. But the crow in the play remains thirsty because the new condition stands in the way of his quenching thirst. The play needs pruning and to harmonise different sequences into an artistic whole.
The festival opened on the open lawn projecting on a huge stage multiple folk and tradition arts by a huge cast, consisting of children and adults. It is thrilling mosaic of our rich cultural heritage.
Slow and steady
Professor Abdul Lateef Khatana
Professor Abdul Lateef Khatana, director in-charge of Jashn-e-Bhachpan articulates his views on the recently concluded festival.
Expressing his satisfaction with the success of Jashn-e-Bhachpan, Professor Khatana says that Jashn-e-Bhachpan is the first all India festival organised by National School of Drama and Sanskar Toli. Bharat Rang Mahotsav (BRM) started later. Today BRM has achieved great heights and it has truly become international theatre of India. This year, Theatre Olympics was its part. It’s a great achievement for contemporary Indian theatre. “In comparison, the growth Jashn-e-Bhachpan is slow yet this year we have received 221 entries and out of which we selected 24 plays. In these plays 512 performers participated. This is a nine-day festival and the plays were presented at Sammukh Abhimanch, Abhikalp and LTG auditorium. Actually, we want to stage more plays but we need more funds and better infrastructure.”
Back to fairy tales
Talking about some trends in the Jashn-e-Bhachpan that have emerged over the years, he says that during initial years themes based on folk tales and animals stories dominated. Gradually, theatre inspired by Grips which is a kind of social fantasy in which child protagonist wins over his adversary, got prominence. But once again fairy tales and animal tales have become children’s favourite.
“The kind of theatre production we have watched are performances by children, performances by children and adults and performances by adults for children. The performances by children have its own delight because children themselves are artists. For them to act in a play in itself is like playing a game. But production by adults for children is stagnating. It is being produced through trial and error method. There is no training for adults to direct children’s plays. At least there should be a two-year course for the aspiring directors for children theatre. We are sure that in coming years Jashn-e-Bhachpan will acquire great significance in the theatre world for children, opening up new vistas to create truly Indian theatre bridging the gap between the urban and rural theatre.”
Khatan says the festival evoked tremendous response from children and parents alike. “This year’s event was witnessed by about 8000 children and parents.”
