A success story

The success of Poorvottar Natya Samaroah provides a new lease of life to theatre movement in the North-Eastern region.

The extension programme of National School of Drama connects the school based in Delhi to various regional theatres in the country. Through a series of well planned theatre workshops, taking in to account the specific needs of each region the school has been imparting training and producing plays with the theatre workers spread all over the country. Those who can’t afford to spend three years at NSD and those who have been doing theatre for considerable time are trained in these workshops. Through this programme, the school also extablishes contacts with a large number of theatre groups and institutions doing excellent work in the regions by undertaking collaborative projects.

In recent years, NSD under its Extension Programme organized a series of theatre workshops in the North Eastern states. The Poorvottar Natya Samaroah was originally conceived to bring together the plays produced in these workshops. Later it took the shape of a major theatre festival to include plays by eminent theatre directors of the North-Eastern region like Ratan Thiyam, Kanhailal and Dulal Roy so that alongside the younger directors’ works, the senior directors of the North-East region also should be featured. A few recent significant works from south, west, east and north regions of the country were also added to give the festival a variety in terms of production styles and texts drawn from a variety of sources.

The festival featured 28 plays in a fortnight long period. While most performances were in North-Eastern languages like Assamese, Manipuri, Mizo, Rabha, Garo and Nepali, there was also one each from Bengali, Kannada, Marathi, Urdu and Hindi. Besides the linguistic variety, the presentational style and the issues dealt with in these plays offered a glimpse in to the wide range of theatre practice going on in our country.

It was perhaps fitting that the festival opened with a Ratan Thiyam production. Thiyam himself, a product of NSD and was also the director of NSD for a brief period, is considered a master of modern theatre in the country. Thiyam and his group presented Chinglon Mapak Tampak Ama (Nine hills one valley), an allegorical play dealing with the contemporary socio-political unrest in Manipur. The style of production was unique with spellbinding choreography, splendid lighting and extraordinary colour schemes. This wonderful production set the ideal tone of the 16-day-long festival.

There were also four more plays from the culturally rich State of Manipur in the Poorvottar Natya Samaroah.Respected theatre stalwart from Manipur Heisnam Kanhailal presented a multi-lingual version of Rabindranath Tagore’s Dakghar. L. Dorendra presented Moirang Parva, a play performed by an all women cast telling a famous love story of Manipur at the time of the rule of the Kings. But it was left to two young and upcoming female directors Toijam Shila Devi and Thaminleima to hog maximum limelight with their wonderful thought provoking productions. Shila Devi’s Amamba Yug (Andha Yug) is a slice taken out of the Mahabharat war trying to derive home the moral that every act of violence harms society as a whole. Thaminlema, who is the first woman from Manipur to join and pass out from NSD presented The Final Countdown, a play which has already won rave reviews in Manipur and other parts of the country. The play depicts how a veteran artist is torn apart by the strife in the State of Masnipur and finally commits suicide in his protest against death, terrorism and war.

Expectedly there was a big bouquet of top class Assamese plays. Sukracharjya Rabha’s Rabha play To pardon based on a Rabha folk tale, Ahor Mahar Din, a play revolving around the relationship between poet Kalidasa and a woman he loved named Mallika, directed by the young but already famous Rabijita Gogoi, wonderful comedy Anai lok kotu dekha nai, by another very upcoming Assamese director Jyoti Narayan Nath, excellent adaptation and acting to stage Richo Elcopai in the direction of Anup Hazarika, who is an acclaimed dramatist from Guwahati and two stirring productions from Seagull Theatre of Guwahati under the famous Baharul Islam – Habib Tanvir’s Charandas Chor and Baharul’s Paua Gaur Tupat Anisha were some of the acclaimed Assamese plays that were staged in the festival.

The Mizo translation of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet directed by Daulat Vaid, the very talented and upcoming Pabitra Rabha’s wonderful Garo play A-chik A song depicting the culture of the Garos and holding up an episode of their armed resistance against the British, Hindi play The legend of Chogyal Narzang based on a folk tale fro Arunachal Pradesh directed by Sul Bahadur and Nepali play Maatoko Maya directed by R. D. Lepcha and presented by his group Zulkira Hakogham from Gangtok were some of the other beautiful productions from the North-Eastern region staged at this festival.

One of the tallest theatre activist in the country and a sitting professor    in NSD, K. S. Rajendran staged his play Aurangzeb presented by his equally famous group Natwa from Delhi. Similarly, Guwahati and theatre lovers of Assam were also very fortunate to see works of famous directors Aniruddha Khutwad and B. Jayshree in this workshop. There was also a big big bonanza for theatre lovers at the end of the festival. Ram Gopal Bajaj, the internationally renowned theatre thespian premiered his magnum production Laila Majnu on the last day of the festival. The play sketches the tragic love story in the backdrop of the nomadic Bedu society in the early 7th century. Written by Ismail Choonara, the play was a visual delight.

The 16-day-long festival got unique response from the theatre lovers. People thronged to see the rare mosaic of plays on the platter in big numbers. Most of the plays ran house full and in some cases where big or favourite directors were involved, the NSD people were at times in a spot to accomodate the overflowing audience eager to have an entry. Even the plays of other languages got the same response as Assamese or Manipuri plays. It was a pleasant and fascinating signal indeed to see a Marathi or a Mizo play running to packed houses in front of Assamese audience and also being critically appreciated at that, at a time when mainstream theatre movement is dying in many areas due to lack of response.

Needless to say that this festival was also a big shot in the arm for the theatre movement of Assam and the North-East region and young students of drama and budding practitioneers of theatre of this region benefitted greatly by such a wonderful mix of high class productions involving regionally, nationally and internationally acclaimed playwrights and directors. Thanks to NSD and its extension programme, Poorvottar Natya Samaroah has opened an altogether different dimenssion up to a great new meaning to the way theatre was perceived, practised, seen visualised and accepted in this region. Theatre-loving people of the region have already started counting days for next year’s samaroah.

The Doyens

North-East has produced many notable theatre personalities. Here Access North East salutes some of them.

Steeped in the musical, narrative, dance and martial arts traditions of Manipur, Ratan Thiyam trained at the National School of Drama (1971-7 4) with Ebrahim Alkazi, before starting on a rich course of experiments with his own Chorus Repertory Theatre. He served for a spell as the Director of his alma mater, and has been awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for direction. Charting out a unique theatre idiom with his plays, Thiyam continues in his examination of the human condition, extending his probing of war and power in his search for enlightenment, reconciliation and peace.

The Chorus Repertory Theatre was established in Manipur 1976 under the able and dynamic guidance of Ratan Thiyam and has since then developed into an important regional and national centre for contemporary theatre. On the 25th anniversary of its existence, a permanent 200 seat auditorium/theater called ‘The Shrine’ was added to it. The Company’s 1984 Chakravyuha (The Wheel of Warj was performed more than 100 times around the globe, and over the years examinations into the various facets of the human condition continued with plays like Uttar-Pnyadanna Shi (The Final Beatitude), Hey Nungshibi Prifhivi (My Earth, My Love) and Ch’mglon Mapan Tampak Ama (Nine Hills One Valleyj allot which were acclaimed as masterpieces. The Company has participated in many national and international festivals, like the Pan-Asiatic Festival, Dublin Theatre Festival, Cardiff International Theatre Festival, Mitsui International Theatre Festival, Festival d’ Avignon, South Asian Theatre Festival, Festival of Perth, Telstra Adelaide Festival, Festival of Nations, 7th International Festival of Scenic Arts, the Fall 2000 North American Debut Tour and many more. It has toured and performed extensively and has won several awards and felicitations including the prestigious Fringe Firsts Award  from the Edinburgh International Theatre Festival, the Indo-Greek Friendship Award and the Diploma of Cervantino International Theatre Festival.

Ratan Thiyam is perhaps the most well known theatre personality of the region. People eagerly wait to see his productions as he is never affraid to experiment. He has always shown courage to embrace the new.

Jyoti Narayan Nath, a graduate from National School of Drama, is a freelance actor and director. Before joining NSD he had been associated with Seagull, a prominent Assamese theatre group and had acted, designed and directed in several plays during this time. After leaving NSD Jyoti organized ANUBHAV, an actors’ guild, directing and acting in plays like Rabindranath Tagore’s Rakta Karabi, Golpanaaf, Basanta Akou Aahibo, Dostoyevsky’s Wfiite Nights and Moliere’s The Miser. He is also involved in visual media and has been awarded a Junior Fellowship in theatre by the Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India.

ANUBHAV is a guild of acting artistes involved in creative pursuits concerned with theatre. The guild aims at contributing to the evolution of a neo-theatre language defying popular and stereotypical perceptions. The prime aspiration of ANUBHAV is to introduce the elements of originality of Assamese theatre at a global level. Since its inception in October, 2002, the group has produced several plays including Rabindranath Tagore’s Rakatakarabi, Jayanta Das’s Bsanta Akou Ahibo , Tapan Das’s Gogoponri Lakratuwa,  Manoj Goswami’s Akranta, Jyoti Narayan Nath’s :t: www.assam.com, Moliere’s The Miser and Dostoevsky’s Wni’te Nights. In addition to producing and staging these plays, the troupe has also participated in a number of theatre festivals in and out of Assam.

From the very beginning of Poorvotar Natya Samaroh, one could see a lote of people asking the organisers for tickets for Jyoti Narayan Nath’s show. Enai Lok Kato Dekha Nai is a popular comedy by an equally popular director Jyoti Narayan Nath. On the appointed evening of the play, there was a near-stampade near the entry and the organisers had a horrowing time in containing the crowd at the huge auditorium.

At a very young age, Nath has risen to become a dramatist and director of great repute. His forte lies in making wonderful innovations and understanding the tastes of the people. Being a NSD product himself, apart from the staging of his production, Nath had the added responsibility of overseeing the smooth conduction of the festivel which he lived up to admirably. Nath is also associated with the group named Anubhav. “I’m basically an actor before being a director. I love theatre. I live theatre,” said Nath. “The response to this festival has been very good. We are very happy. I’m associated with theatrein Assa, I regularly conduct plays and also attend other good dramas. But here I have seen so many new faces in the audience apart from the regular theatre going public. It is a very encouraging sign...hopefully this festival has brought in a new interest,” he said. Nath also felt that the mainstream theatre movement will survive against all the odds and competition.  

With a Masters in Linguistics, Thaninlelma completed the three-year diploma in Dramatic Arts with specialization in design and direction from NSD (1998-2001). An accomplished actress, she has won awards at the national drama competitions, in productions directed by Loitongbam Dorendra. She has also trained under veteran theatre directors Heisnam Kanhailal and Ratan Thiyam; attended and conducted workshops on theatre in Himachal Pradesh and Kerala; and studied the performing arts of Japan and Korea. Currently pursuing a Ph.D under Professor N Tombi Singh at Manipur University, she is a recipient of the Junior Fellowship in Theatre from the Department for Culture, Government of India.

Khenjonglang, a centre for theatre research, production and community welfare was founded in 1 992 by a group of young theatre enthusiasts. The group has been participating at state level theatre festivals and short play competitions; and hosting Extension Programme workshops organized by NSD (2001 -2004). Khenjonglang focuses on theatre for social awareness and has produced a number of plays on HIV-AIDS, drug abuse, pulse polio immunization, sanitation, empowerment of women, the public distribution system, national integration and taken them to the interiors of the state.

Thaninlelma is the first woman graduate from Manipur. Her acclaimed play The Final Countdown is a commentary on the turbulance in Manipur through the eyes of an artist. The play is a big hit not only in Manipur, but also in other parts of the country. “I want to make a deperture from the conventional style. I’ve learnt a lot from Ratan Thiyam, Kanhailal and others, but I want to make my style different. My style is bit loud to make maximum impact on the minds of the people. This is a play to highlight the sufferings in Manipur. Drama should tell the truth,” opined Thaninlelma.  

With a postgraduate diploma in Dramatics from the University of Rajasthan and a three year post-graduate diploma in the Dramatic Arts with specialization in Design and Direction from the National School of Drama (1 997), Daulat Vaid has been working actively as a lighting designer, set designer, production manager and stage manager with eminent personalities in the field of performing arts in India and abroad, including Ram Gopal Bajaj, Anamika Haksar, Anuradha Kapur, Robin Das, Ashok Sagar Bhagat, John Russell Brown, Rita Kothari, Shovana Narayan, Neelam Mansingh Chowdhary and Kirti Jain; and Deepa Mehta, M K Raina, Henrietta Linke in films. Has been technical coordinator of the German Theatre Festival in India 2000, the Bharat Rang Mahotsav 2001 and 2004, Russian Days in India 2003, World Social Forum, Mumbai 2004, and Nairobi 2007, and has traveled with theatre productions to Germany, Pakistan, Brazil, Japan and Sri Lanka.

The Department of Art and Culture, Government of Mizoram, facilitates participation in several cultural festivals and sponsors performances of plays. This play has had twelve shows in the state.

“When I was in NSD and was studying drama, I saw a number of Hindi plays in Delhi directed by Russian directors. So directing a Mizo play was like a challenge to me. For theatre, language can be no barrier. Working with Mizo artists and my stint in NE has made me to clearly understand that this region is a power house of talent. They are solid, devoted and are assets for the stage. All they need is proper guidence and exposure, says Daulat Vaid, who was technical director of the festival. 

Rabijita Gogoi graduated in Political Science from Guwahati University in 1993, holds a post-graduate diploma in Dramatics with specialization in Design and Direction from National School of Drama and studied Japanese Performing Arts and Theatre Techniques in Tokyo under a Japan Foundation Project in 1997. She has directed several plays including Rangpherpi Rongbe (Karbij, Nisheli (Naga), Somayni Khusernai (Scratches on Time) (Bodo], Gaatha -the 1 sf Text, The Dumb Waiter, Jatra Subha Houk Toru Deb’i, Mrs Choudhary, Dhruvaswamini, and Memsahab Prithvi. Has participated in the Asia meets Asia Theatre Festival at Tokyo in 2005 as one of the Asian artistes of improvised performance titled Unbearable Dreams-3 staged in Japan. Keenly involved in social causes like the Panchayati Raj, women and child health and literacy, etc., has done literary translations, designed for productions, attended national and international conferences and scripted and directed an environment documentary titled Banar Jivon.

Rabijita received the Young Achiever Award or Aka Abong Koyekjon in the field of Theatre in 2005 and the Ustad Bismillah Khan Award from the Sangeet Natak Akademi in 2007. In 1995, she formed Jirsong Theatre.

Heisnam Kanhialal has been active in theatre for the last 40 years as a playwright, director and actor. Founder-director of Kalakshetra Manipur, he is the vanguard of the experimental theatre movement, working to discover an alternative theatre using the rich Manipuri traditional performing arts and culture as a springboard. He has conducted actor-training workshops all over the country, worked with international theatre groups, written and directed several plays. He has conducted a research project for formulation of a new actor-training methodology with the help of the Ford Foundation Grant.

Kanhialal is recipieant of several awards like State Award for Theatre, Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, Natya Ratna from Manipuri Sahitya Parishad and the prestigious Padmashri in 2003.

Established in 1969 in Imphal with Kanhaialal as its founder-director, Kalakshetra has evolved a distinctive theatrical style which is predominantly non-verbal. The group is dedicated towards expressing the realities of oppression and resistance that are apart of day-to-day living in Manipur and does so through the medium of plays like Pebet and Memoirs of Africa. Some of the most popular performance of the group have been Kama and Lajja, Draupadiand Izzat and Kshudito Pashan.

Pabitra Rabha, an NSD alumnus (2003) has worked extensively in the hilly regions of Tangia in Assam. With Dapon, The Mirror, he has conducted several workshops for children and youth and has directed and designed more than seven plays. As an actor he has participated in the Physical Theatre Festival in Tokyo. At an young age, he has acheved considerable success and fame.

Dapon, The Mirror, Is an amateur theatre group located in the Odalgori district of Assam, in the BTAD area of North-Eastern India, bordering Bhutan. The primary objective of the group is to create a space for articulation of talent among youth. Its Theatre-in-Education Wing, Khil-Khilai, organizes programmes with children aimed at honing their creativity and talent. 

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