Fun in the neighbourhood
ROMESH CHANDER
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"Chacha Chhakhan Ne Tangi Tasveer" and "Lakh Ki Naak" mounted by Umang at New Delhi's Sri Ram Centre were a big hit with the young audience.
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SOME FUN SOME REALITY Scene from "Chacha Chhakhan Ne Tangi Tasveer"
It was some time in 1978 or 1979 when Rekha rang up one day and asked this critic to come over "to meet some children I am working with for the last two or three weeks." It was a small group of about 15-20 children, mostly from middle class families with two-three children whose mothers perhaps worked as domestic helps in the neighbourhood. They were all playing some improvised games, some were singing, some were going through a few simple dance steps. What mattered most was the joy writ large on their faces and importantly they were all from different economic backgrounds and were not class conscious. This was the beginning of Umangand the atmosphere was that of fun. And so was born the concept of a neighbourhood theatre where children could come together to put up a play.
Thus began a journey. Rekha Jain persuaded Girls Secondary School, Jungpura Extension to loan Umang some space during the summer vacations for rehearsals. Mobilising parents was not easy. "Most parents considered theatre a waste of time and insisted that their children use their vacations more productively by studying. I went from house-to-house explaining the importance of theatre in the overall development of the child. Some parents allowed their children to join Umang. To persuade the economically weaker sections of society was far more difficult." Rekha's hard work along with that of some of her colleagues finally yielded results.
In 1997 Rekha shifted to Bharti Artists Colony across the Yamunaand work began on Vijay Tendulkar's play "Raja Mange Pasina", that was mounted on the Bal Bhawan stage in Delhi.
"Lakh Ki Naak"
In 1997, Umang in association with Ankur, a school run by Army, Navy, Air Force Wives Association (ANAWA) started a "branch", as it were, of Umang to present a major production of a play every year. So far, Umang's Noida branch has presented six-seven very successful plays. This year Umang as usual mounted two very interesting plays "Chacha Chhakhan Ne Tangi Tasveer" and "Lakh Ki Naak" at Sri Ram Centre involving more than 80 young actors and scores of backstage workers were as usual a big hit with the young audience.
Qudsia Zaidi's translation
"Chacha Chhakhan Ne Tangi Tasveer" is Begum Qudsia Zaidi's translation and adaptation of Jerome K. Jerome's popular work titled "Uncle Podger Hangs a Picture". In Umang's version Chacha Chhakhan tries to hang a picture in his house and in the process sets the entire family in utter confusion and the young audience in fits of laughter.The tone is set right from the word go when the father is trying to climb a make-shift ladder and the children trying to help him. Every member of the family is asked to fetch something or the other either from the bazaar or the neighbour. The fun begins when Chacha Chhakhan tries to balance himself on the improvised ladder and then tries to tie a string to the frame. Each movement or action on the stage is so funny that the young audience brings the house down with their instructions to the father.
Beautiful play
The second play "Lakh Ki Naak" by the well-known writer, the late Sarveshwar Dayal Saxena has a very large cast of courtiers, corrupt officials hand in glove with dishonest traders and manufacturers of swords. But among them are also some honest people who never succeed in selling their product to the government.
Sarveshwar Dayal's play is laid in the days of yore with Raja and corrupt courtiers who cheat people as also the Raja. It is a beautiful play written for children between the ages of eight and 12 that reminds us of the current socio-political scene in the country. The main characters in the play are a corrupt minister who compromises the safety of the country by buying badly made swords from those who bribe him, and then of course there is an honest blacksmith and his wife who are never able to sell their swords to the corrupt minister.All is well that ends well, the corrupt minister and his stooges are exposed and the honest blacksmith who makes good swords is at last able to sell his swords. The play has all that a good children's play should have, a story with ample action thrown in and a message that doesn't shout and of course songs that are easy both on the ears and the lips. "Lakh Ki Naak" has all these in ample measure.
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