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Theatre buzz on campus
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The Habib Tanvir Festival in colleges across Delhi is going great guns. Those left out of the schedule are clamouring for a peek.
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Delhi's date with theatre. Photo: Sandeep Saxena.
SPRING IS in the air, and summer heat is yet to establish its torpor. Valentine's Day is a thing of the past for this year, but romance is always in fashion. And for colleges of Delhi University and other institutions of higher learning in the Capital, the Habib Tanvir Festival is showering a different kind of timeless romance: The enduring magic of the theatre - ephemeral in experience, indestructible in memory. But if you desire a more particular use of the word, there is Tanvir's adaptation of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" as "Kamadeo ka Apna Basant Ritu ka Sapna", which is one of the three productions selected for the festival - the other two being "Agra Bazar" and "Charandas Chor".
There is tangible excitement in the colleges where Tanvir's Naya Theatre troupe is scheduled to perform. The festival, aimed specially at college students, was flagged off this Monday at Ramjas College in Delhi University's North Campus. Mooted by the Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and implemented by Seher's Sanjeev Bhargava, the idea for the festival, like all good ideas, has taken on a life of its own. With 11 shows initially planned across nine DU colleges and Jamia Millia Islamia, Habib Tanvir is beset with requests for more shows. The result has been confirmation of at least one more show at Bal Bhawan, this Sunday morning. Others are also hoping to get into the act.
College crowd
Any professional artiste knows the jelly-like feeling that facing a college crowd can bring on. But Naya Theatre's quality makes sure the restive crowds are held in thrall. It's not just the challenge of catching their attention. Students comprise a difficult audience because they are proverbially questioning, critical and alert. The responsiveness of the students packed into Ramjas College auditorium on Monday, where "Agra Bazar" was performed, was illustrative of this. The crowd is qualitatively different from the usual Mandi House audiences, feels a troupe member. Listening to every word of the lyrics as two faqirs sang verses of the poet Nazir, they clapped and appreciated the stinging comments on the ways of the world. They also listened in wrapt silence as the courtesan sang her classical piece accompanied by only a harmonium, and applauded lustily, putting to flight the notion that today's kids are only hooked to electronic music.
The Ramjas student introducing the performance pointed out how the troupe included youngsters as young as three and four, how lucky they were to be able to participate in the work of a great master like Habib Tanvir.
As Kirorimal College and Miranda House took their turns later in the week, and Indraprastha College gets its treat today, other colleges look forward to receiving the troupe in the coming days.
ANJANA RAJAN
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