`Scientists and artistes work in isolation'
SANGEETHA DEVI. K
|
Samik Bandyopadhyay talks about translating Mahashweta Devi's fiction and plans for the National School of Drama.
|
PHOTO: K. GAJENDRAN
RIGHT NOTE Samik Bandyopadhyay wants a meeting point between science and arts.
Samik Banyopadhyay, Vice Chairman of National School of Drama, has a lot on his plate. He is working in tandem with his colleagues to bring out radical changes in the school. The love for fine arts has made Samik don various roles over the years: as a publisher of Thema in Kolkata, he is keen on publishing insights on the relation between science and arts; and as a writer he is working on translating one of the best known fictions written by Mahashweta Devi.
Samik has spent the last few days in Hyderabad working on his pet project: "I've been talking to Dr. P.M. Bhargava over the last one year. We are looking at offering insights into the relation between science and the arts. So far, the two communities have been working in isolation and have been terribly divided. The thoughts of Dr. Bhargava and other scientists in Kolkata will be published through a book," he informs. Apart from bringing out a book, Samik also plans to float an informal association in Kolkata where scientists and artistes could meet, watch movies made on science and put their thoughts together.
While in Hyderabad, Samik also spoke at length on Shakespearean works during the screening of Peter Brooke's King Lear for the film club, Moving Images. Talking of Shakespearean works inspiring our film-makers, he explains, "I liked Vishal Bharadwaj's Maqbool and Omkara. Shakespeare's works resonates with the present situations. Though we've been looking at Shakespeare of late, internationally a lot of work has been done in that direction: some of the most memorable ones of them being the play Macbeth, and films made by Kurasawa and Roman Polanski. Ask him if works of Indian playwrights will thus be revisited and Samik confesses that some of the best plays came in the Seventies. "Girish Karnad was one of the last playwrights to have that kind of impact on his audiences; I think the current generation needs to be given some more time to bring out plays that will be remembered down the decades."
Samik himself has plans for Indian theatre. As the Vice Chairman of the National School of Drama, he says, "There is going to be a radical change at the NSD. The school has a lot more responsibilities apart from professional teaching. A major re-organisation is on cards. The National Theatre Festival conducted by the school has been becoming more and more international. This year we will have a collection of plays from the Arab nations and the following year will see plays from Germany, Switzerland and Japan among other nations." The festival, which was until recently confined to Delhi, will now travel to cities like Kolkata and Mumbai.
"These satellite festivals are a means to reach out. Maybe theatre enthusiasts in Hyderabad should pitch for this festival as well," adds Samik.
Alongside, Samik is also working on translating one of Mahashweta Devi's best works, Jungle Ke Davedar, which won her the Sahitya Akademi award. Though he has earlier translated plays written by Mahashweta Devi and Badal Sircar, he confesses that this is a tougher task. "This will take at least a year's time," he concludes.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
