The Hindu : New Delhi News : A tide of creativity

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jun 19, 2006

New Delhi

New Delhi

A tide of creativity

THE JOURNEY GOES ON: Organising workshops and making friends, artist and Buddhist preacher Gil Alon travels around the world.

A man with a passion for arts who fell in love with India on his first visit to the country, Gil Alon is now in the Capital to hold creativity workshops, says Bindu Shajan Perappadan...

Israeli poet, actor, singer, theatre director and Zen Buddhism teacher Gil Alon doesn't like staying at home too much. Travelling, he says, is his thing. Having been on the go for over six years now, Alon says he still hasn't had enough. "I love to travel and through my several long and short visits I have got the chance to interact with people from different parts of the world. And so far it has been a fascinating journey,'' says Alon.

At present on a tour of the Capital to hold creativity workshops, Alon is no stranger to India or even Bollywood, having grabbed the role of a British Viceroy, Colonel Irwin, in the film "The Legend of Bhagat Singh'' directed by Rajkumar Santoshi.

Alon was also invited to sing for the United Nations in the first annual United Nations Holocaust Memorial Day in Bangkok.

Speaking about his experiences and his trip to this country, Alon has an interesting story to tell about his "karmic connection to India".

"I always knew I was destined to come to India. I can't explain this one and there is really no logic to it. India appeared in my dreams long before I ever came here and when I first actually made it to this beautiful country, I was in for a pleasant shock. I landed on Diwali day in Mumbai and I saw the chaos and energy and fell in love with the country immediately. The love affair has continued ever since and it has only grown deeper and more meaningful.''

Alon became a professional actor at the age of 16 when he joined the army for his mandatory three years training and travelled as an actor-solider to various army bases entertaining the soldiers.

He later finished his compulsory stay in the army and joined drama school. "I was always among the worst of students and drama school seemed like the perfect choice as it did not require very high academic excellence for admission. All they asked for was a passion for arts.''

Alon has also studied Buddhism and is a Reiki master. He has conducted workshops on Buddhism, creativity and meditation in countries across the world, including India, Germany, Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Nepal, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Belgium, and Cambodia.

"I believe that the past and the future do not make a difference, but it is the present that affects the life of an individual. This is also what I talk about in my workshops. I am currently also holding workshops in the Capital. When I am with my students there is never a teacher-student relationship; instead, my workshops deal with creativity in its totality where there are no assessments or marks being given to artistic expression. And when there is no marking system creativity flows. I always come away making friends,'' says Alon.

Alon is also active with a Tamil street theatre group in Chennai and has been associated with it for two productions.

"This will be the third production that I will be working on this year with this group and I have learnt so much from my association. I manage with my poor Tamil and love for performing arts with the group,'' says Alon.

And in between travelling, holding workshops and writing poetry, Alon has found time to write two books. "One is a book of poetry and the other is my travel diary. I am contemplating about writing another book but am yet to find time.''

Speaking about the film industry back home and the flourishing theatre industry there, Alon says: "Israel has a very small film industry compared to Bollywood. However, what keeps artists `alive' is the theatre industry. The Israel audience is very familiar with Indian movies. Actor Raj Kapoor is a very big name. Though Indian movies haven't remained in constant supply, we are looking forward to working closely with Indian artists and hopefully we will soon have something concrete to speak about.''

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