THE ROLE OF EXPERIMENTAL THEATRE IN KOLKATA AND CHENNAI

HI ALL......BORN AND BROUGHT UP IN KOLKATA IN MY LIFE I HAVE HAD SOME SCOPE TO SEE BRILLIANT THEATRE LIKE "FOOTBALL" BY RUDRAPRASAD SENGUPTA . IT WAS A MASTERPIECE WITH BRILLIANT PERFORMANCES.WITH MINIMUM OF SETS.I STILL REMEMBER THE SONG LINES "BABA THOL THOL BABA THOL THOL BABA THOL THOL REFEREE "THAT WAS A BRILLIANTLY DIRECTED BRILLIANTLY ENACTED DRAMA.OR THEATRE AS BENGALIS CALL IT.

ANOTHER DRAMA I SAW IN KOLKATA WAS DAIBADDHYA (RESPONSIBILITY) BY MEGHNATH BHATTACHARYA. THE STORY WAS ABOUT A LORRY DRIVER WHO WAS A DRUNKARD ACCOMPANIED BY HIS CLEANER .BUT IN THE DAY TIME HE WAS A LORRY DRIVER.HE SAVED A LADY WHO BELONGED TO A RICH FAMILY BUT WAS TORTURED BY HER IN LAWS AND WAS GOING TO COMMIT SUICIDE WITH HER BABY. HE TOOK THE LADY TO HIS HOUSE.THE LADY DID HER DUTIES BUT NEVER THOUGHT THAT HE WAS EQUAL TO HER.BUT HE WAS ALWAYS RESPECTFUL TO THE LADY.SHE HATED HIM FOR HIS DRUNKEN HABITS.AND THE CYCLE RECURRED WHEN THE BABY GREW UP TO BECOME A BEAUTIFUL GIRL .THE MOTHER WAS AFRAID THAT IN A DRUNKEN STATE HE WILL HARASS HER DAUGHTER.THERE IS A SITUATION WHEN HE TELLS HER THAT THE YOUNG LADY WAS LIKE HIS DAUGHTER AND HOW COULD THE MOTHER EVER THINK OF SUCH THINGS? HE HAD A RESPONSIBILITY TOWARDS BOTH MOTHER AND DAUGHTER .MEGHNATH BHATTACHARYA WAS BRILLIANT IN HIS ROLE AND SO WERE THE OTHER ACTORS.A SINGLE SET IN WHICH THE WHOLE DRAMA WAS ENACTED.

SUCH IS THEATRE IN KOLKATA. AND EVEN THE JATRAS OR "KOOTHU" AS THEY CALL IT IN TAMIL WERE TERRIBLY GOOD.I HAVE SEEN SEVERAL JATRAS .THE PERFORMANCE WAS IN AN OPEN STAGE AND THE AUDIENCE SAT AROUND.THE KOLKATA AUDIENCE IS AN INTELLECTUAL ONE AND THEY ENJOY EXPERIMENTAL THEATRE TOO. 

SO WHEN I HEARD ABOUT THE EXPERIMENTAL DRAMA "AVVAI"  BY "MARAPPACHI GROUP" ENACTED FOR "SHRADDHA" I THOUGHT MAYBE I WILL GET A TASTE OF KOLKATA THEATRE.

THE MARAPPACHI GROUP HAS AS IT'S FOUNDER PRESIDENT  THE FAMOUS WRITER ,POET AND DRAMATIST INQUILAB.THIS DRAMA HAS BEEN WRITTEN BY INQUILAB AND DIRECTED BY MS.MANGAI.THE SCRIPT WAS DEFINITELY EXPERIMENTAL.THE SAME SET WITH VILLAGE BAMBOO STRUCTURES AND MOVABLE STOOLS REMINDED ME OF BENGALI THEATRE.NO SCREEN AND AND NO CHANGING OF SETS.

THE DIRECTOR WAS GOOD.THE DIALOGUES BY INQUILAB WERE GOOD.THERE WAS A BIT OF LACK OF SRUTHI IN SOME SONGS .THE MALE SINGERS WERE BETTER THAN THE FEMALE SINGERS.

WHAT I DID NOT LIKE WAS THE CONCEPT THAT OLD AGE IS NOT LIKED BY MALES.QUITE WRONG YOU KNOW! THOUGH MANY POOR FAMILIES AND EVEN AFFLUENT FAMILIES LEAVE THEIR MOTHERS IN AN OLD AGE HOME OR EVEN IN THE STREETS TO BEG.THERE ARE MANY SONS WHO LOVE THEIR PARENTS AND TAKE GOOD CARE OF THEM.SOME SONS IN INDIA AND EVEN ABROAD DO NOT MARRY IN ORDER TO LOOK AFTER THEIR PARENTS.IT IS SAID IN OUR INDIAN TRADITION MUSLIM,HINDU OR CHRISTIAN THAT ELDERLY PEOPLE WITH THEIR EXPERIENCE ARE ASSETS TO ANY FAMILY.I HAVE SEEN THIS ESPECIALLY IN MUSLIM,PUNJABI AND HINDU JOINT FAMILIES.IT IS SAID THAT ELDERLY PEOPLE ARE LIKE THE ROOTS OF THE FAMILY. THERE IS NOTHING WRONG BEING OLD.

OLD AGE IS BEAUTIFUL LIKE THE DIRECTOR MANGAI SAYS.

THE DIRECTOR MENTIONED THAT THERE IS A CONTROVERSY OF MANY AVVAIS IN THE PAST.WE ONLY KNOW OF ONE AGED LADY BRILLIANTLY ENACTED BY K.P.SUNDARAMBAL .WHEN WE THINK ABOUT AVVAI WE REMEMBER HER.BUT THE CONCEPT WAS GOOD THAT THERE WERE AND ARE SEVERAL AVVAIS. AVVAI MEANS BOLDNESS. AVVAI  REPRESENTS BEAUTIFUL VERSE AND SONGS .AVVAI MEANS A PROLIFIC WRITER.OF VERSE AND SONGS TO REMEMBER TILL THE END OF HUMANITY.THAT IS WHAT AVVAI IS.AND THERE ARE MILLIONS OF  AVVAIS IN THE WORLD IF THAT IS TRUE.

THE BATTLE SCENES WERE WELL ENACTED AND THE THE TOMB STONE CONCEPT WAS REALLY GOOD.SOMETHING NEW AND FRESH.

AND AFTER EXPLAINING ALL THE QUALITIES OF AVVAI WHERE AGE  HARDLY MATTERS  AND THE GENDER HARDLY MATTERS  AND IT IS THE INTELLIGENCE WHICH MATTERS WE COME TO THE LAST SCENE DIALOGUE " IDHU ADAVAR ULAGAM" THAT IS "IT IS A MAN'S WORLD".

WITH THAT I COMPLETELY DISAGREE.IN THE AGE OF INDIRA NOOYIS , CHANDA KOCCHARS AND NITA AMBANIS TO MENTION A FEW SUCCESSFUL AND FAMOUS PERSONALITIES WE SIMPLY DO NOT SAY SUCH THINGS.MEN AND WOMEN ARE EQUAL IN OUR SOCIETIES NOW .THE WOMEN HAVE EVEN CONQUERED SPACE.THE AMERICAN INDIAN KALPANA CHAWLA GAVE HER LIFE IN SPACE.AND SUNITA WILLIAMS IS ANOTHER WOMAN ASTRONAUT WHO EVERYBODY KNOWS.THERE ARE SEVERAL SUCCESSFUL WOMEN WHO HEAD BUSINESSES .THERE ARE SEVERAL FAMOUS WOMEN ACTORS WHO HAVE BAGGED THE OSCARS.MY FAVOURITE IS SANDRA BULLOCK.

I MYSELF HAVE WORKED AS A SUCCESSFUL AND POPULAR SURGEON IN THE APPARENTLY MALE DOMINATED FIELD OF SURGERY IN KOLKATA.

IN THE BOLLYWOOD FILM "KI AND KA" THE LEAD ACTORS  ARJUN KAPOOR AND KAREENA KAPOOR CONTRADICT THE GENDER ROLES PLACED UPON MEN AND WOMEN IN INDIAN SOCIETY.THE FILM WAS WRITTEN BY BALKI AND WAS A PLEASURE TO WATCH.THE REVERSED ROLES IN A MARRIED COUPLE. AND NOWADAYS WHEN BOTH HUSBAND AND WIFE ARE EMPLOYED THERE IS AN EQUALITY IN HOUSE WORK ALSO.EVEN EMPLOYED HUSBANDS HELP IN HOUSE CHORES EVEN IF THE WIFE IS A HOUSE WIFE.THIS HAPPENS VERY FREQUENTLY IN SEVERAL HOMES BOTH IN INDIA AND ABROAD NOW. 

SO IT IS NOT AN "ADAVAR ULAGAM" OR MEN'S WORLD NOW.THE CONCEPT OF GENDER EQUALITY HAS COME INTO PRACTICE AND SOON THE EARTH WILL BECOME A WONDERFUL PLACE WHERE MALES AND FEMALES ARE EQUAL IN ALL ASPECTS.

PROBABLY IN AVVAI'S TIME THE SAME CONCEPT PREVAILED.EVEN THE KING ADHIYAMAN RESPECTED HER AND GAVE HER THE FRUIT OF IMMORTALITY. BUT FOR SEVERAL DECADES IN THE MIDDLE PERIOD WOMEN BECAME SUBMISSIVE TO MEN AND FOR A LONG TIME THIS CONCEPT PREVAILED.AND IT STILL PREVAILS IN SOME MUSLIM COUNTRIES.

.EVEN DURING THIS TIME THERE WERE SEVERAL SUCCESSFUL WOMEN LIKE DR.MUTHULAKSHMI AND DR.VIJAYALAKSHMI PANDIT. 

BUT NOT TO WORRY. THERE ARE MALALA YOUSOUFJAIS COMING UP .IN ALL PARTS OF THE WORLD.ESPECIALLY IN DEVELOPING AND DOWNTRODDEN COUNTRIES.SO NOT TO WORRY .GENDER EQUALITY WILL SOON BECOME THE TREND.