It is early in the summer of much madness and little order that Jawaid Danish has chosen to be in Delhi as part of his return-to-roots programme. Now based in Toronto where he is the founder of Rang Manch, Danish is here to talk about his new book, ‘Parindon ki Hangami Sabha’, a book aimed at increasing environmental awareness among the young. Well known for his Dastangoi (story-telling) performances in addition to meaningful theatre, where he has done a pioneering job of bringing to stage the angst of migrants to the West, Danish’s whistle-stop tour precludes any possibility of a sit-down chat.
Excerpts from an interview about the contours of Rang Manch in India and abroad.
Jawaid Danish the founder and artistic director of Rang Manch, | Photo Credit: DEBASISH BHADURI
What’s the purpose of your India and trans-India tour?
Travelling is my passion. Some 20 years ago, Urdu poets and intellectuals were invited to participate in Canadian literary events. Now I export Urdu and my Dastangoi performances globally. I have been invited by Tajik National University, Dushanbe, through the Indian Embassy, for a drama workshop. I am also releasing my latest children’s environmental drama ‘Parindon ki Hangami Sabha’, published by National Book Trust.
My plays are being translated into Tajik by Nooralieva Shirin Mah of Tajik National University. I am also visiting Tashkent University to present my paper on drama therapy and my play on autism. In Delhi, I have been invited by the Centre of Persian & Central Asian Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), to present my play, Han Mera Razi Autistic Hai’, a serious solo on autism. This play has been translated into Persian, Arabic, Bengali, English, and German. It is said that this is the first play on autism in Urdu.
How did you get into theatre, and end up writing Awargi?
My father, Mohammed Hanif, an honest government officer, breathed his last in a rental apartment in Kolkata, while his subordinates had the luxuries of life. I promised myself that I would never end up in any government job. I nurtured my travelling dreams, which gave birth to Awargi, a travelogue of Europe and the US. Later, Mazeed Awargi was about my travels to Japan, Hong Kong and Thailand.
As a playwright, how do you look at the decline of Urdu in theatre in India?
Urdu and Urdu drama are alive and healthy on the international scene, though there are challenges on home turf. We need to ask ourselves, how dedicated are we to this cause, how many people go to see a play, etc.
You are the founder of Rang Manch in Canada. How did you land up in Toronto? Was it your love for theatre? And how difficult was it to sustain Rang Manch there?
The sudden death of my father compelled me to migrate to Canada to support my family. I have been settled in Toronto for the last 40 years. In the 1980s, I started my struggle with all sorts of odd jobs. For the first 10 years, I absorbed all the trials of a new land, got first-hand experience of immigrant issues, and quietly started writing plays on these immigrants, problems of taxi drivers, cooks, waiters, doctors, poets, and, even, intellectuals. The result was Hijrat ke Tamashey. This gave birth to Rang Manch Canada, a not-for-profit, registered group. Recently, we celebrated its Silver Jubilee.
Your works have been adapted to television. How fulfilling was the experience?
Chalees Baba Aik Chor is the sequel of Hijrat ke Tamashey. In Hijrat... I am dealing with the settling down and challenges of new immigrants. In Chalees Baba, they have settled down, but after 20 years, the challenges are psychological; now there is depression, broken marriages and single mothers. Among them is an opportunistic class of babas who tend to cash in on these innocent people with their magic, amulets and ‘magical’ rings. The struggle is never-ending. The TV adaptation and even a film, Bada Shayer, Chhota Aadmi with local actors, was not a bad venture.
Hijrat ke Tamashe has been critically acclaimed. Isn’t it a rare literary work to talk of hijrat (migration) in a non-religious way?
It was first published in Lahore in 1990 but it hardly came up in discussions. Then Mohammed Hasan of JNU said this is the first book of plays on migration. Then came all the applause and even the prestigious Ghalib Award. The fact is, in Urdu Diasporic Literature, this is the only book of plays. In 2013, an M.Phil was done in Delhi University, now two research works are in progress in two Indian universities. These plays have been translated into English, Hindi, French, German, Persian, Arabic, Tajik and Bengali.
Jawaid Danish | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Jawaid Danish | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Jawaid Danish | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
