On the occasion of the 150th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore quite a good number of productions have hit the Bengali stage. Having got the opportunity to see many of these stage productions a few thoughts have come to mind. The first thing that strikes a regular viewer of Bengali theatre is that there has been a great deal of enthusiasm amongst the groups to stage Tagore this last year. The reasons are there but it is a situation in the Bengali theatre world that has to be pampered so that Tagore gets his share of credence as a playwright from the groups who would benefit from doing so. This needs to be explained.
There have been perceivable efforts on the part of the government as well as the corporate sectors to pump in finance into projects designed to work on Tagore. As such like all other sectors theatre, too, has been a beneficiary. But the aspect that has been overlooked is that very little screening had been done before the sponsorships were doled out. Thus, there are groups which have jumped into this Tagore-play bandwagon without any preparation that is an essential prerequisite of handling Tagore. As a result in many productions one finds Tagore in the back seat while the arrogance of self-exhibition takes the centre stage. Then there are other big attractions among which the most lucrative is the prospect of travelling to other places, inside the country as well as abroad as there has been a boost among non-resident Bengalis in sponsoring groups especially from Kolkata and that, too, with a Tagore production.
Doing a Tagore play or adapting his writings for stage is, no doubt, a different job for the groups as there are certain elements in Tagore’s works, be it his plays or his other writings that require an extra effort, a special preparation, so to say, to get hold of the nuances that is not easily recognised superficially. The additional homework that is essential is a thorough understanding of Tagore’s philosophy. One should not forget that in all his works, his plays, novels, novellas, and short stories, all the characters that he had built together with their agonies, ecstasies, strife, conflicts, bliss and happiness have been the direct manifestation of his life’s experiences soaked in his philosophy of life. Here, one may question, does it really matter to delve into all this to present a one or a two hour long Tagore piece? The answer is, yes, for it would be futile to utter the words penned by Tagore on the stage if the inner meanings of the words with their finer shades are not conceived by the actor.
But the noteworthy point worth noting is that, for whatever reasons, almost all the theatre groups of Kolkata have produced Tagore pieces. This is a significant departure in the Bengali theatre scenario. Even a few years back there were not many Tagore takers in the scene. And even prior to that period the Bengali theatre was almost an apology of western stage with mostly, barring some, flop imitations and adaptations of foreign plays doing the rounds. This state of affairs where unsuccessful replication of alien productions was preferred to our very indigenous Tagore does have a historical backdrop. Since his time, Tagore has been branded as a poet who can never be a playwright and a tirade was in circulation that his plays were though good for reading but were totally unsuitable for stage- acting. The reasons for this campaign against Tagore were very many but the most accepted one, that is the one that pundits of literature and drama believed, was that Tagore plays dealt with concepts that were far from reality, and ,thus, according to the pundits, none of Tagore plays could qualify as dramas in the real literary sense. If by realism one means the depiction of the daily chores of life then, of course, Tagore plays were far from it. But it can never be denied that whatever classification we may undertake to categorise Tagore works there is no denying the fact that each and every work has reality in its core. As there is a compulsion on the part of the reader to prepare himself for the play he is reading similarly there is a responsibility for those who are presenting the play to prepare themselves so as to convey the right perception to the viewers. One may ask what this ‘right perception’ is. It is that which helps the viewers with ease to recognise the truth and to appreciate the aesthetic qualities in the works. The viewers, too, do have the obligation to make themselves ready to imbibe what is being offered. And that comes through regular viewing of theatrical works. Once again the onus comes on the actors and their groups to cater quality products to the viewers.
Another rationale that is put forward for not going in for Tagore is that the dialogues in his plays are too lyrical and though are enjoyable to read but are impossible to utter on stage while acting. This particular characteristic of Tagore language has, I believe, made Tagore one of the greatest playwrights of the world. The language of his dialogues uses so few words to express such deep feelings yet they have a lilting effect that creates the exact impression on the viewers. This was beautifully illustrated by Natyacharya Shombhu Mitra in his Bohuroopi productions of Tagore the most striking of it being Raktakarabi. It would not be out of context to listen to the Natyacharya what he had said in the hand-out published on the occasion of staging Chaar Adhyay. He says that the poetry in the language of acting is not the poetry of language but of emotions, and so a moment of silence on the stage can also be lyrical. In the case of Tagore’s use of language in his works, the Natyacharya says, it is a challenge for the actors to transform the spring of poetical words into the poetry of acting. And he believes that this transformation can never be done in songs, in paintings, in writings but can only be done in acting. So it is amply clear that it is the actor who has to convey that ‘poetry’ to his viewers. And thus he must get himself ready for the job.
Reviewing the situation one finds that there is a great need to continue the support that has been extended to the group theatre on this special occasion in their efforts to stage Tagore. There is also an urgent need in this state to build a Centre for Studies in Tagore Drama under the aegis of Paschim Banga Natya Akademi, which would provide to all the big and small groups the opportunity to study Tagore culture and drama. The Centre would undertake trainings, workshops and productions and thus a strong base for the Tagore genre could be evolved.
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