Playing with children’s theatre
The saving grace A scene from "Gollu Da Sapna".
On the heels of Sahitya Kala Parishad’s children’s theatre workshops followed Punjabi Academy’s five workshops with about 40 children each in 5-15 years age group at different locations. The opening play “Kithe Gaye Oh LokR
21;, directed by Mukta Verma, was loosely built around Bhagat Singh’s life. Within the first six or seven minutes the young audience seemed to lost interest in the play because of the way the story was unfolding. And to provide a so-called body to the presentation, the director relied on popular filmy music that had no relevance to theme.
The second play, “Bholle Da Jhola” directed by Madan Dogra held the audience in rapt attention. The play was based on an Italian children’s story translated in Hindi. Dogra has changed the Hindi version of the story a great deal and has added some new incidents to create a rural touch. As the play opens, the countryside is in the grip of a famine and the villages are migrating to a city. Bholla, using a crutch, could not keep up with the rest. Tires, he falls asleep. Enters a fairy as an old woman, dresses up his wounds and gives him a jhola that would fulfil his wishes. She also gives him a stick that would obey his commands. The fairy tells him that his brothers and all his friends have been taken as slaves by Khopda Shaitan. The director introduces some dolls in the story who asks him many questions. The director cleverly brings in a narrator to tell us what happened next. And in a scene how Bholla got his money back that he had lost in a game of cards, he forces in a sequence from Kaun Banega Crorepati. The move is lapped up by the audience but ruins the play.
As expected Khopda is pushed into the magic jhola, beaten up and Khopda’s slaves freed to the intelligent use of drum beats in the background. All is well that ends well and every one returns happily to the village. The director once again brings in the Sutradhar to moralise, and weakens a good play.
Best presentation
“Golu Da Sapna” written by Veena Sidhu Taneja and directed by her daughter Saloni Tajena with music by Saarang Narayan was not only the best presentation of the festival but also one of the best seen in Delhi’s children theatre. Veena builds her play around Golu’s realisation that fairy tales are imaginative creations and do not exist in real life. A beautiful story and directed beautifully by Saloni. If one is not mistaken this is Saloni’s first directorial venture and her experience of acting has immensely helped. She gets the best from her music composer Saarang Narayan, a 12-year old genius.
The fourth play “Ek Tun Wadh Ek” has been directed by Neera Sehgal. And if the reaction of the audience was any indication, the play did not hold their attention, primarily because it was not clear what age group she was targeting.
In the last play of the festival “Gal Palle Pe Gai”, director Karan Sood has tried to use mythology to communicate a message against pollution. The idea was not but the treatment was rather confused and the young and the old in the audience seemed to have lost interest. Except for “Gollu Da Sapna” and “Kithe Gaye Oh Lok” the festival was a near disaster.
ROMESH CHANDER
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