Renowned Hindi poet and satirist Om Prakash Aditya was killed in a road accident near Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh
NEW DELHI: Renowned Hindi poet and satirist Om Prakash Aditya, known for his wit and humour, along with two other poets was killed in a road accident near Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh early today, family sources here said.
The accident happened when Aditya along with some other poets was on his way back in a vehicle to Delhi after attending an event in Bhopal.
The other two poets, who were killed in the accident, were -- Neeraj Puri and Lal Singh Gujjar. Three others were seriously injured in the accident. Of them, the condition of Om Vyas is critical.
Among some of the famous poems of Aditya are: 'Gori Bethi Chhatt Par' and 'Idhar Bhi Gadhe Hain, Udhar Bhi Gadhe Hai'.
Aditya was once a teacher in a school in Malviya Nagar in south Delhi.
- Habib Tanvir under Attack
- Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 38, No. 35 (Aug. 30 - Sep. 5, 2003), pp. 3620-3621
(article consists of 2 pages) - Published by: Economic and Political Weekly
- Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4413951
Abstract
Habib Tanvir and his band of rural actors have been under vicious attack from the Sangh parivar for the last fortnight or so. The main thrust of the two plays which have been attacked is social amity and harmony. Habib Tanvir has vowed to carry on with the performance of the plays. For any artist this would be a remarkable act of courage. For a man of 80, it is nothing less than heroic. Indian playwright Tanvir is dead | |||||||||||||||
Veteran Indian playwright and theatre director Habib Tanvir has died aged 85 after a brief illness, his family says. Tanvir was admitted to hospital in the central city of Bhopal three weeks ago with breathing difficulties. His family, who were at his bedside when he died, say his funeral will take place on Tuesday. Tanvir wrote popular plays like Agra Bazar and Charandas Chor and won several prestigious Indian and international awards for his work. Born on 1 September 1923 at Raipur (in Madhya Pradesh), Tanvir began his career as a journalist and went on to become a playwright. In 1959, he founded a theatre company called the Naya Theatre. He was nominated as a member of India's upper house of parliament, the Rajya Sabha, from 1972 to 1978. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/8088751.stm
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Habib Tanvir
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Habib Tanvir was one of the most popular Hindi playwrights, a theatre director, poet and actor. He is the writer of plays such as, Agra Bazar (1954) and Charandas Chor (1975). He founded in 1959, the Naya Theatre, theatre company in Bhopal. He died on 8th of June 2009 at Bhopal after long illness.
He was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1969, Padma Shri in 1983, Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship in 1996, and the Padma Bhushan in 2002; apart from that he has also been nominated as a member of the Upper House of Indian Parliament, the Rajya Sabha (1972-1978). His play 'Charandas Chor' got him the Fringe Firsts Award at Edinburgh International Drama Festival in 1982 [1].
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habib_Tanvir
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Mahasweta Devi and Habib Tanvir appointed as National Research Professors 'Gaon ke naon theatre, mor naon Habib' is an insightful and lively documentary on Habib Tanvir and his Naya Theatre.
Death of famous playwright, theatre artist, poet, actor and Padma Bhushan recepient Habib Tanvir is undoubtedly an end of an indispensable chapter of world theatre!
It is difficult to compensate the loss and void intruded in the theatre arena following the death octagenarian Mr Tanvir, who was known also encylopedia of theatre.
He started pouring his feelings on papers in form of poems in his youth and added pen name 'Tanvir'.
In 1945, he went to Mumbai and joined All India Radio as producer and meanwhile he wrote songs for some films and also acted in a few flicks.
He was associated with Pragatisheel Lekhak Sangh (Progressive Writers' Union) and also joined Indian Peoples Theatre (IPTA).
Tanvir's great success and popularity was not given to him on a platter but was earned through a lifetime of serious and sustained effort and struggle.
Tanvir's theatre offered an incisive blend of tradition and modernity, folk creativity and skills on the one hand and modern critical consciousness on the other. It was this rich as well as enriching blend which made his work so unique and memorable.
Born on September one, 1923 at Raipur, Tanvir passed his matriculation from Laurie Municipal High School, Raipur and completed his BA from Morris College Nagpur in 1944.
After pursuing his Masters degree for a year at Aligarh Mulsim University, Tanvir moved to Bombay and joined All India Radio (AIR) Bombay as a producer in 1945.
While in Bombay, he wrote songs for Hindi films and even acted in a few.
He also joined the Progressive Writers' Association (PWA) and became an integral part of Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA) as an actor.
Later, when most prominent IPTA members were imprisoned for opposing the British rule, he was asked to take over the organisation.
Hospital sources said Tanvir later suffered kidney failure and his condition worsened.
The playwright's funeral will be held here Tuesday, family sources said.
Tanvir was a popular Hindi playwright, theatre director, poet and actor. He had written plays like "Agra Bazar" (1954) and "Charandas Chor" (1975). In 1959, he founded a theatre company called the Naya Theatre here.
He was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1969, Padma Shri in 1983, Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship in 1996, and the Padma Bhushan in 2002.
Tanvir was also nominated as a member of the Rajya Sabha (1972-1978). His play "Charandas Chor" got him the Fringe Firsts Award at the Edinburgh International Drama Festival in 1982.
A pall of gloom descended on this theatre-loving state today as the news of death of Padma Bhushan awardee Habib Tanvir, renowned playwright and litterateur spread.
Eminent theatre personalities in the city condoled the sad demise of the 'encyclopedia of theatre'.
Veteran stage artist Bibhash Chakraborty reminisced the immortal works of art created by the Bhopal-born genius and opined that his loss had caused irreparable damage to the theatre world.
''India has seen innumerable talented playwrights but Habib Tanvir could undoubtedly be placed on one of the highest pedestals of the theatre world. He was the most remarkable exponent of folk theatre as he very successfully depicted the life, customs, dialect of the Adivasis of Chhattisgarh,'' Mr Chakraborty told UNI.
''He not only discovered new vistas in the oft-staged drama of Shakespeare and Tagore, but also reached out with such classics to the masses. Mr Tanvir was extremely popular among the theatre lovers of Bengal too,'' he remarked.
Kaushik Sen, one of the new-age playwrights in the field of modern theatre, recalled his interactions with Tanvir when he had participated in the Nandikar Theatre Festival two years back.
''Mr Tanvir was one such great artist who could easily overcome the barriers of time, language, region. I had the privilege of meeting him and interacting with him during a festival staging Tagore's plays,'' Mr Sen said.
''After the stage preoduction we had an interactive discussion on how to approach Tagore and he put forth his valuable opinions,'' Mr Sen recalled.
''It is often said that Mr Tanvir was a folk theatre artist but I feel it will be unfair to limit his contribution to that arena alone. His artwork can also be construed as a supreme example of high quality political theatre. His 'Naya Theatre' was based on representation of the people of Chhattisgarh and was not synthetic but true to life,'' he opined.
Acclaimed theatre artist Usha Ganguly felt his death had deprived the coming generations of his experience and guidance.
''Mr Tanvir greatly popularised progressive theatre and developed a new language to depict drama. I was associated with him for over 25 years and benefitted greatly from his unparallelled talent when he used to come to Kolkata for the Sangeet Natya Akademi workshops,'' Ms Ganguly told UNI.
Thespian Soumitra Chatterjee said the literature world had suffered a huge loss.
The National School of Drama (NSD) in the capital, New Delhi mourned Tanvir's death at a 45-minute "commemorative" function where students and members of the NSD's Repertoire Company and school's Theatre in Education Company recalled their impressions of Tanvir's plays.
For most of the students, "Habib saab" was an example in whose footsteps they would like to walk someday, someone who had set new benchmarks in Indian theatre and whose loss was irreparable. NSD will host another condolence meeting post June 12 when it reopens after the summer break.
The professional theatre fraternity described his death as a personal loss.
"I have never met him but I have seen his productions like 'Charan Das Chor', 'Mrichakatika' and 'Jisne Lahore Nahin Dekhya'. The loss is very personal… I am terribly sad at the moment," veteran stage personality Sohag Sen told IANS from Kolkata.
Sen said Tanvir was one of the rare directors who believed in "total theatre that made use of the stage, folk dances, physical acting, music and even silences".
"He used the stage like magic and inducted even unlettered people from the villages in his cast. The Chhattisgarhi language was no barrier for his theatre was so communicative," Sen recalled.
Tanvir, born in Raipur in Chhattisgarh in 1923, founded the Naya Theatre company in Bhopal in 1959. He was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi award in 1969 and Padma Shri in 1983. He wrote plays based on the folk traditions and tales of Indian heartland like "Agra Bazar" and "Charan Das Chor. He also acted in over nine movies, including Richard Attenborough's "Gandhi".
Tanvir, who left for London to train at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA) and at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in 1955 after a stint in Mumbai, fell back on his Chhattisgarhi roots for his repertoire in India. He was one of the few to have experimented with "Pandavani", a tradition folk and temple song ritual, and the Chhattisgarhi Naach tradition in his plays.
"But very people in the country know of his contribution to the Indian stage. Now that he is dead, people are curious to know about him. He is the only theatre personality who made plays for the "aam aadmi" or the common man. He could do anything on the stage he felt like and was one of those who could spot talent miles away. I met him at the NSD in 1986," Mumbai-based veteran stage personality Vineet Kumar told IANS from Ujjain.
One of the pillars of Indian theatre has crumbled, Kumar lamented.
"I met Habib saab at the Indian People's Theatre Association in Patna in 1989 when he helped produce a play 'Mukti Purv' for the Musical Theatre Festival in Bharat Bhavan in Bhopal. I played the lead," reminisced Mumbai-based actor Manoj Verma, who had worked with the playwright.
Verma's wish to work with Tanvir was granted when the playwright invited him join the cast of "Agra Bazar", one of Tanvir's iconic plays, in 1989-1990.
"We travelled all over the country with the play. It was such a wonderful experience working with 'Habib saab' because he was one of those few people who knew the difference between professional and amateur theatre," Verma said. And 'Habib saab' always smiled, he added.
Actor-director Sunit Sinha of Delhi-based theatre company Actor Factor described Tanvir as the rockstar of Indian theatre.
"I had the opportunity to work with him between 1991-1995 when I was part of the Jan Natya Manch co-founded by (late) Safdar Hashmi. He directed a street play on labour rights for us and his word was law. It was a conscious decision on his part to weave folk into contemporary theatre and refine it. He was the most patient director I've ever worked for," Sinha told IANS.
His play Charandas Chor that was first produced in 1975 got him the Fringe Firsts Award at Edinburgh International Drama Festival in 1982.
In 1959, he founded the Naya Theatre in Bhopal and it is set to complete 50 years this year.
In 1954, he moved to New Delhi and worked with Qudsia Zaidi's Hindustani Theatre and also worked with Children's theatre and authored numerous plays. It was during this period he met actor-director, Moneeka Mishra, whom he later married.
Later in the same year, Tanvir produced his first significant play Agra Bazar, based on the work and time of the plebeian 18th century urdu poet, Nazir Akbarabadi, of Mirza Ghalib's generation.
In this play he used local residents and folk artists from Okhla village in Delhi with students of Jamia Millia Islamia creating a palette never seen before in Indian theatre, a play not staged in a confined space, rather a bazaar, a market place.
This experience with non-trained actors and folk artists later blossomed with his work with folk artists of Chhattisgarh.
In 1955, Habib moved to England where he trained in Acting at Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA) and in Direction at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School (1956).
For the next two years, he travelled through Europe, watching various theatre activities.
One of the highlights of this period, was his eight-month stay in Berlin in 1956, during which he got to see several plays of Bertolt Brecht, produced by Berliner Ensemble, just a few months after Brech's death.
This proved to a lasting influence on him, as in the coming years, he also used local idioms in his plays, to express trans-cultural tales and ideologies.
This gave rise to a "theatre of roots", which was marked by an utter simplicity in style, presentation and technique, yet remaining eloquent and powerfully experiential.
A deeply inspired Habib returned to India in 1958 and took directing full-time.
He produced Mitti Ki Gaadi, based on Shudraka's Sanskrit work, Mrichakatika and it became his first important production in 'Chhattisgarhi'.
There was no, turning back from there. It led to the foundation of 'Naya Theatre' in Bhopal, along with his wife, Moneeka Mishra.
In his exploratory phase, 1970-73, Tanvir broke free from one more theatre restriction, he no longer made the folk artists with whom he had been performing all his plays speak Hindi, and instead switched to 'Chhattisgarhi', a dialect, they were more accustomed to.
Later, he even started experimenting with "Pandavani", a folk singing style from the region and temple rituals, making his plays stand out amidst the backdrop of plays which were still using traditional theatre techniques like blocking movements or fixing lights on paper.
Soon spontaneity and improvisation became the hallmark of the new style, where folk artists were allowed greater freedom of expression.
A further evolution was seen in 1972 with his next venture with Chhattisgarhi Nach style, a play titled Gaon Ka Naam Sasural, Mor Naam Damaad, based on a comic folk tale, where an old man falls in love with a young woman, who eventually elopes with a man of her age group.
The technique has finally evolved to an accomplished form, by the time he produced his seminal play, Charandas Chor in 1975, which immediately created a whole new idiom in modern Indian theatre, whose highlight was 'Nach' - a chorus that provided commentary through song.
During his career, Habib acted in over nine feature films, including Richard Attenborough's Gandhi(1982).
The word "Jatra", directly translated, means 'going' or 'journey'. This an apt description of the popular folk theatre in Bangladesh. It is through this 'journey' that many religious values and principles were strongly communicated in the past. Today, however, this is not always the case in modern Jatra, with many changes having occurred, specifically in the writing of plays.
In times past Jatra in Bangladesh encompassed subjects such as mythological, fantastical and historical figures, nevertheless, modernization has brought about an array of social themes more suited to the educated and enlightened public in present day society. Fascinatingly, Jatras encompass a variety of skills such as music, singing and acting. Adding to the atmosphere of Jatra performances are loud thunderous music, dramatic props, harsh lighting and the ever expected stylized delivery with overexaggerated tones, gestures and orations. All of this is typically set on a simple outdoor stage with the musicians and chorus standing off stage. Spectators attending folk theatre performances in Bangladesh enjoy an up-close-and-personal experience as they surround the stage on all sides.
Jatra is common to Bangladesh as well as the province of West Bengal in India. Many people believe that Jatra originally developed from the ceremonial functions that were performed before families or loved ones departed for a distant destination. From a more religious perspective, it has also been assumed that the many processions dedicated to gods and goddesses, such as the festival of Rathayatra, may also have contributed greatly to the development of Jatra. Regardless, this historical performance can be traced back to 1548.
Many changes have occurred since then. The greatest change took place after the First World War, which saw Jatras being strongly influenced by patriotic and nationalistic themes. Nevertheless, sentimental love and religious myths have continued to inspire the many Jatras that exist even today. It was only in the late 1940's that female roles were introduced to what had always been an all male cast. Today Bangladesh's Jatra continues to play its role, expressing the local Bangladeshi culture and, as well as captivating the imaginations of public audiences.
The word "Jatra", directly translated, means 'going' or 'journey'. This an apt description of the popular folk theatre in Bangladesh. It is through this 'journey' that many religious values and principles were strongly communicated in the past. Today, however, this is not always the case in modern Jatra, with many changes having occurred, specifically in the writing of plays.
In times past Jatra in Bangladesh encompassed subjects such as mythological, fantastical and historical figures, nevertheless, modernization has brought about an array of social themes more suited to the educated and enlightened public in present day society. Fascinatingly, Jatras encompass a variety of skills such as music, singing and acting. Adding to the atmosphere of Jatra performances are loud thunderous music, dramatic props, harsh lighting and the ever expected stylized delivery with overexaggerated tones, gestures and orations. All of this is typically set on a simple outdoor stage with the musicians and chorus standing off stage. Spectators attending folk theatre performances in Bangladesh enjoy an up-close-and-personal experience as they surround the stage on all sides.
Jatra is common to Bangladesh as well as the province of West Bengal in India. Many people believe that Jatra originally developed from the ceremonial functions that were performed before families or loved ones departed for a distant destination. From a more religious perspective, it has also been assumed that the many processions dedicated to gods and goddesses, such as the festival of Rathayatra, may also have contributed greatly to the development of Jatra. Regardless, this historical performance can be traced back to 1548.
Many changes have occurred since then. The greatest change took place after the First World War, which saw Jatras being strongly influenced by patriotic and nationalistic themes. Nevertheless, sentimental love and religious myths have continued to inspire the many Jatras that exist even today. It was only in the late 1940's that female roles were introduced to what had always been an all male cast. Today Bangladesh's Jatra continues to play its role, expressing the local Bangladeshi culture and, as well as captivating the imaginations of public audiences.
Folk Theatre of India
By Amrita Gupta
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Inhabited by over a billion diverse racial groups, India presents a colourful assortment of Folk culture, best portrayed through the unique art of Folk Theatre. Variously known as the Jatra (Bengal, Orissa and Eastern Bihar), Tamasha (Maharashtra), Nautanki (Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Punjab), Bhavai (Gujarat), Yakshagana (Karnataka), Therubuttu (Tamil Nadu), folk theatre reaches out to a large cross-section of the population.
The decline of Sanskrit Drama, saw the emergence of the Folk Theatre in various regional languages from the 14th and through the 19th century. Maintaining the basic conventions like, stage preliminaries, the Sutra-dhara (the narrator), the vidushak (the buffoon) opening prayer song etc pertaining to its predecessor, it achieved a quick mass appeal.
The actors perform in the open with gangways attached to the make-shift stage. This helps immensely since the actors frequently converse with the audience in the course of the play. Audience participation is an essential part of Indian Folk theatre. The stage is often a huge empty space which the actors deftly manipulate accordingly with their dialogues and symbolic gestures. Loud music, dance, elaborate use of make-up, masks, and singing chorus are its hallmarks marking its difference from Modern theatre.
Folk plays provide a valuable insight into the local dialect, dress, attitude, humour and wit of the regions in which they are staged. Although mythological and medieval romances are their mainthrust, folk theatre acquires a timeless appeal by improvising with symbolic relevance to the current socio-political happenings.
Oppose Sangh Goons' Attack on Habib Tanvir's Plays
R ecently the goons of the Sangh Parivar physically attacked and tried to disrupt the performances of internationally acclaimed director Habib Tanvir's plays in Bhopal and elsewhere in Madhya Pradesh.
Intervening in the debate on the no confidence motion on Tuesday, Uma Bharati charged the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister and Habib Tanvir with spreading communalism through certain stage productions. She did not name Tanvir nor did she name the plays in question. She failed to mention that her party has been systematically targeting Tanvir and his plays where he goes in M.P and that, in Gwalior and Hoshangabad, the goon squad of the Sangh Parivar physically attacked the artistes and indulged in vandalism in their effort to disrupt the show. She also did not mention that goons of the Sangh Parivar have targeted Tanvir and his plays for well over a decade now all over India and even in England.
Here are the facts:
Sponsored by the Dept. of Culture of the M.P. government, Tanvir has been presenting a double bill of two of his well-known and well-loved productions 'Ponga Pundit' and 'Jin Lahore Nai Dekhya'.
Ponga Pandit
The play, originally titled Jamadarin, was first composed in the 1930s by two Chhattisgarhi folk playwrights, Sukhram and Sitaram. Four or five generations of folk players of Chhattisgarh have been performing the play for the last seventy years. The play which was created and traditionally performed by Hindu artists has been seen and enjoyed by literally hundreds of thousands of Hindus all over India. Some of these actors joined Habib Tanvir's 'Naya Theatre' at its inception. It is then that Naya Theatre inherited the play.
Ever since then, the play has been a part of the Naya Theatre's repertoire. The troupe has been staging the play since the 1960s for diverse audiences all over the country. All those years no one found it objectionable or called it anti-Hindu. Significantly, it was only in 1992 following the demolition of Babri Masjid, that the play first came under attack from the BJP-RSS-VHP cadre. Since then it has been systematically targeted by these forces who have spread all kinds of lies and disinformation about it. The authorship of the play is mischievously attributed to Habib Tanivir whose Muslim name immediately invites the label of anti Hindu from these forces.
'Ponga Pandit' is an excellent example of folk creativity in which there is a robust intermingling of the sacred and the profane, of pure fun and social incisiveness. The play does not ridicule Hinduism or the Hindu faith. When asked by the Brahmin not to bring his shoes inside God's dwelling, the village simpleton retorts "Can you tell me a place where God does not reside?" Even the 'Jamadarin', the play's protagonist believes in offering puja. When she takes away various objects including the idol, she does so, as she does in her last speech, to offer her own puja without the greedy and hypocritical pundit. So what she rejects is casteist discrimination and Brahminic oppressive practices in the name of religion. As such the play is part of our 150 year history of the social reform movement which informs the vision of modern India enshrined in our Constitution. Since the play attacks untouchability, hypocrisy, and priestcraft, it can hurt only those who believe in these practices and not all Hindus. It is also telling that the Sangh Parivar, for long a defender of Brahmanism and Manuvaad, finds the play objectionable.
'Jin Lahore Nai Dekhya Wo Janmya i Nai'
The secular credentials of Habib Tanvir cannot be doubted. In his plays as well as in his utterances he has consistently opposed fanaticism and bigotry in all its forms and variation. Habib Tanvir has also produced Asghar Wajahat's play 'Jin Lahore Nai Dekhya' which attacked the forces of Muslim communalism and bigotry in no uncertain terms. The play is based on a true story of a Punjabi Hindu old woman who is left behind in a big haveli (mansion) in Lahore as her family fled from home during the communal madness that accompanied the Partition. It shows both the blood thirsty fanaticism of some vested interests as well as the ability of others to reach out with love and compassion to fellow beings regardless of his or her creed. In visualizing Asghar Wajahat's script for the stage, Habib Tanvir has given an added appeal and interest by incorporating, by way of the chorus, a whole selection of anti communal and anti-Partition poetry from Rahi Masoom Raza to Amrita Pritam.
It is obvious that main message or thrust of these two plays is social amity and harmony. And yet, in their warped and mischievous way of thinking, the Hindutva brigade are targeting in Madhya Pradesh today as communal and anti-Hindu. It will be clear to all secular-minded people that those spreading communal tensions are not Habib Tanvir and his actors, but the forces of Hindutva who are attacking them.
We appeal to artists, intellectuals and the secular masses to reject this politics of hatred and defend Habib Tanvir and his actors' right to the freedom of expression enshrined in the Constitution.
Statement issued by:
Aman Ekta Manch, IPTA, Delhi Science Forum, University Forum for Democracy, Jana Natya Manch, Jan Sanskriti, Delhi, Jan Sanskriti Manch, Janawadi Lekhak Sangh, Progressive Writers' Association, and Sahmat.
http://www.cpiml.org/liberation/year_2003/october/AttackonHabibTanvir.htm
Thursday, July 18th, 2002 - 6:30 PM
SALAAM, SAMAR Magazine and INSAF
present
Arts and Social Change
An Evening with Habib Tanvir
Meet the legend and learn the craft from a master
Venue:
302 Barnard Hall, Barnard College
Broadway, between 116th and 117th Street
Manhattan, NYC
A lecture by Habib Tanvir, followed by a Theater Workshop. No prior experience necessary. Both events are open, but we recommend preregistration for the Workshop. Please call Raza at 201 413 1633 or email rmir@monmouth.edu to secure your place.
Suggested donation: $10-15 (sliding scale).
ALL PROCEEDS WILL GO TO DR. TANVIR AND THE NAYA THEATER.
"Tanvir's work is not only village fables but bits of Brecht and The Bourgeois Gentihomme with no apparent differences. From folk tales to Molière, it's all one seamless movement."
-The London Times
Dearest SALAAM Friends,
I just returned from a trip to Toronto where I had the delightful pleasure of meeting Habib Tanvir - the internationally renowned Indian theatre director who is currently in North America for a brief visit. After hearing him speak about 'Traditions and Modern Indian Theatre,' as well as discussing his own legendary work and extraordinary process, I'm overjoyed to invite you to an event this THURSDAY evening. For one night only, you will have the opportunity to hear and meet Dr. Habib Tanvir, one of the greatest living leftist theater personalities from India.
Dramatist and poet, Padmashree Habib Tanvir is the director of Naya Theatre which he founded in 1959 in Bhopal, India. Tanvir's Naya Theatre, whose actors are aboriginal folk artists from the Chattisgarb region of central India, combine western classics such as Shakespeare with traditional Indian legends in a breath-taking pop art blend. Apart from giving performances all over India, Naya Theatre also engages in frequent foreign tours in the former Soviet Union, the UK, and Europe. He is the recipient of many awards including Sangeet Natak Academy Award; the Fringe First Award for his play Charandas Chor at Edinburgh International drama festival; Nandikar Award for Drama; Aditya Vikram Brila Kala Shikhar Award for Theatre; Hindi Sahitya Sangha Bhavabhuti Award for Literature and this year awarded the Padma Bushan, one of India's highest civilian awards, from the Government of India.
Habib Tanvir has succeeded in becoming a legend in his own lifetime. His life is a chronicle of activism and struggle through the theater, and indeed, despite the short notice, we are fortunate to have a chance to meet him here in the Big Apple. Do not miss this extraordinary opportunity to meet the man, and learn the craft from a master. This is especially recommended for those who are interested in drama in any way, as actors, technicians, or plain enthusiasts.
Hope to see you this Thursday.
Peace & Much Love,
Geeta Citygirl
Artistic Director, SALAAM
Habib Tanvir
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Habib Tanvir | |
| Born | Habib Ahmed Khan September 1, 1923 (1923-09-01) Raipur, Chhattisgarh |
|---|---|
| Died | June 8, 2009 Bhopal,MP |
| Other name(s) | Habib tanvir |
| Occupation | Playwright, Dramatist, Poet, Actor |
| Spouse(s) | Moneeka Mishra (1930-2005) |
| Official website | |
Habib Tanvir was one of the most popular Hindi playwrights, a theatre director, poet and actor. He is the writer of plays such as, Agra Bazar (1954) and Charandas Chor (1975). He founded in 1959, the Naya Theatre, theatre company in Bhopal. He died on 8th of June 2009 at Bhopal after long illness.
He was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1969, Padma Shri in 1983, Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship in 1996, and the Padma Bhushan in 2002; apart from that he has also been nominated as a member of the Upper House of Indian Parliament, the Rajya Sabha (1972-1978). His play 'Charandas Chor' got him the Fringe Firsts Award at Edinburgh International Drama Festival in 1982 [1].
Contents[hide] |
[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life and education
Habib Ahmed Khan 'Tanvir' was born on September 1, 1923 in Raipur, Chhattisgarh, to Hafiz Ahmed Khan, who hailed from Peshawar.
He passed his marticulation from Laurie Municipal High School, Raipur, and later completed his B.A. from Morris College, Nagpur in 1944. Thereafter he attend Aligarh Muslim University, for a year doing his M.A first year.
Early in life, he started writing poetry and took upon a takhalluz, pen name, Tanvir, and soon he was being called, Habib Tanvir.
[edit] Career
In 1945, he moved to Bombay, and joined All India Radio (AIR) Bombay as a producer, while in Bombay, he wrote songs for Hindi films and even acted in a few. He also joined the Progressive Writers' Association (PWA) and became an integral part of Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA) as an actor. Later, when most of prominent IPTA members were imprisoned for opposing the British rule, he was asked to takeover the organization.
In 1954, he moved to New Delhi, and worked with Qudsia Zaidi's Hindustani Theatre, and also worked with Children's theatre, and authored numerous plays. It was during this period he met actor-director, Moneeka Mishra, whom he was to later marry. Later in the same year, he produced his first significant play 'Agra Bazar', based on the works and times of the plebian 18th-century Urdu poet, Nazir Akbarabadi, an older poet in the generation of Mirza Ghalib. In this play he used local residents and folk artist from Okhla village in Delhi and students of Jamia Millia Islamia creating a palette never seen before in Indian theatre, a play not staged in a confined space, rather a bazaar, a marketplace. This experience with non-trained actors, and folk artists later blossomed with his work with folk artists of Chhattisgarh.
[edit] Stay in Europe
In 1955, now in his 30's, Habib moved to England, he trained in Acting at Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA) (1955) and in Direction at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School (1956). For the next two years, he travelled through Europe, watching various theatre activities. One of the highlights of this period, was his eight-month stay in Berlin in 1956, during which he got to see several plays of Bertolt Brecht, produced by Berliner Ensemble, just a few months after Brecht's death [2]. This proved to a lasting influence on him, as in the coming years, he was also used local idioms in his plays, to express trans-cultural tales and ideologies. This over the year gave rise to a 'theatre of roots', which was marked by an utter simplicity in style, presentation and technique, yet remaining eloquent and powerfully experiential.
[edit] Return to India
A deeply inspired Habib returned in 1958 and took directing full-time. He produced, 'Mitti ki Gaadi' post-London play, based on Shudraka's Sanskrit work, Mrichakatika, it became his first important production in Chhattisgarhi. This was the result of the work he has been doing since his return, with six folk actors from Chhattisgarh. There was no, turned back from there. This led to the foundation of 'Naya Theatre' a theatre company he founded in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh in 1959, along with his wife, Moneeka Mishra, also a theatre person.
In his exploratory phase, 1970-73, he broke free from one more theatre restriction, he no longer made the folk artists with whom he had been performing all his plays speak Hindi, and instead switched to Chhattisgarhi, a local language, they were more accustomed to. Later, he even started experimenting with 'Pandavani', a folk singing style from the region and temple rituals, making his plays stand out amidst the backdrop of plays which were still using traditional theatre techniques like blocking movements or fixing lights on paper. Soon spontaneity and improvisation became the hallmark of the new style, where the folk artists were allowed greater freedom of expression.
A further evolution was seen in 1972 with his next venture with Chhattisgarhi Nach style, a play titled 'Gaon Ka Naam Sasural, Mor Naam Damaad', based on a comic folk tale, where an old man falls in young woman, who eventually elopes with a young man.[3].
The technique to has finally evolved to an accomplished form, by the time he produced his seminal play, 'Charandas Chor' in 1975, which immediately created a whole new idiom in modern India theatre; whose highlight was Nach - a chorus that provided commentary through song. Later, he collaborated with Shyam Benegal, when he adapted the play to a feature length film, by the same name, starring Smita Patil and Lalu Ram.
During his career, Habib has acted in over nine feature films, including Richard Attenborough's film, Gandhi (1982) and presently in the upcoming movie, Bhopal Gas Tragedy.
His first brush with controversy came in 90s, with his play on religious hypocrisy, 'Ponga Pandit'. Though the play was being performed since the sixties, in the charged social climate after the Babri Masjid demolition, the play caused quiet an uproar amongst Hindu fundamentalists, especially the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), whose supporters disrupted many of its shows, and even emptied the auditoriums, yet he continued to show it all over [4].
His Chhatisgarhi folk troupe, surprised again, with his rendition of Asghar Wajahat's 'Jisne Lahore Nahin Dekhya' in 1992. Then in 1993 came, 'Kamdeo Ka Apna Basant Ritu Ka Sapna', Tanvir's Hindi adaptation of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" [5]. In 2002, he directed, 'Zahareeli Hawa', a translation of a play by the Canadian-Indian playwright Rahul Varma, based on the Bhopal Gas Tragedy.
In 2005, a documentary: Gaon ke naon theatre, mor naon Habib (`My village is theatre, my name is Habib') was made on his life and the Naya Theatre group, by Sanjay Maharishi and Sudhanva Deshpande [6], and also in the same year, his wife Moneeka Misra passed away on May 28.
In 2006, he wrote and directed 'Raj Rakt', based on two of Rabindranath Tagore's works, novel Rajarshi, and play Visarjan [7].
[edit] Plays
- Agra Bazar (1954)
- Shatranj Ke Mohrey (1954)
- Lala Shoharat Rai (1954)
- Mitti ki Gaadi (1958)
- Gaon ke naon Sasural, mor naon Damand (1973)
- Charandas Chor (1975)
- Uttar Ram Charitra (1977)
- Bahadur kalarin(1978)
- Ponga Pandit
- Jis Lahore Nai Dekhya (1990)
- Kamdeo ka Apna Basant Ritu ka Sapna (1993)
- Zahreeli Hawa (2002)
- Raj Rakt (2006)
[edit] Filmography (Partial)
- Black & White (2008)
- Charandas Chor (1975) (lyrics and script)
[edit] Bibliography
- The Living Tale of Hirma: Hirma Ki Amar Kahani. Calcutta, Seagull Books, 2005. ISBN 81-7046-277-0.
[edit] References
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
Theater
Habib Tanvir: The Making of a Legend
This piece originally appeared in Samar 14: Fall/Winter, 2001
In any culture and in any age, it is rare for a person to become a legend in his or her own lifetime. Yet, judging by the immense enthusiasm and interest with which his productions are received by large audiences in different parts of the country, the 76-year old stalwart of contemporary Indian stage, Habib Tanvir, seems to have already attained this distinction. However, since legends are not born but made, it is instructive to remember that Tanvir's great success and popularity was not given to him on a platter but was earned through a lifetime of serious and sustained effort and struggle.
In popular mind, the name of Habib Tanvir is closely linked to the idea of the folk theatre. However, when he began his career, "folk" had not yet become a major preoccupation in contemporary theatre practice. In fact, he can be regarded as one of the pioneers of the interest in folk forms and traditions of performance. Nonetheless, his approach to folk culture distinguishes itself sharply from that of many others in contemporary theatre. His approach to the folk in particular and his cultural consciousness in general were shaped in the crucible of the left-wing cultural movement -- particularly Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA) and Progressive Writers' Association (PWA) -- in which Tanvir actively participated during his early, post-university years.
Tanvir traces the genesis of his interest in the folk to his childhood. He was born and brought up in Raipur, which was at that time a small town surrounded by villages on all sides. There was daily and constant interaction between the residents of the town and the village folk. Although his immediate family was town-based, some of his uncles were landowners and visited the countryside often. As a child, he too had several opportunities to visit villages where he listened to the music and songs of the local people. He was so fascinated by these melodies that he even memorised some of them. After finishing school, he was sent to Aligarh Muslim University for his Bachelor's degree. Having completed his studies there, he moved to Bombay in 1945 and immediately joined IPTA and PWA there.
Tanvir's twin interest in poetry and music found its first major expression on stage with Agra Bazar, which he wrote and produced soon after moving to Delhi in 1954. When he arrived in Delhi, and began his career in the theatre, the Capital's stage scene was dominated by amateur and collegiate drama groups which offered English plays in English, or in vernacular translation, to a socially restricted section of the city's anglophone elite. These groups, as also the NSD a decade later, derived their concept of theatre, their standards of acting, staging, and direction, from the European models of the later 19th and early 20th centuries. There was little effort to link theatre work to the indigenous traditions of performance, or even to say anything of immediate value and interest to an Indian audience. In complete contrast to this, Agra Bazar offered an experience radically different, both in form and content, from anything that the city had ever seen.
The play, as we know, is based on the works and times of a very unusual 18th-century Urdu poet, Nazir Akbarabadi, who not only wrote about ordinary people and their everyday concerns but wrote in a style and idiom which disregarded the orthodox, elitist norms of decorum in poetic idiom and subject matter. Using a mix of educated, middle-class urban actions and more or less illiterate folk and street artists from the village of Okhla, what Tanvir, in a highly interesting (and, for its time, revolutionary) artistic strategy, put on the stage was not the socially and architecturally walled-in space of a private dwelling, but a bazaar -- a marketplace with all its noise and bustle, its instances of solidarity and antagonism, and above all, with all its sharp social, economic and cultural polarities. The play also foregrounds a poetry that takes the ordinary people (their lives, and their everyday struggles) as both its inspiration and its addressee. It uses the example of Nazir's poetry and his plebeian appeal to challenge orthodox, elitist literary canons. What the play thus offers is a joyful celebration of what Mikhail Bakhtin called 'the culture of the marketplace.'
In Agra Bazar, two major emphases that characterise Tanvir's work in the theatre -- one, an artistic and ideological predilection for the plebeian, popular culture; and, two, a penchant for employing music and poetry in plays not as superfluous embellishment but, much like Brecht, as an integral part of the action -- had their first and one of the finest expressions.
Soon after this production, Tanvir went to England where he spent over three years studying theatre at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. He also traveled extensively through Europe, watching theatre. He spent about eight months in Berlin in 1956 and saw several recent productions by Bertolt Brecht (who had died that year). This was Tanvir's first encounter with the German playwright-director's work and he was more profoundly influenced by it than by anything that RADA could teach him. In fact, on returning to India, he quickly began to unlearn much of what he was taught in England -- and thus followed a trajectory of development diametrically opposite to that followed by other British-trained Indian directors. Tanvir was now doubly convinced that no truly worthwhile theatre -- that is, no socially meaningful and artistically interesting theatre -- was possible unless one worked within one's own cultural traditions and context.
The result of this enhanced awareness was, that disregarding the colonial mind-set that dominated the theatre scene at the time, Tanvir began his long quest for an indigenous performance idiom. This quest went through at least two distinct stages before the director arrived at the form and style which is now the hallmark of his work in theatre. His first move was to work with some folk artists of Chhattisgarh and their traditional forms and techniques. His first production, mounted soon after returning from Europe, Mitti ki Gadi (a translation of Shudraka's Mrichchakatikam), included six folk actors from Chhattisgarh in the cast. Besides, he used the conventions and techniques of the folk stage, thus giving the production a distinctly Indian form and style. The play, which is still revived from time to time (although it is now performed entirely by village actors), is considered by many as one of the best modern renderings of the ancient classic.
Mitti ki Gadi convinced Tanvir that the style and techniques of the folk theatre are akin to the ones implied in the dramaturgy of the Sanskrit playwrights. He believes that the theatrical style of the latter can be accessed through folk traditions. The imaginative flexibility and simplicity with which the classical playwrights establish and shift the time and place of action in a play, Tanvir argues, is found in abundance in our folk performances. Mitti ki Gadi, as well as his recent production of Visakhadatta's Mudrarakshasa, are practical demonstrations of this fact. For example, changes in time and locale in both productions are suggested through dialogues and movements without formally interrupting the performance. To quote just one instance from Mitti ki Gadi, when a character orders his subordinate to go to the garden and see if there is the body of a woman there, the subordinate simply runs around the stage once and returns with the answer, 'I went to the garden and found that there is a woman's body there.'
Tanvir and his wife Moneeka Misra (herself a theatre person) founded a company of their own in 1959 and called it Naya Theatre. The group produced a number of plays including modern and ancient classics of India and Europe. Although most of these plays were produced with urban actors, Tanvir's interest in the folk traditions and performers had come to stay and continued to grow. However, it was not until the early 1970s that this involvement reached a new and more sustained phase.
At that stage of his career, Tanvir was not entirely satisfied with his work with folk actors. He recognized two 'faults' (as he calls them) in his approach to them. One, he realised that it was not correct to fix the performance rather rigidly in advance by blocking movements and arranging lighting on paper. This, he felt, did not work with the rural artists who could not read or write and could not even remember which way and on what line they should move. The second difficulty was that, by doing plays in Hindi or Hindustani, he was making these actors speak standard Hindi, a language they were not accustomed to. This had the effect of making them act with a severe handicap and thus of inhibiting the full and free expression of their creativity in performance.
Conscious of these faults, Tanvir began to rid his style of work of them. He started using the method of improvisations. He also allowed the folk actors to speak in their native Chhattisgarhi dialect. The years 1970-73 were an exploratory phase for him. During this period, he worked intensively with rural performers in their native language and style of performance. He allowed them to do their own traditional pieces mostly in their own way, merely editing and touching them up here and there to make them more stageworthy. During this period he tried many things, from temple rituals to stock skits and pandavani.
The second significant breakthrough came during a nacha workshop that Tanvir conducted in Raipur in 1972. In addition to several observers from the urban centres of Raipur, Delhi and Calcutta, more than a hundred folk artists of the region participated in the month-long exercise. During the workshop, three different traditional comedies from the stock nacha repertoire were selected and more or less dovetailed into one another to make one compact, full length play. A few short scenes were improvised and inserted to link them up into one story. A number of songs, which had never before been brought on the stage were also included after appropriate editing. The production which was thus created was called Gaon ka Naam Sasural, Mor Naam Damaad, an almost wholly improvised and delightful stage play.
The play was a significant turning point in Tanvir's development. With this production, which was a great success not only in Chhattisgarh but also in Delhi, he had broken new ground. He felt that he had found the form and style that he had been searching for ever since his arrival on the theatre scene as a director in the 1950's. After the 1973 workshop, it became easier for him to go on with the construction and casting of a play through improvisations -- a method that he continues to use to this day. By the time he produced his masterpiece, Charandas Chor (1975), that evergreen darling of theatregoers throughout the country, the form and style of his theatre had reached its perfection.
Tanvir's Naya Theatre works almost exclusively with folk actors. However, even his occasional productions with urban actors and for groups other than Naya Theatre -- such as, Dushman (Gorky's Enemies) for the NSD Repertory or Jisne Lahore Nai Dekhya Wo Jamyai Nai (Asghar Wajahat) for the Sri Ram Centre Repertory -- are marked by the style that he has developed through his work with the folk artists. Nonetheless, the theatre that Tanvir had developed was not a "folk theatre" in the strictest sense of the term. He is a conscious and highly sophisticated urban artist with a modern outlook, sensibility and a strong sense of history and politics. His interest in folk culture and his decision to work with and in terms of traditional styles of performance was itself an ideological choice as much as an aesthetic one, whether Tanvir himself was fully conscious of it as such or not. There is a close connection between his predilection for popular traditions and his left-wing disposition. His involvement with the left-wing cultural movement, an association which he maintains (no matter how loosely) to this day, already meant a commitment to the common people and their causes. His work in the theatre, in style as well as in content, reflects this commitment and can be seen as part of a larger (socialist) project of empowerment of the people.
Tanvir's fascination with the "folk" is not motivated by a revivalist or an antiquarian impulse. It is based, instead, on an awareness of the tremendous creative possibilities and artistic energies inherent in these traditions. He does not hesitate to borrow themes, techniques, and music from them, but he also desists from the impossible task of trying to resurrect old traditions in their original form and also from presenting them as stuffed museum pieces. Notwithstanding a popular misconception, his theatre does not belong within any one form or tradition in its entirety or purity. In fact, as he is quick to point out, he has not been "running after" folk forms as such at all but only after folk performers who brought their own forms and styles with them. The performance style of his actors is, no doubt, rooted in their traditional nacha background, but his plays are not authentic nacha productions. For one thing, while the number of actual actors in a nacha play is usually restricted to two or three, the rest being stop-gap singers and dancers, Tanvir's production involve a full cast of actors, some of whom also sing and dance. More significantly, his plays have a structural coherence and complexity which one does not usually associate with the "simple" form of the nacha. Another important difference is that while in the nacha songs and dances are used largely as autonomous musical interludes, in Tanvir's plays they are neither purely ornamental in function nor are they formally autonomous units inserted into a loose collection of separate skits. On the contrary, they are closely woven into the fabric of the action and function as an important part of the total thematic and artistic structure of the play.
In other words, Tanvir does not romanticise the 'folk' uncritically and ahistorically. He is aware of their historical and cognitive limitations and does not hesitate to intervene in them and allow his own modern consciousness and political understanding to interact with the traditional energies and skills of his performers. His project, from the beginning of his career, has been to harness elements of folk traditions as a vehicle and make them yield new, contemporary meanings, and to produce a theatre which has a touch of the soil about it.
This rich interaction between Tanvir's urban, modern consciousness and the folk styles and forms is perhaps best exemplified by the songs in his plays. Tanvir's excellent adaptations of A Midsummer's Night Dream (Kamdeo Ka Apna, Basant Ritu Ka Sapna) and The Good Woman of Szechwan (Shaajapur ki Shantibai) could not be possible without this interaction. In these plays, he has worked close to the original text and written songs which reproduce the rich imagery and humour of Shakespeare's poetry and the complex ideas of Brecht. Despite this fidelity to the original texts, not only has Tanvir given his poetic compositions the authenticity and freshness of the original but has also fitted his words to native folk tunes with remarkable ease and skill.
One of the most outstanding examples of this kind of interaction is Tanvir's Dekh Rahe Hain Nain, based on a story by Stephen Zweig, in which he has successfully represented a complex theme without compromising the vitality and creativity of his folk actors. It was the moral dilemma embodied in the protagonist, a courageous warrior, who is tormented by the guilt of having to kill his own brother, which had attracted Tanvir to Zweig's story. However, in writing the play, he went beyond the story and invented new events, situations, characters and added dimensions and nuances which significantly enriched the story and made it more poignantly relevant for us today. The result is a play that traverses a complex gamut of motifs from the abstract, almost metaphysical, quest for inner peace to the concrete, material problems of the ordinary people in wake of a war, economic inflation and political corruption; from an idealist impulse towards renunciation of political power and towards an absolute solitude to an urgent sense of the necessity to get involved with others for a shared endeavour to change the world.
Tanvir is quite careful not to create a hierarchy by privileging, in any absolute and extrinsic way, his own educated consciousness as poet-cum-playwright-cum-director over the unschooled creativity of his actors. In his work, the two usually meet and interpenetrate, as it were, as equal partners in a collective, collaborative endeavour in which each gives and takes from, and thus enriches, the other. An excellent example of this non-exploitative approach is the way Tanvir fits and blends his poetry with the traditional folk and tribal music, allowing the former to retain its own imaginative and rhetorical power and socio-political import, but without in any way devaluing or destroying the latter. Yet another example can be seen in the way he allows his actors and their skills to be foregrounded by eschewing all temptations to use elaborate stage design and complicated lighting.
Thus in contrast to the fashionable, folksy kind of drama on the one hand and the revivalist and archaic kind of 'traditional' theatre on the other, Tanvir's theatre offers an incisive blend of tradition and modernity, folk creativity and skills on the one hand and modern critical consciousness on the other. It is this rich as well as enriching blend which makes his work so unique and memorable.
Javed Malick teaches English at Delhi University, and is a theater critic.
Charandas Chor
Dir: Habib Tanvir
Show Duration:- 1hr. 50min.
The Play- Charan the Thief
CHARAN THE THEIF is constructed as a folk tale about a thief who inadvertently makes a pledge to his guru never to tell a lie. He stands by his pledge though he never stops thieving. The guru has actually asked him to give up his bad habits if he wants to become his disciple. The thief offers to take four other pledges instead: he will never eat off golden plates, never ride an elephant at the head of a procession, never marry queen and never accept the throne of a country. To this the guru retorts that as he so generously undertaken to give up four things on his own account, he might undertake to give up one little thing at his guru's request. "You are a big liar," says the guru, "give up lying". The thief consents and that is how the deal is clinched.
"The story has contemporary social relevance and I have tried to exploit this aspect of the story to the full. I have written the play with my folk actors, all of them improvisers, rather than with a pen. The same technique is adopted when directing. Indeed it is this technique which I have been persistently trying to perfect over the years with the help of the rural artists who form the professional hard core of Naya Theatre".-HABIB TANVIR
About the Director
Considered a living legend, Habib Tanvir is one of the most popular Hindi playwright, theatre director, poet and actor. He is the writer of famous plays like, Agra Bazar (1954) and Charandas Chor (1975). He founded in 1959, the Naya Theatre, theatre company in Bhopal.
He was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1969, Padma Shri in 1983, Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship in 1996, and the Padma Bhushan in 2002; apart from that he has also been nominated as a member of the Upper House of Indian Parliament, the Rajya Sabha (1972-1978). His play 'Charandas Chor' got him the Fringe Firsts Award at Edinburgh International Drama Festival in 1982.
About The Group
Naya Theatre, founded in 1959, is a professional touring theatre company that has been performing continuously across the length and breadth of India, as well as in many places abroad. The company began in Delhi, but moved its base to Bhopal in the 90s. The core actors of Naya Theatre come from amongst the highly talented performers and singers of rural Chhattisgarh. However, Naya Theatre does not perform traditional or rural forms of theatre – from very early on, even before the group was established; Habib Tanvir had begun experiments with language form and most importantly a mix of urban and rural performers. The coming together of Tanvir and the Chhattisgarhi artists eventually resulted in the creation of a unique, modern Indian theatre idiom, which caught the imagination of the Indian Public with Charandas Chor in 1975 and has never quite released it since.
Naya Theatre
The undoubted theatrical highlight of this year's FESTIVAL OF INDIA will be the long-awaited debut of the remarkable Naya Theatre, only the second theatre company from India to ever visit Britain. Naya Theatre was founded in 1959 by director Habib Tanvir as an ad-hoc organization comprising folk artists from the remote tribes and villages of Chhattisgarh, located in Tanvir's home region of Madhya Pradesh. The company became a registered non-profit cultural organization in 1964 and a professional theatre in 1970, staging at least three new plays a year and touring India.
In addition to their performances, the company also organizers lecture demonstrations, seminars, training courses and workshops, open to both professionals and amateurs. With Peter Brook their joint companies are holding workshops as part of Brook's preparation for his production of the great Indian classic THE MAHABARATA next year. In a visually exciting production which allows ample scope for the exuberant wit and energy of the village performers, CHARAN THE THIEF features improvised dialogue, music, songs and dance, combining traditional forms of Sanskrit theatre with folk theatre and contemporary techniques. Habib Tanvir's adaptation of this comic folk – tale has been acclaimed throughout India as one of the outstanding contributions to new Indian Theatre and was recently the subject of a full – length feature filk.
At this year's Edinburgh Festival, prior to their visit to London, Naya Theatre played to critical acclaim at the Assembly Rooms.
"They represent an absolute extreme of purity: a peasant company directed by a highly sophisticated man who brings them up to town and takes every conceivable precaution to prevent the town from contaminating them. They go back to their villages at harvest time. They speak their local Hindi patois.. It's pop art, using the vocabulary of natural fun, and it that sense the Naya shows could be from anywhere. But there's something about this part of India that makes them very talented. They are born actors. What they produce together is an enormous variety of stories that they tell completely on their own terms: not only village fables, but bits of Brecht and 'The Bourgeois Genti home' with no apparent difference. From folk tales to Moliere it's all one seamless movement deriving from their experience of life. There's no half way house between the local root and the foreign style".-PETER BROOK in THE TIMES
CAST LIST
1. Charan Das - Chaitram Yadav
2. Haval Dar - Ravi Lal Sangde
3. Guruji - Manharan Gandharva
4. Rani - Nageen Tanvir
5. Sattu Wala /Juari - Amr Singh Gandharva
6. Malgujar - Devi Lal Nag
7. Sarabi/ Mantri /Noukar - Uday Ram Shri Vas
8. Ganjedi / Pujari / Munim - Dhannulal Sinha
9. Raut Toli / Villager's - Ram Chandra Singh, Honaji Chavan,Sandeep Yadav,
And Panthi Parti
10. Purohit - Yogesh Tiwari
11. Mantri / Noukar - Uday Ram Shrivas
12. Soldeir-1 - Ram Chandra Singh
13. Soldeir-2 - Honaji Chavan
14. Soldeir-3 - Amarsingh Gandharva
15. Soldeir-4 - Sandeep Yadav
16. Harmonium - Devi Lal Nag
17. Tabla - Amardas Manikpuri
18. Dholak/Manjeera - Ram Sharan Vaishnav
19. Chorus Singer - Nagin Tanvir, Lata Khaparde
Amar Singh, Devi Lal, Manharan
20. Costume & Music - Nageen Tanvir
21. Play Wright - Habib Tanvir
22. Director - Habib Tanvir
L & S for CHOR:
Lights:
Spots – 6 : 1000 W
Spots – 2 : 500 W
Freznel – 12 : 1000 W
Par Lights – 6 : 1000 W
Dimmer : 18 channels
Gelatin : Pink, Amber, Blue
Sound:
Foot mikes : 4
Mikes on Stand : 2
Collar Mikes : 2
Amplifiers
A Communication:
The IIsc-Gymkhana and Spicmacay(IISc sub-chapter) have jointly
organized a Hindi play by Padmashree Habib Tanvir.
Name : Jis Lahore Nai Dekhya O Jamyai Nai
Venue : NIAS Auditorium(Behind Airfield)***
Date : 16/9/2002(Monday)
Time : 9.30 P.M.
Duration: 2 Hours
IMPORTANT
The play has been organized free for all Gymkhana members. The ID cards
need to be produced at the Entrance. The gates will be closed after the
program starts.
The Play
The play underlines the importance of pluralism, secularism and
communal harmony.
It is set in pre-independence Lahore and tells the story of an
old Hindu woman who refuses to leave her home when the rest of her family
migrates to India. She lives with a Muslim family and when she dies, they
decide to give her a burial as per Muslim rites. But the Maulvi advises
them to cremate her as she was born, and died a Hindu......
Habib Tanvirji
Dramatist and poet, Padmashree Habib Tanvir is the director of Naya
Theatre which he founded in 1959 in Bhopal, India. Tanvir's Naya
Theatre, whose actors are aboriginal folk artists from the Chattisgarb
region of central India, combine western classics such as Shakespeare
with traditional Indian legends in a breath-taking pop art blend.
Apart from giving performances all over India, Naya Theatre also
engages in frequent foreign tours in the former Soviet Union, the UK,
and Europe.
He is the recipient of many awards including Sangeet Natak
Academy Award; the Fringe First Award for his play Charandas Chor at
Edinburgh International drama festival; Nandikar Award for Drama;
Aditya Vikram Brila Kala Shikhar Award for Theatre; Hindi Sahitya
Sangha Bhavabhuti Award for Literature and this year awarded the Padma
Bushan, one of Indias highest civilian awards, from the Government
of India.
Habib Tanvir has succeeded in becoming a legend in his own lifetime.
His life is a chronicle of activism and struggle through the theater,
and indeed, despite the short notice, we are fortunate to have a chance
to meet him here in the IISc.
Do not miss this extraordinary opportunity to meet the man, and learn the craft
from a master.
Regards,
Convenor-Cultural Club
IISc-Gymkhana
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You see I like the other directors of Tagore's VISARJAN went through the whole exercise of producing it. Many directors of the play before me have been attracted by the play's theme and to their cost they realized, including Sombhu Mitra and younger directors subsequently (of course I have seen none of these productions) of the play's inherent pitfalls. Early this year I made a joint production of VISARJAN with my theatre company and Usha Ganguly's 'Rangkarmee.' During that time I went on de-structuring the play, looking at the sequences, the scene changes, etc and somehow I was not happy. Even the technical aspects of the production began to bother me. I was not happy with the lights for instance but we went on to do several shows. Eventually we sorted out some of the hurdles we were facing. People accepted the play but some close friends expressed their doubts. I too experienced a terrible sense of failure.
Whose original idea was it to do the play? Yours or 'Rangkarmee's'?
It was my idea. For a long time I wanted to do the play because of its very interesting theme of conflict between morality and ideology. Sombhu Mitra was in fact a very good actor; even his wife Tripti Mitra was a scintillating actress. They had houseful shows of VISARJAN and yet after four or five shows Sombhu Mitra decided to close the production. The point is that the play is faulty. I too discovered that there was something wrong with the play. Then Shaumik Banerjee told me that the only way I could compensate for the failings of the text is to make changes by incorporating my ideas in it. It was left to him to tell me how everyone who had attempted VISARJAN had failed. He assured me that I could do my writing of it since the problems surrounding copyright issues would not bother me. I was worried because I knew that I would have to possibly counter the parochial attitude of those Bengalis who revere Tagore and for whom he is an icon. However I took the scholar's suggestion and decided to do some of my own writing.
How does the novel 'Rajarshi' fit in with all this?
I'll come to that. But first let me give you the complete background to my adaptation. Tagore wrote SACRIFICE (VISARJAN) in English after the novel 'Rajarshi' in Bengali. VISARJAN is Tagore's first play and therefore perhaps it is faulty. He wrote the novel in 1890 and the play was written in 1893. He added the Queen's character (Gunwati) to the play, which is not there in the novel. Even Aparna's character he brought to the play. But despite I believe what were Tagore's good intentions the play became very sketchy. In fact I first called my production BALIDAAN to move away from the association of VISARJAN. You see Tagore came into his own only in the twentieth century. His mature period began from 1920. He was a genius but it was only as he grew more experienced did he become more empowered. He was young when he wrote VISARJAN. He was obviously experimenting with the dramatic form. But yet his characters and his theme for the play are fascinating. What strongly attracted me to the play were the characters of Raghupati, the Purohit and of Jaisingh, his disciple and foster son. And there is no doubt that Tagore has developed these two characters to the hilt with all the metaphysical implications. But the character of the Queen is underwritten and so is the King's. In the novel for instance the characters of the King and even his younger brother, Nakshatra are fully written. The novel is a political intrigue with Raghupati, the Purohit plotting against the King Govindmanik. Eventually the king becomes a rishi and therefore the title, 'Rajarshi.' The plot in it is almost Machivellian in character like Chanakya. In my adaptation what I caught on to were character traits from the novel like Nakshatra's superciliousness. To develop the character of the Queen Gunwati, I took the cue from another of Tagore's well-known novel called 'Charulata.' Like Charulata, the queen feels neglected by her husband and begins to lavish her attention on her brother-in-law. But I had to show that there is acrimony between the King and the Queen, to the point perhaps that there are no sexual relations between them. In the original play it is not clear why the Queen so lacks a child. She just feels that if she will make an offering to the Goddess Kali in the form of a bali she will be blessed with a child.
So you're essentially saying that to overcome the shortcomings of the original play, you fused it with select episodes from the novel to not only give more credibility to the characters but to also convey perhaps a more sharper critique of the subject at hand…
Yes. Take the Raja's meeting with Hanhsi and her brother Tata from the novel. It is not that the King is not used to bloodshed. He has seen blood being spilt in the war. But when the child asks him a simple question: "Itna khoon kyun…" after she sees the blood of an animal sacrifice in the temple of Kali, the Raja is transformed. He begins to question the tradition from the child's point of view who later dies the same evening of a shock. When people who had seen my VISARJAN came for RAJ-RAKT, they said that the story now made sense to them because I have used the characters of Hanhsi and Tata from the novel. The adaptation makes the characters and the events plausible and convincing, which is not the case with the original play. Had I two actors, who could play children, I would have introduced a new scene. The pivotal scene between the Raja and the children in my adaptation could have been longer. I have pruned it but it is a story by itself. The dialogue between the children in the novel is indicative of Tagore's sensitive understanding of children. So to reiterate I found things in VISARJAN as well as in the novel to be illogical and therefore my adaptation. I am glad that I have been able to do justice to the adaptation because even though the copyright period is over for VISARJAN, the audience could have well said that I have tampered with Tagore's original work. However Shaumik who again saw the play said that on the contrary he felt that Tagore was restored. I do really think that with my adaptation, the original has gained in harmony and logic.
Did you have a ready script for your actors to work on or did some things emerge during rehearsals?
No No, I wrote the script first and that was it. I had to do it that way. Of course I discussed the issues in the play with my actors and also the physiological question of fertility, which prevents the Queen from having a child. I had to make my actors understand this. I gave them the example of Murli, an actor who had worked with us and who was Fida Bai's son. He had married thrice for the sake of a child but yet could not have one. I recall asking Murli if he had ever considered that something could be wrong with him and whether he had bothered to get his blood tested. I also read the novel to my actors and we discussed it. They were able to understand why I wanted to use the episode of Hanhsi and Tata with the King as the defining scene for our play.
What do the songs used in the play convey, especially the Bengali songs that the character, Aparna sings?
The songs are not by Tagore. They are a mixture of Baul and Jogi. They are folk songs that have a spiritual character. They were apt for Aparna because she embodies the spiritual. The dialogues between her and Jaisingh helped me identify the songs. Somebody in fact asked me why I have not used Rabindra Sangeet in the play and I told that person honestly that I don't like all of Rabindra Sangeet. I adore what is good of it but some of it can be very kitsch and cloyingly sentimental.
If I am not mistaken, all the earlier productions that I have seen of your plays like PONGS PUNDIT, GAON KA NAAM SASURAL…or your adaptation of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM have used only Chattisgarhi. Was there any particular reason why you decided to use a fair bit of Hindi along side Chattisgarhi in this play?
I have used Hindi in quite a few of my plays and now my actors are also at ease with Hindi as they are with Chattisgarhi. No there is no particular reason for using both the languages. But I must say that I have observed dialects being looked down upon. They are categorized as sub-standard languages. Now people who look down upon dialects do not realize the wealth of writers that the dialects have produced such as Tulsidas, Mirabai, Kabir and here I am naming only few of the greatest poets. By looking down on dialects, people have deprived the Hindi language of its rich growth. So I consider Hindi as ever has got so many shakhas. In Madhya Pradesh alone you have Udheri, Malvi, Bageri, Chattisgarhi, etc. So I never discriminate between one and the other.
*The interviewer is Editor of this site, a theatre critic and an academic keenly interested in Theatre and Performance Studies.
http://www.mumbaitheatreguide.com/dramas/interviews/habib_tanvir.asp
| Vol. XXVII No. 36 September 07, 2003 |
People's DemocracyArtists Protest Attacks On Habib Tanveer
ARTISTS and concerned citizens all over the country, and more specifically the people concerned with theatre, were galvanised to protest the series of attacks by the Sangh Parivar on noted playwright, theatre director and actor Habib Tanveer in Madhya Pradesh during his play Ponga Pandit last month. On September 1, Habib Tanveer's 80th birthday, artists, theatre artists and others gathered at the back lawns of the Vithalbhai Patel House, New Delhi, at the call of SAHMAT and Jan Natya Manch, to sing songs which Habib Tanveer uses in his plays, to put up the JNM play Yeh Dil Mange More, Guruji which innovated to include the attacks on Ponga Pandit, make statements of solidarity with Habib Tanveer, and express their resolve to defend the right to free expression which is coming increasingly under attack from the communal forces of right reaction. And as another eminent theatre director Rajindra Nath noted that the theatre community can fight these attacks only through its art, the occasion became a celebration of Habib Tanveer's creativity.
Theatre artist and director M K Raina said that an attack on Habib Tanveer is an attack not on an individual but on the entire Indian culture and the theatre movement in the country. Reminding the audience that Safdar Hashmi was killed during a performance 15 years ago, Raina said that if the Sangh Parivar thinks these attacks would deter Habib Tanveer, they are mistaken. It is time that all those involved with theatre take to streets in order to defend the right of freedom of expression, he added. Actress Nandita Das recalled her association with street theatre and described the attacks on Habib Tanveer as shameful and a blot on Indian cultural tradition.
Charging that the attacks were pre-planned, Sudhanva Deshpande gave a background of the attacks and the historical significance of the play Ponga Pandit. Present on the occasion were Ashish Ghosh, Moloyshree Hashmi and Brinda Karat, among others. Later at night a meeting to protest the attacks on Habib Tanvver was held at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.
Hope and home for theatre...
| ANJANA RAJAN speaks to Habib Tanvir who believes that there is more to theatre than just Hindi or Delhi-centric presentations... . |
Habib Tanvir... presenting stimulating theatre.
THE GROUNDS of Lady Shri Ram College in South Delhi are abuzz as the late afternoon sun slants down on the young women filing out of classes and heading home. Some however, head for the college auditorium, where the Bhopal-based Naya Theatre company is preparing to present its latest production, "Zahreeli Hawa" - a play by Rahul Varma, translated and directed by celebrated theatre director Habib Tanvir. Inside the auditorium, the air is calm. Habib Tanvir sits on the stage noting sound cues with a team member. Scattered among the rows of seats are the actors and singers - the Chhattisgarhi artistes that make the Naya Theatre unique as well as other members of the international cast that has got together for this production about the Bhopal gas tragedy. While some are seated quietly, others are to be found stretched on the ground asleep, or perhaps they are practicing shavasan, yogic relaxation. There is none of the panic or noise associated with the preparations for a stage show. No shouted instructions, no heavy stage props carelessly scraped across the stage, no voices raised in loud conversation.
Perhaps it is the effect of the association of the Tanvir family with the late Yoga guru and theatre personality Pandit Shambhu Nath, perhaps it is merely a calm born of knowing your stuff, believing in the message you are presenting rather than thinking of it as a performance. That would be the effect of the directors - Habib Tanvir and his wife Monica - who know the value of theatre as a medium to raise social awareness. Then again, it could be the effect of that characteristic pipe, whose leisurely flame rises softly from the bowl till the tobacco smoulders. The curlicues of smoke waft upwards, matching the impeccable English accent of the man responsible for making the Chhattisgarhi dialect an international theatre language.
Thought-provoking theatre is what Habib Tanvir believes in. "It should be stimulating, raise some pertinent questions, even if they are the commonest of questions." He mentions the status of women, dowry, arranged marriage, as issues that are taken for granted until the public is stirred to think about them. The questions raised may not be answered in the play, they may be left open. Of course, he adds, the thought provoking character of theatre should not take away from its artistic quality. "I am not talking about preachiness," he qualifies.
Liberalisation and globalisation are ruining our culture, he believes. They are "the bane of our civilisation", he adds.
Habib Tanvir is a veteran who has seen India's theatre scene grow since Independence. It was with great enthusiasm that institutions such as the Sangeet Natak Akademi, the National School of Drama and the various state Akademis were established to promote the theatre arts in India. One of the underlying hopes behind these institutions was that India would develop a national theatre. Today, with a multiplicity of groups struggling to keep the show going - what with the competition from films, television, the pressures of earning a living, a certain social laziness and sheer bad taste - it is doubtful whether we are at all nearer the goal of a national theatre. And in a country criss-crossed with linguistic and cultural diversity, is the term national relevant at all?
Habib Tanvir points out that there is a certain "Hindi imperialism" in the belief that if theatre is done in Hindi and in Delhi, it is national theatre. "That is bunk. It is a multicultural and multilingual society and as far as theatre is concerned it must be multilingual." Referring to notions such as national theatre as "much abused words," he states, "we shouldn't run after these terminologies which are fast turning to dust."
Habib Tanvir sits down to document life
Aditi Tandon
Habib Tanvir is on the path to rediscovery. After decades of purposeful engagement with the world of theatre, the thespian is on a reflective trail. There are countless questions pressing hard for answers and there are as many moments demanding total recall. An autobiography, in such a state, can be all but incidental.
Tanvir had long been planning "self-documentation" but the packed schedule on stages across the country hardly allowed him the privilege to indulge in self. But the matter has now become urgent. That explains Tanvir's urge to capture life, its formidable challenges, its wavering moods and mandates in his book, "Matmaili Chadariya".
In Chandigarh to stage a play on the inaugural day of the National Theatre Festival at Tagore Theatre, Tanvir said with a certain sense of pride that he had finally taken up the task he so much wanted to. From the space of performance to the space of literary engagement, Tanvir has carried along that one element which almost typifies him — the element of "folk". The title of his autobiography is a minor indication of his love for the dialect of Chhattisgarh. A major indication is the medium in which Tanvir has decided to express himself in his autobiography, "matra bhasha", he prides again.
Interviewing Tanvir has never been easy, for the sheer bluntness of his talk. But this time we get lucky by not making Tanvir repeat what he has been asserting saying for ages. But there is one observation he still loves making: "All art has to be anti-establishment. Society can never arrive at an ideal state. There is always room for criticism. I define art as Dhaka's Hilsa which tastes the best because it swims against the tide, not with it".
For Tanvir, theatre has been the very genesis of life. Literally having adopted Chhattisgarh folk artistes who form his group Naya Theatre, he has also opened his doors for youngsters from urban India. Every production is preceded by a theatre workshop in which folk artistes join hands with the freshers to create something more meaningful. Tanvir says: "This exchange is significant as it positively impacts the mind of everyone who is part of the production. My artistes are a class apart. They teach me the value of earthiness and spontaneity".
For the while, Tanvir is touring India with his new and old plays like "Agra Bazaar", "Ponga Pandit" and "Basant Ritu ka Sapna". Also at hand is the theatre festival at Prithvi Theatre in Mumbai. As the old repeats, Tanvir is working on a new play, "Zehreeli Hawa". Based on the Bhopal gas tragedy, the play will be another classic representation of the Tanvir idiom that draws from simplicity.
Tanvir is also planning to display his folk collections like musical instruments, costumes and jewellery. The idea is to lead the viewers into the world of folk which is rich and diverse. A strong critic of English theatre, Tanvir adds: "English theatre does not suit our genius. How I wish actors like Naseeruddin Shah had not taken to English plays. I hear Om Puri is acting in soaps in London. They are doing so much for money! I would rather do something which I intimately know". TNS
| Every element of good theatre is finely woven into Habib Tanvir's dramas- watching his presentations one feels as though one is turning the pages of life itself. No wonder his theatre has gained in relevance with passing years. Among the most famous of Tanvir's plays is "Charandas Chor". The play was staged on the first day of the National Theatre festival being organized at Tagore Theatre by Haryana Cultural Affairs Department. On the stage for 30 years. It was first performed in 1976. It even clinched the best production award at an Edinburgh festival in the UK. Fresh and stirring, the two-hour-long play flowed effortlessly, raising vital questions yet again. Through the story of Charandas, a thief wedded to truth, Tanvir creates a fascinating symbolism that becomes the very soul of the script. He inspires the character with strength, projects him as the man of truth, honesty and conviction and builds up the story around his life. Named Charandas, the thief goes about his business with fairness. During the course of time, he encounters a saint who questions the dichotomy of his character. "How can a thief be truthful?" questions the saint. Charandas proves himself by taking four vows which he guards at the cost of his life. The production also features Tanvir's daughter Nageen, who is among the lead vocalists in his group. Music is rich, so is the simple presentation. Tanvir makes the best use of space. The set is limited to a Chaupal and a tree. A satire on the corrupt and the wily who cheat everyone all the time, Tanvir immortalizes Charandas Chor, who exhibits the courage to pursue his conviction till the pyre. Deepak Tiwari in the role of the thief was outstanding, so were the other actors. TNS
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| Japanese artistes captivate with Hindi plays Humour spilled over at the Pracheen Kala Kendra, Sector 35, today as Japanese students proved their acting skills while staging, a Hindi Play ' Saavdhan Saasu ji'. Their grip on language was commendable. Rendering dialogues with the ease of natives, they succeeded in providing fun-filled moments. The play was a satire based on the evergreen topic of a cruel 'saas' and a timid 'bahu'. All the girl students played the role of typical Indian bahus, which was highly appreciated by the audience. Much to the delight of the viewers they even danced on the tunes of 'Dola re dola re' , a song from Devdas. The most hilarious part was the bahus coming together to form a 'Bahu smaj association'. Raising their voice against the tyranny of mothers-in-law they simultaneously created an awareness about the various provisions of the anti-dowry acts. They even made their own rules like to allocate 50 per cent household work to the mothers-in-law. The second play 'Kshudharhit Yug' also staged by the Japanese group, talks about basic instincts of hunger and sex. Set in the twentysecond century, this adaptation from Sasa Toshiyuki's Japanese original where the Japanese imagine human beings who have overcome not only basic instincts but also egoistic impulses as well. The first play 'Saavdhan Saasu Ji', written by Shail Chaturvedi and ' Kshudarhit Yug', were directed by the coordinator of Hindi, Department of South Asian Studies,Osaka University of Foreign Studies, Prof Tomio Mizokami. Mizokami is a postgraduate from Delhi University . He did his Ph.D on the subject- Socio-linguistic in migrant's languages in Jalandhar. The programme was organised by the Pracheen Kala Kendra at its Bhaskar Rao Indoor Auditorium. Hard work and passion to learn a foreign language brought out the best from the natives of ' Land of the Rising Sun' in the form of short plays in Hindi. While the accent of the language is considered a major hurdle by many foreigners, the Japanese troupe found it easy to handle the language. All the participants, including Hiroshi Takedachi, Yoshio Inoue, Lee Soon Young, Risa Haraguchi, Naoko Shibata, Kumi Sakai, Ryoko Yoshikawa, Yoshimi Tachikawa, Shiho Takagi and Tomyo Shimoi, played their roles to the point of perfection receiving applause from the audience. OC
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Naya Theatre Onstage
By Githa Hariharan
The Telegraph
03 November, 2003
The crowd at the JNU City Centre on Ferozeshah Road was mixed — there were passers-by, actors and theatre enthusiasts, students and teachers, a few toddlers, and some frail old people who had somehow managed to get to Central Delhi despite the evening traffic. Once the two actors went "onstage" — a small durrie that had obviously been laid on many muddy patches before — there was rapt silence, except for the occasional spontaneous burst of laughter. Watching all this from the side was theatre veteran, Habib Tanvir. Just before the performance, he spoke to the audience. He said he cannot imagine a more compact, effective drama form than the one we were going to see; and, he said, with quiet conviction, that he could not see anything in the play that should attract censorship.
Watching the play, it was not the vexed issue of censorship that was uppermost in my mind. It was the realization of a rare gift we have: an artist who selects the best of our traditional heritage and puts it to use in our own times, to take on our modern cultural needs, problems and questions. Over the years, this is what Habib Tanvir and his Naya Theatre have done. Habib Saab's plays have brought together a robust rural voice and a modern worldview, and he has arrived at this point through years of learning and honing his craft. From the early Agra Bazaar to the renowned and evergreen Mitti ki Gaadi, his plays have celebrated the language, humour, songs and stories of the Chattisgarhi peasants and tribals.
The result has been a wonderful vitality, to which Habib Saab has added his own unique modern Indian perspective. This means the India of his plays — or the world of his plays — is not romanticized; or parochial; or bigoted; or complacent; or satisfied with easy answers and labels. Whether the heart of the play is an idea, a historical episode, or certain cultural practices and institutions, its overwhelming thrust is to question, and to do this making use of simple, direct, energetic rural performing traditions.
Habib Tanvir recently turned eighty. There have been many tributes to his contributions to Indian theatre, and to his continuing work to strengthen the vital link between the theatre and real life; between the people on stage and those living in contemporary Indian society. The tributes are no more than what Habib Saab and his Naya Theatre deserve. It seems only a natural and logical response to admire and learn from such an artist — someone who has helped us understand our strengths and terrible pitfalls, in the most direct and lively manner possible. Indeed, this has been the response to his plays, not just in cities in India and elsewhere, but also in the rural India his plays draw their inspiration and energy from.
But there has also been another sort of reaction from some rather predictable quarters. Imagine the scene: the auditorium is full, and there is the usual air of anticipation that surrounds you just before a play begins. The Naya Theatre is about to perform two of their much-loved plays, Jamadarin urf Ponga Pandit and Lahore. Then one man in the audience gets up and raises his voice. He objects to the plays the audience is waiting to see. The man has seventeen supporters in the large audience. What happens next? Surely the little group of hecklers will be shown the door so that the play can go on? This is what should happen. But it doesn't. Instead, under the watchful eyes of the district collector, the police "escort" the audience out of the auditorium to protect them from seeing the plays. The actors perform to an empty auditorium.
This incredible scene is just one of those that have occurred in the last few months. Like their colleagues in the preceding scene, the goons of the RSS-VHP-Bajrang Dal-BJP ilk have also displayed their love for living Indian culture by throwing rotten eggs and chairs on the stage; by slogan-shouting during performances; by cutting power-supply to the auditorium; and by forcing audiences into leaving, or performances into being cancelled. It is as if our acultural fundoos have taken it upon themselves to illustrate that the bigotry Habib Saab's plays meet head-on is only too real. Given their passionate interest in culture, the attackers have not even seen the plays they are attacking. On being questioned, some of them have come up with reasons such as "a jamadarin being shown striking a Brahmin" in the play, Ponga Pandit. "This is a direct attack on our sanskriti." Or: "a man is shown entering a temple with his shoes on." Or: "a pandit should not be called a fraud (ponga)." Obviously, these self-appointed theatre critics do not know that we cannot write a play or a poem or a film or a novel with set rules about characters, action or ideas and beliefs. Even worse is the implication that "Muslim artists" should only portray and criticize the "Muslim" thread of our complex social fabric.
The play Ponga Pandit is accused of being — no prizes for guessing the charge — anti-Hindu. The play is critical, but not of Hinduism. What it does take on, with its combination of pure fun and social incisiveness, are aspects of our society that need critiquing as often as possible, and from as many points of view as possible. The caste system; superstition; priest craft; Brahmanism; and untouchability. Any self-respecting Hindu would be indignant if told that this is what constitutes Hinduism.
As always with instances of cultural vandalism, the timing is important. The play is by no means a new one that has instantly given offence. Two Chattisgarhi actors, Sukhram and Sitaram, put the play together in the Thirties, and since then, the play has been performed by generations of rural actors. Habib Tanvir's Naya Theatre, in fact, "inherited" the play from the rural actors who joined the troupe. Naya Theatre has been staging the play since the Sixties, and all over the country. No one found it objectionable or called it "anti-Hindu" all these years. What then has happened to the play since 1992 to make it offensive? Could it be that those who pulled down the Babri Masjid have since been looking for more and more victims in our shared cultural life to demolish?
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Jaipur, June 8. The Chief Minister Shri Ashok Gehlot has expressed deep grief over the demise of renowned playwright and theatre personality Habib Tanvir.
In his condolence message, Shri Gehlot said that Tanvir was a noted theatre personality of the country and he played a vital role in giving Indian theatre art a new recognition in India and the world.
The Chief Minister has prayed for granting peace to the departed soul and giving strength to the grieved family to bear this heavy loss.
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June 08, 2009
Habib Tanvir : The man who spoke without opening his mouth
I still remember Habib Tanvir inviting me on my request for an interview in Bhopal some four years back and then not speaking a word for almost an hour. From today, I am saddened that he will never speak at all. The highly talented playwright and theatre director Habib Tanvir died at the age of 85 this morning.
And when he spoke, he threw his frustration at the Gujarat riots asking me whether it is possible for any person to kill the other without any reason. "After all what is religion? How can you be swayed by political figures to kill each other. I just cannot understand," he put his silent mould again for another quarter to half an hour before asking me to sit on a chair. I was sitting on the ground till then in his theatre room as he was thinking of a new play. All his character actors, most of whom were from the nomad tribes, waited breathlessly to hear a word from him at the Naya theatre premises.
Agra Bazar and Charandas Chor were his famour creations but I was not interested in his plays. I was more interested in his comments on the Gujarar scenario as he planned a play on the massacre. I wanted to know the angle of the act and whether the play will indict Narendra Modi, the alleged mastermind behind the riots.
Soon I felt he was almost into a siesta. I asked the actors standing in front of me whether it was true. I asked them without opening my mouth in action languages that neither they could understand nor I could communicate. "No," came the reply from one of the youngest actors. Tanvir stood up and that when I came to know that he can walk well.
It was 3 hours by then and I could get no bytes for my radio story. I insisted that I need him to speak and only then my mission will be accomplished. He opened his mouth very well and spoke clearly his mind. I have his sound safely kept while some of them went with the story that was broadcast. But now those sounds will be archives forever. My tribute to this silent man.
http://binualex.blogspot.com/2009/06/habib-tanvir-man-who-spoke-without.html
'Habib Tanvir was the symbol of energy in theatre'
 Jabbar Patel | |||||||||||
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| • 'The father figure to Indian theatre' | |||||||||||
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Legendary theatre personality Habib Tanvir passed into the ages on Monday. Stage director Jabbar Patel, who also directed films like Dr Babsaheb Ambedkar, salutes his memory.
Habib Tanvir was the pioneer of many things in theatre. He was the first person to cast villagers and tribals in his plays. He had patience to work with tribals and look out for talent in them. He also introduced folk music in his plays.
He was a very genuine person. He told stories of exploitation, corruption and helpless people. He was in theatre with an agenda. His artistes were like family to him. He stayed with them so that he could take care of them.
I first met him when he came to Pune for a theatre festival with his play Charandas Chor. I was at the festival with my play Ghashiram Kotwal. We both loved each other's work.
I have learnt a lot from him, especially how to use different device of music in plays. He never used too many items on the stage and used the human body as props in a big way. He introduced make belief theatre. He was a follower of Marxism and incorporated many of his ideas in plays.
We would often meet at Theatre Academy, Pune's festivals. He was very transparent and open-minded person. He believed in human rights. He was not happy with the way democracy was used in our country.
Though I never worked with him, I did a documentary for Film Division on Milestones in Indian Theatre where his play Charandas Chor was used. He also spoke on the definition of theatre in that documentary.
I met him last about three years ago at Mumbai's [Images] Nehru Planetarium. He had come there with five plays. One could see that he was aging and looked tired. But his energy and clarity of thought was the same. His thirst was still the same.
I am 25 years younger than me, yet he was a good friend. I will miss him. He was the symbol of energy in theatre.
As told to Patcy N
 Nadira Babbar | |||||||||||
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| • Habib Tanvir is no more | |||||||||||
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Legendary theatre personality Habib Tanvir passed into the ages on Monday. Stage director Nadira Babbar salutes his memory.
I have known Habibsaab since I was a child. He was associated with the Left movement. He would come to my home regularly as my father Syed Sajjad Zaheer was also involved in the movement. My father was like a father to him. He started doing theatre with the Indian People's Theatre Association and also joined the Progressive Writers Association with which my father was associated.
He became famous after he introduced his Chhattisgarhi style in his plays. He also brought theatre actors from villages in Chhattisgarh -- his home region -- to act in his plays.
By the time I joined the National School of Drama, he was a well-known theatre personality. After I graduated from the NSD, I joined him and acted in his play Suthradhar in 1977. I stayed in his group for a year. After that, I went abroad.
Habibsaab was a very innovative and creative writer. He was not a taskmaster. He was hard working and like a father figure to Indian theatre.
He wrote a play for the Congress party, Indra Sabha. The Congress was then pro-Left and believed in socialism; (then prime minister) Indira Gandhi [Images] had nationalised banks and the country made a lot of progress during her time. This play was written in praise of her.
When I started the Ekjute theatre group, we did his play Charandas Chor many times. It was well appreciated.
A couple of years ago, I met Habibsaab in Bhopal. I had gone with my theatre group to perform there. He came to see the play and liked it so much that he came backstage to congratulate me. He was healthy then.
He has been sick for a year, and had stopped working. I last spoke to him six months ago. I had inquired about him, and he sounded happy, not sick at all. He was discussing plans, and what he wanted to do.
I always admired Habibsaab's political convictions. No matter how much he was harassed by the ruling party or the fundamentalists, he stood his ground.
As told to Patcy N
http://movies.rediff.com/feature/2009/jun/08/nadiras-tribute-to-habib-tanvir.htm
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