‘A play is like a living thing’

Jangveer Singh talks to theatre personality Neelam Mansingh Chowdhury in Bangalore, where she staged Girish Karnad’s Naga-Mandala, a Kannada folk tale, in Punjabi

"IF you see two Bengalis talking to each other, they will do it in Bengali. If there are two Gujaratis, they too would like to speak in their mother tongue. However if you happen to see two Punjabis talking to each other, you will hear them speaking in English." This is what Neelam Mansingh Chowdhari has to say about what Punjabis think of Punjabi.

"When I came back to Chandigarh from Bhopal, I was advised to work in the language of the state by Girish Karnad but I faced a lot of problems," says Neelam after the successful staging of her play Naga-Mandala in Punjabi at Shankara theatre festival in Bangalore on November 13. "As I belong to Amritsar, I went there to stage a production but learnt later they hadn’t expected me to do a play in Punjabi."

Neelam did not allow herself to be discouraged by the fact that Punjabi was considered infra dig in Punjab. Neelam says even though she was more fluent in English, she learnt Punjabi to provide meaningful theatre in Punjab through her troupe The Company.

Neelam has continued to use urban and rural actors in her plays to good effect for the past 20 years. A part of the Naga-Mandala troupe consists of female impersonators or naqqals, as they are known in Punjab. She says during the course of her work she found that both urban and rural actors willingly bridged the cultural divide that separated them.

"I saw how working with female impersonators made the actors not only realign their concept of femininity on stage but also the way masculinity was experienced and constructed on stage."

When asked why she had reworked the Kannada folk tale written by Girish Karnad instead of reviving the production she had done in 1989, Neelam said since the last seven she has not been concentrating on text but evolving ideas from imagination as seen in Kitchen Katha and Sibo in the Supermarket.

"I could not relate to my earlier production of Naga-Mandala when I was asked to do it again now," she said, adding that she decided to do the play again "because it gives you the right to misinterpret." Explaining this, she says even though Naga-Mandala is a well-made play with a tight structure, the plot is such that it allows you to decode events in such a way that the meanings and ideas can emerge from outside the play. She says in this sense Naga-Mandala was a great play to revisit as it was a challenge to evolve the story.

Neelam said this, however, presented its own difficulties. "More than half the cast that performed this time helped to produce the play in 1989 and I have spent the last two months trying to make them get rid of their past memories and rework the characters, emotions and relationships."

Asked whether she plans to tour with the play, Neelam said such an idea was still premature as the show held in Bangalore was the first show of the reworked play.

She said the play would be taken to the National School of Drama following which it will be showcased in Chandigarh and later in Lahore. "A more detailed tour could take place later," she maintained. When asked whether she was getting any sponsorship from the Punjab Government or corporate houses, she said no such help was forthcoming.

"The Punjab Government does not have any interest in theatre. For the government, theatre means religious theatre. I have got offers to do government-sponsored religious plays. Over the years, however, we have built up a tremendous audience which sustains us."

Any immediate plans? "I am already taking notes to chisel Naga-Mandala even further. A play is like a living thing. There is no end to its growth."

Running to set a record

Three-year-old Budhia is being trained by his coach to make a name for himself as the youngest marathon runner but social, activists and doctors are concerned about the life-threatening repercussions of his rigorous schedule. Bibhuti Mishra reports

HE is no more than three and a half years old and his coach wants him to feature in the Guinness Book of World Records as the youngest marathon runner in the world.

Budhia, the youngest of four children, comes from a very poor family in the Goutam Nagar slum in Bhubaneswar. He lost his father Krushna Singh last year. His mother, Sukanti, unable to make both ends meet from washing dishes in houses, sent her two elder daughters to two households as maids and gave Budhia away to a hawker for Rs 800, keeping the third daughter with her. President of the Kalingaputre Basti Basinda Association and general secretary of the Orissa Judo Association Biranchi Das, who visits slums, brought Budhia home along with his sister, five-year-old Mama, after paying off the hawker.

Budhia now lives with his foster parents Biranchi and his wife Gitanjali, who dream of making him a world champion.

"When he came to us, he stayed purely because of the two bowls of rice that came his way every day. His mother had sold him to a hawker and he was out on the streets," reveals Das, his coach and guardian. The judo association is looking after Budhia and his food intake. He gets to have a lot of pulses and milk. They are planning to get him admitted to a government school soon. He now lives in the judo association hostel.

Budhia’s talent for running was discovered by a quirk of fate. Some months ago, judo coach Biranchi Das asked little Budhia to run in his judo training centre in Bhubaneswar, as punishment for using wrong language. Biranchi had wanted to check on him in 15 minutes but forgot to do so. When he got back five hours later, the three-year-old was still running. Amazed by the child’s stamina, Biranchi took him to a doctor, who found him absolutely fit.

Budhia, who maintains a speed of 10-15 kmph over several hours and runs almost seven to eight hours every day, created a storm on October 16 by running seven km in a half marathon held in Delhi.

His coach now aims to have him in the Guinness Book of World Records for becoming the youngest to run a full 42 km marathon race. However, the participation of the kid in "road shows" at several places in the state almost every other day has evoked adverse reaction from doctors, social activists and sportspersons. There are apprehensions that the wonder kid may face breakdown if he is not given proper training and adequate rest. There have also been allegations that Budhia is being ‘exploited’ by his coach.

Sanjukta Mohanty, member secretary of a council under Women and Child Development Department, filed a petition stating that the coach should be forbidden from subjecting Budhia to such severe physical exertion as it could be disastrous for him.
Mohanty said even though Budhia is gifted, there are limitations to what his body can tolerate at such a tender age. Budhia has covered the 60-km Bhubaneswar-Puri stretch 10 times in the last five months, clocking his best at 5 hours and 45 minutes.

Though he is checked by one Dr S Mohanty, who is satisfied with his physical fitness, the All-India Paediatricians Association is far from happy. They are afraid that if Budhia is made to run so much so frequently, he could get disabled or develop arthritis. Says Dr Aurobindo Mohanty, secretary of the Orissa chapter of the paediatricians association, "Every MBBS doctor is not qualified to give a fitness certificate to a kid like Budhia. His blood pressure, blood sugar, ECG and ENG need to be properly checked. There should not be improper use of ability. Too much cricket gave Sachin Tendulkar a tennis elbow. So if the fitness level is not properly checked, Budhia could be totally invalid after sometime because kids of his age should not run more than seven km. And, Budhia is being made to run 10 times more than that." He called for the state government to take care of Budhia and even insure his limbs.

Recently Indian legend P T Usha had also expressed concern. She said it was okay for four-year-olds to go for gymnastics in track events but runners should be at least 12 years old. In fact, Budhia was disallowed from running the Delhi half marathon officially as he was underage.

Also warns Arun Das, a government coach: "The experiment may also affect the kid’s lungs, heart and overall growth. For marathon, one is trained after the age of 12. Even at that age, the maximum one runs at a stretch is 15 km once or twice a week."

In fact, a number of paediatric experts are of the unanimous opinion that the kid must not be put under such rigorous training. At this age, the body virtually has no fat and all that the kid uses is protein. If an average person’s requirement of protein is 70 gm per day, Budhia would need more than that in view of his activities. Moreover, the excessive running would put tremendous pressure on his thigh and leg muscles. The other muscles of his body, as a result, would not get enough nutrition. Excessive running could also lead to seizure.

The government is thinking of shifting Budhia to an SOS village for his proper upbringing. Budhia now does not go to school. Women and Child Development Minister Pramila Mallick has said that a decision to this effect was taken by her department on receiving allegations about the "over exploitation" of Budhia.

The Das couple, however, deny the allegations. "He gets both a home environment with family members as well as a sports environment at the judo institute. All this talk of exploitation is sheer rubbish and petty politics," the couple said.

A brush with her Moods
Gayatri Rajwade

Twentynine-year-old artist Siddharth Choudhary’s first exhibition of paintings in Mumbai was a complete sell-out, a rarity for a debut artist. Not only this, he was signed by eminent art dealer Ashish Balram Nagpal while the exhibition was on, so you can now no longer pick up an original from the artist directly.

The exhibition, called HER — Moods and Moments, brilliantly captured emotions in vibrant colours and bold strokes.

Siddharth’s life has been a journey of self-discovery. He has passionately followed his dreams of moving where the heart takes him. This artist is a popular face on the television (he was last seen as Karma on STAR Plus). As if the long arduous hours of filming and daily soaps were not enough, Siddharth decided to take up the palette and brush fulltime.

"I sketched and painted since my childhood till more important things like a career had to be given attention."

A mural made by him in 1985 still hangs in the Junior Assembly Hall at Mayo College. For this chemistry graduate from St Stephen’s College, Delhi, it was a trip to Paris two years back that had him "really going".

"I saw artists sketching in museums, in galleries, on the streets and the desire to draw came back to me. The ambience was stimulating and thought-provoking. A visit to Picasso’s village in south of France stirred my imagination again." He returned to India with a sketchbook and some graphite pencils and started dabbling with ideas and mediums.

"The exhibition, however, might not have happened at all had it not been for my wife, who arranged it for me. She spoke to the owner of a lifestyle store and they were more than willing," he says. So in August, Siddharth put up his first solo exhibition.

"I get along fabulously with my mother, wife, aunts, nieces and women friends. I absolutely love them, they pamper me and this exhibition has been my way of thanking them."

Siddharth completed all his pending television assignments and decided to paint vociferously. It was almost like a catharsis for all the years he had not touched a brush. "I did them all in four months and they all got sold," he says.

There were 26 of them — in acrylic and crayons, "Initially, I had started with oil but it takes ages to dry in the Mumbai weather. I love the medium I use now."

Which one is his favourite exhibit? "It is one of a pensive woman. I love it because I have got the mood right and, more importantly, I got my wife to pose for it so it is very close to me."

Where does his acting career go from here? "Exactly where it would have been had I not been painting! I will continue to do both, it will keep me totally occupied and I love that."

Pune people are the happiest

ARE you really happy about the way you live in your city? Well, this is what a global survey tried to find out and discovered that the people living in Pune are the happiest lot in comparison to all other cities across India.

The survey, mapping gross happiness quotient, was conducted by the Gfk-NOP, which is one of the world-top-ten market research agencies. It showed that Pune has swept the nationwide polls to be crowned the happiest city in the country.

For the research, a study of annual of consumer attitudes, values and behaviour was carried out across five continents. Pune was the surprise winner of this survey measuring the happiness quotient. Social commentators believe that the new market focus on happiness quotient, in place of possessions and wealth, may be a welcome and positive move away from stark materialism.

Most analysts feel that the jobs created due to the outsourcing wave is the reason for the economy of the city looking up.

"Happiness is a direct function of wealth creation and an indirect function of quality of living in the city. Barring some of the infrastructure issues which are still bothering us, we must also see that Pune is one of the safest cities in the world.

Even at 12 O’ clock at night a girl can walk alone on the street without an untoward incident," says Deepak Shikarpur, an IT professional. He said Pune has largely benefited from the sense of security that its women population feels in the cultural capital of Maharashtra.

D K Abhyankar, the Director General of the Mahratta Chamber of Commerce in Pune, said: "Pune has always been referred to as the Cambridge of the East or the Oxford of the East. The growth of industry in Pune has been because of all these factors and we at the Chamber of Commerce always try to promote this kind of investment opportunity. You will see that the IT sector has also advanced a lot here." Abhyankar also said the past investment of Pune in education and the creation and nurture of skilled labour has paid off handsome dividends.

The people of Pune are known for their simple basic needs, minimum fuss and adherence to philosophies. Some great freedom fighters like Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak hailed from Pune.

About other cities, the survey projected New Delhi, the Capital of India, as a far less gladdening host to its materialistic citizens and Bangalore, the Silicon Valley of India, not any happier even with its bits and bytes having made it a hub of outsourcing.

Kolkata was observed to be the gloom capital of India, probably suffering from a big city syndrome like London. — ANI