To celebrate life, struggle
It is true that death doesn’t really end the mortal life. There are always some elements which stay in this world even after the person moves on to “life after death.” In theatre activist Shashi Bhushan’s context, his creative vibes continue to be part of the theatre world after he lost his life to dengue and the ignorance of the then management of the National School of Drama ( NSD) in 2009. Patna celebrates the life and struggle of its former rising star through a theatre festival “Majma.” An initiative of Bhushan’s NSD, senior Randheer Kumar and his cultural group Raaga, Majma begins with felicitating a contemporary theatre personality and showcases plays from all across the nation.
Majma, a festival in its fifth year, recognised the contribution of Hindi playwright and poet Rajesh Joshi on November 4. Noted theatre personality from Assam, Dulal Roy, graced the occasion. The award ceremony was followed by Mr Joshi’s play Tukke pe Tukka , an adaption of a Chinese folktale Three Promotion in Succession. The social satire, directed by veteran Bansi Kaul, charmed the Patna audience with colourful characters and humorous puns. The protagonist represented a large section of incompetent and mediocre sarkari workers.
Day one also had an inspiring musical performance by a maha dalit women- only group, Awahan Sargam Band. The members of the group, field workers and labourer, left the audience startled with their command on drums, dhols and tambura.
“We wanted to bring different genres of contemporary theatre to the city. The festival had a variety in the form of subject, presentation and approach. On one side, we had an experimental play The White Hands from a small town of Bihar, on the other we had a classic Tukke pe Tukka by a renowned director. We did not want monotony in the theme,” said Mr Randheer.
“The variety in the selection of plays matched the versatile nature of Bhushan. The festival is getting bigger and better each year,” added Hrishikesh Sulabh, noted theatre person and writer.
Day two showcased one of Vijay Tendulkar’s most controversial plays, Sakharam Binder. Directed by Vijay Kumar and presented by Manch, the play narrated the story of a man who gives shelter to a series of women abandoned by their husbands. In return for providing shelter, Sakharam exploits the women by getting them to perform household tasks and occasionally, for sexual favours.
Vijay Kumar again had a rendezvous with the viewers on Day four with his solo Hum Bihar Me Chunav Lad Rahe Hain . In this interactive play, Vijay presented a subject line and references which were fairly contemporary and included the audience in his creative journey on stage.
“The audience in Patna has a remarkable awareness on social and cultural issues and literary knowledge. The people here might appear raw and rustic on the outer lines but they surprise with deep understanding of subtexts. It has always been satisfactory as a performer to be in this city,” says Mr Vijay. Jee Hume to Natak Karna Hai and Zindagi Madhur Hai Kumansenu Me were performed by two Delhibased group Sehar and Bhasha respectively.
Raaga presented Natmethia, a play based on the life of Bhikhari Thakur, known as the Shakespeare of Bhojpuri. Thakur, who created Bidesiya style, faced various challenges as an artist in the preIndependence era ( 18871971). Natmethia highlights the pain and pleasure of an artist in making. The critics said that this play had given Patna one of its best theatre actors. The work of Ajit Kumar, Bullo Kumar, Ashutosh Abhigya, Manish Mahival, Sunil Bihari, Akash Kumar and Ravi Kaushal were exceptionally impressive. “I give the credit to the entire team. I was just leading the process. There is no conventional hierarchy in my team and that allows my actors a wide creative space,” said Randheer, the director of the play.
The last day had a great expectation from the Dastangoi team which failed to create the magic they are famous for. Dastan-e- Chauboli, a Rajasthani folktale, was presented by Manu Sikandr Dhingra and Nadeem Shah. The Dastangoi fans who have been enchanted by the magic of Mahmood Farooqui and Danish Hussian in past, found Dhingra not well rehearsed for the show. Shah was the saving grace and kept the energy flowing.
The festival ended with one- minute silence for Bhushan and the hope to come back next year with unique set of performances.