Celebrating childhood

Showcasing talent of kids from across the country, the National School of Drama recently hosted a two-week children's theatre festival Jashn-e-bachpan in New Delhi. Humra Quraishi takes a look

This Chinese proverb transports me back in time when I and my sisters would sneak towards the pandals where Ramlila would be enacted in full swing, where those mythological legends held sway, leaving an impact on the psyche in that subdued way.

To this day, I remember the varied details of many a legendary tale not because of what lay fitted in those textbooks but what I saw and heard on those roughly erected platforms and pandals. There were not many distractions either as those were simple times. The idiot box had yet to emerge, the Internet and computer games were unheard of, and malls were yet to come up with their gaudy, distracting fare.

But even today, with a whole array of distractions, when theatre for the young could have taken a complete back seat, efforts have been on to keep it going.

One of them is the National School of Drama's Theatre-in-Education Company (TIE CO). Launched in 1989, its aim was to reach out to the young with plays and workshops.

As one of the founders of this concept and that of the TIE Co., Barry John has emphasised on the reasons behind the theatre for children — "The plays that the TIE Company performs are not an end in themselves, but a stimulus to further enquiry, research, project work, alternative artistic expression and writing, and so on; whether organised as follow-up work by the company itself, or by the teachers, or by both working in cooperation. But the advantage of a TIE Company is that it provides professional standards and expertise that the average school would find it difficult to raise..."

The man heading the TIE Co, Abdul Latif Khatana, details out that the entire purpose and focus of children’s theatre: "Here we try to teach children through theatre `85we develop their creative skills and hold a series plays, workshops and interactive sessions."

TIE Co. is known among the Capital’s young for the annual theatre festival it hosts, and for its summer workshops, weekly theatre meets etc.

So, what is it that they teach at the TIE Co that leaves such an impact on the young?

According to a theatre student, 16-year-old Arshpreet Kaur, "Theatre is different from acting and it doesn’t necessarily take you towards Bollywood, but it does make you more confident and disciplined in your daily life `85you can communicate and express better."

Minakshi Sharma, too, echoes these views. Her 10-year-old daughter Rishika has been attending the TIE theatre workshops. Minakshi says that her daughter's confidence is linked to these workshops she has been attending.

Sumesh B.D, who teaches at TIE Co and is an NSD-trained actor, says that it is the ability to express oneself that is of great significance. "So many times children attending our theatre workshops give vent to their burdens and frustrations through this medium. Theatre can be used as a tool to communicate, to teach and to reach out," he adds.

One of the highlights of TIE Co’s is the fortnight-long annual theatre festival — Jashn-e-bachpan held in New Delhi. It started with just five children's theatre groups and 10 plays in 1998, but over the past nine years, it has achieved the distinction of being the largest children's theatre festival in the country.

Giving a new dimension to theatre in education, Jashn-e-bachpan is a story in itself. In 1998, it was still unfolding the state of children's theatre in India, and this year, the fest received 108 entries from over 23 states. "When we started exploring the state of children’s theatre in the country we managed to find just four-five groups interested in the art. We had no option of selection then. But things have changed since and the competition is getting tougher. We had to say no to more than 80 per cent of the entries. Not that they were bad, but the quality of children’s plays is improving every passing year," adds Khatana.

According to Mumbai-based Jaimini Pathak, director of "Day I Met The Prince", which was staged during the festival, "Children are honest and receptive `85you cannot talk down to them `85 I’m not into some message mongering but through my plays I want to relay that there’s a special uniqueness and individuality in each child and that in itself is important. It is celebrating that uniqueness, especially in today's world."

And then there is K .G. Krishnamurthy, who had travelled all the way from the interiors of Karnataka (Tumari village) with his theatre group to perform "Beptakdi Boleshankara", a play based on Tolstoy's short story Ivon The Fool.

From left: Scenes from “Day I Met The Prince” directed by Mumbai-based Jaimini Pathak, “Bhootam Bhagaban” and “Andher Nagari Choupat Raja”. Photos courtesy: National School of Drama

He speaks with a passion and conviction reminiscent of the theatre personalities of the 1960s and 1970s. It was this passion for theatre that had made him set up his own theatre company in the interiors of Karnataka. He did not let any financial strains come in the way as his theatre artistes and he went from village to village, trying to reach out to those living in ‘real’ or rural India.

Krishnamurthy says: "After passing out from the National School of Drama in 1984, I went right back to my village to set up this theatre company for children, as that time there wasn’t anyone performing for children. All these years we have been performing in schools, at various platforms and forums. And my plays do carry a subtle message. No, there are no slogans but I do believe that theatre can be used for education, to relay social messages. Through my plays I try focus on simplicity in everyday living. I do believe in the Gandhian philosophy that a human being can live with the basics, and I’m of the view that all this so-called modernity is slowly destroying us and our very society."

There was also a puppet show, put together by the West Zone Cultural Centre (WZCC). Hailing from Udaipur, the traditional puppet belt of Rajasthan, the group spoke with enthusiasm about this particular puppet show "Shakar Main Raja Ka Shala". The members also spoke about the intrusion of the television and cinema into the puppeteers’ world.

Usually, one hears artistes gunning down bureaucrats and babus but these puppeteers told me that their particular puppet company was established because of senior bureaucrat Aditi Mehta. While she headed the WZCC, she was instrumental in reviving this traditional art form that saved hundreds of puppeteer families from going into oblivion.

At this year's festival, entries poured in from all over the country for the final selection. Khatana says that this year they received more than a 100 entries. "A committee selects, and whilst selecting we have to see the quality and the standard of the plays, along with the approach and the process. At this year's theatre festival, some of the plays were so popular with the audience that we had to hold even second shows. We opened this festival with the Dadi Pudumjee-directed puppet show "Simple Dreams", and it was a hit with the children. The medium and language also matter — with Hindi and English being more popular with the Delhi audience," adds Khatana.

About stretching TIE Co’s reach towards conflict-ridden locales of the country, tribal belts, the hinterland, where children do need a definite exposure and an outlet, Khatana says that they try to reach out to different states and hold theatre workshops for children but that’s possible only if local theatre groups or the state government invite them.

Saying that they were trying their best to get many more entries from all over the country so that more children were involved and found a platform, Khatana added: "We are trying our best. This year several entries were not up to the mark and though we couldn’t stage those plays, we invited the directors of those particular plays as observers (to this festival), so that they could see what’s expected in terms of quality etc."