SAS Theatre Journal (37th issue) and a Few Untoward Observations

 

SAS Theatre Journal (37^th issue) and a Few Untoward Observations

SAS in its just published 37^th annual number is yet another important addition to the list of Bengali theatre journals as well as is a feather in its own cap for keeping up to its character of contributing to the repertoire of Bengali plays that SAS has a tradition of publishing. This voluminous issue has eight plays of which four are original works, two are adaptations, and two are translated. Apart from the plays the issue has as usual a number of significant articles. Presently I would be discussing about the articles only.

Amongst the essays, the first one is a bicentennial tribute to Michael Madhusudan by the academician and writer Tapodhir Bhattachraya. A very scholarly treatise that would surely help those working on Dutta and his work as well as readers like me who have scanty knowledge about the great poet and his times. But the accompanying picture of a poster of a performance of Meghnadbadh Kabya by a group is a bit misleading as the piece has, naturally no reference of the production.

The next article is yet another tribute item on the centenary of one of the architects of modern Indian theater, Habib Tanvir. Kaberi Basu’s treatment of the subject is interestingly a bit off the usual mode of eulogy. She has tried to dissect out the master’s theatrical being from his own writings and words, and thus has shown him from a perspective which is purely her own. This gives the readers some food for thought.

Just to add a personal note I would love to mention that in the 70’s on an invitation from the then Vice-Chancellor of Visva-Bharati, the eminent anthropologist, Prof. Surajit Sinha, Tanvir had come down to Shantiniketan with a few of his Chhattisgarhi actor of Naya Theatre and had staged Charandas Chor, with Govind Ram Nirmalkar playing the lead role. He needed a whole lot of actors to participate in the play which he built in the Nach idiom. I, doing my final year PG, was fortunate enough to be included in the batch of students that he picked to be part of the presentation. He showed us a few simple steps and gestures for us to perform. It was simply an exhilarating experience, that I would treasure all along.

Getting back to the discussion, it is interesting to note that the third piece of this volume is the first instalment of a supposedly serial entitled Bharat Rahasya Sandhane, which loosely translates into In Search of the Mistry of Bharata is a dissertation into the enigmatic personality (or personalities), and the time(s) of Bharata Muni and his Natya Shastra. The author’s conjectures are no doubt thought provoking especially for readers like me, who have very sparse and shallow idea about the subject. His speculations, like many other authorities, on the historicity of Bharata, is indeed an intriguing point. In this regard, I remember Kapila Vatsyayan’s comments that I came across in an article on a different context. She argued that there are strong indications in the text that perhaps it was a work of a single person. It has also been suggested that Bharata may be a generic name. Whatever, the readers certainly and eagerly await, (knowing well that it would be a long wait – yet another year!) the next instalment of this article by Siddartha Chakraborty, but with a request of a meticulous proof-reading.    

Nirmal Bandopadhyay has written a very important article dealing with the problems of penning the history of the modern Indian theatre and of building an archive in his article. The writer has discussed the problems in reference to the political and cultural perspective that makes it a very noteworthy piece.

Another very significant article is the one by Rahaman Choudhury on the state of theatre practice in Bangladesh. This article has obviously been written before the recent upheaval in that country. It traces the journey of Bangladesh theatre post the ’72 liberation. The author has been very candid in his observations. He has traced out the theatre atmosphere during Mujib’s time and also during Jia’s rule and has pointed out the dependence of the groups on the government, in recent time.

Five different genres of theatre in the recent Calcutta stage have been discussed by me in my article and on which I can make no comments, except that it has been printed with no printing mistakes. Apart from these, this volume has a drama review by Anirban Manna and a short note on a national festival of intimate plays held last year by Bibhaban.

Before ending I would like to comment on the Editorial piece which surprisingly has nothing regarding the issue or for that matter theatre, but is a very candid piece on the R.G. Kar issue that has recently tormented the State. I certainly appreciate the honest approach that the Editor has taken in calling the spade a ‘spade’, though I personally may not believe it to be a ‘spade’. This frankness of the Editor regarding the state of affairs in our state is laudable and he has not been elusive to speak out what he feels. But his drawing of an allegory with Arturo Ui is very far-fetched. Quoting someone’s WhatsApp entry he tells the story of the Brecht’s play in such a way, that one who is unaware of the play may think the Brechtian plot did have an episode of a young doctor being raped and killed, and the place being ransacked by hooligans. However, this bold approach of the Editor as a critique of the State government, is what is most striking in these times of duplicity where people hide what they believe in.

But this blatancy is diametrically opposite to the so-called ‘protests’ that were staged in the city and some urban places of the state where it was like coquetry in the guise of modesty, because it was not the R.G. Kar episode that took the centre stage ultimately, but a blatant negation of what the state government had been patiently offering repeatedly. One found a naked show of defiance and insolence, and a direct affront to the basic health care system that affects the common man. And this ‘protibad-utsab’ or ‘protest-festival’ of the Alimuddin-Lenin Sarani-patronized so-called ‘non-political’ front was particularly a mouth-watering recipe for the leading partner of the Godi Media here in Bengal, to devour upon.

This last part of my blog piece may seem out of place in my blog. But I believe I had to bring in political comments as many people from the theatre world had made it their vocation, it seemed, to indulge in anti-government sledging through out the period. As a fall-out some theatre personalities even felt it proper to return the honours that the state government had bestowed upon them as a token of protest. Though I do not believe in this mode of protest, but I do respect their individual decisions. But it was equally surprising to see one amongst them who also happens to be a very senior Left-oriented playwright, enjoying the kudos that were ushered on him by the BJP leadership just after in renouncing of his award!

But the most depressing fact about the whole episode has been the way a section of senior doctors who have their careers well established and members of the so-called ‘civil society’ together with a number of political parties instigated the juniors to go on for a head-on clash with the state government, risking their budding careers.   

That is THEATRE in real life, where the playwright, the director and the actors could be identified easily.

Before signing off I would once again get back to SAS and would like to say that eagerly I wait for the next issue with all its treasures.