INDIA BEATS
Exploring spaces
S. BINU RAJ
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At Rangaprabhat, children use theatre to look at the world around and at themselves.
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PHOTO: S. BINU RAJ
SPACE TO GROW: At a workshop in Rangaprabhat
"AS I watched the children perform, I realised that this was not just theatre; it was also about values being inculcated into young bodies and minds," says Dr. Kapila Vatsyayan after visiting Rangaprabhat, the first children's theatre in India. This unique theatre for children has completed 36 years. What began as an experiment has now grown into a movement.
Humble beginning
Rangaprabhat is at Alumthara, near Venjaramood, 27 km from Thiruvananthapuram. It began in 1970 at a lower primary school and was inaugurated by none other than Prof. G. Sankarapillai who revolutionised theatre in Kerala with his innovative themes and who believed that drama is not mere story telling. The founder of Rangaprabhat, K. Kochu Narayanapillai, a teacher and a theatre personality, says, "I am just the founder. The late G. Sankarapillai is the real motivation and inspiration. Actually he took the initiative and this theatre is his dream." Later, Sankarapillai wrote around 10 dramas for the children at Rangaprabhat and they enriched children's literature in Malayalam.
Rangaprabhat struggled in the initial years because acting in dramas was considered a taboo. "The village folk were reluctant to send their wards to Rangaprabhat initially. I used my power as a teacher and convinced them about children's theatre", says Kochu Narayanapillai who worked as a teacher for over 30 years.
The training for children in Rangaprabhat is provided free of cost. The children who come to Rangaprabhat mainly belong to economically lower class or middle class families and they study at local government schools nearby. Here children, regardless of their age, sex, community or economic status, are given training in all areas of the theatre like writing, acting, stage creation, mask making, dancing and playing musical instruments. As theatre is not complete without an audience, the children are equipped to become the right audience; appreciation and criticism too find a place here.
The teachers here have imbibed the real spirit of G. Sankarapillai, who advocated that children's drama must interact with children. Even adults can perform for children if it satisfies this norm. Sankarapillai believed that adults too could enjoy a children's drama if they rise to the level of a child's mind. Before a drama is staged in Rangaprabhat, an announcement is made for the adults to leave if they cannot come to the level of children.
Creative outlet
On a normal day, the activities in Rangaprabhat begin at 5 p.m. When the drum beats, the students assemble at the stage in a disciplined manner. After the daily prayer, they share the day's experience, their thoughts and anxieties. "Nowadays children do not get the opportunity to vent their feelings. They are only instructed and they don't have creative outlets to express themselves. This meeting is a way of expressing their feelings and this has helped me a lot to identify potential problems", says Kochu Narayanapillai.
Founder Kochu Narayanapillai
The programmes at Rangaprabhat aim at helping children discover their latent capabilities, which could go a long way in shaping their attitude to life, and enrich their personality. "We are not focusing on the career of children. Students from here may or may not become theatre personalities but we assure that they will become good human beings, an asset to the community", says Kochu Narayana Pillai.
The children describe Rangaprabhat as a home away from home and a school away from their schools. Here teaching and learning become an enjoyable process as children become their own teachers.
Folk forms
Rangaprabhat is also actively involved in reviving the folk art forms in the locality. Sometimes children are taken to different parts of Kerala in search of folk artists to have a first-hand experience in different folk art forms or artists are invited to this theatre village to perform before the children.
Many awards have come Rangaprabhat's way, including the G.D. Birla Award for preserving national heritage, Ikeda international award and the Gandhi Media Centre Award.
Organisations such as The Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti, Sangeetha Nataka Akademi and the Department of Culture have recognised Rangaprabhat as a Resource and Training Centre.
Kochu Narayanapillai, the President of Rangaprabhat, runs this theatre village with the income from his fellowships and pension. This septuagenarian dreams of the day when the theatre art of children would be recognised as a co-curricular activity and Rangaprabhat is striving to make this a reality.
India Beats features stories of the unusual, the exotic and the extraordinary.
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