40 years on, Naat Mela cuts to present

That the non-descript town of Barnala would inherit a proud theatrical heritage is difficult to imagine. But here, on the stage of Maha Shakti Kala Mandir, fact and fiction come together in the roaring applause of an audience that has consistently showed up despite the threat of death.
The annual Naat Mela, one of the oldest theatre festivals in Malwa region, completes 40 rather eventful years this February. The festival was the result of a defiant call that went up after Emergency was lifted in 1977. In the face of a clampdown, the performing arts became a powerful expression of existence and individuality here in the Malwa hinterland.

Through the decades, curtains were raised at the appointed time, even when guns blazed at the height of militancy. Performers and their patrons took their places at the Maha Shakti Kala Mandir as the state fell apart under an orgy of violence. Plays were staged all night with flimsy security cover. In 1992, the local administration warned organisers against holding the festival, expressing its inability to provide foolproof security. When theatre groups from Punjab and Haryana were informed, they agreed that the show must go on - security or no security. Sure enough, stage lights were turned on.

Beyond the written word

Stage plays, nukkad nataks (street plays), mime and choreographies form the repertoire of the three-day theatre festival. Teams come from across Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir and even from Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh to perform at the festival, which will be organised from February 2 to February 4 this year.

"While Barnala had its share of writers of the likes of Sahitya Akademi Award winners Ram Sarup Ankhi and Mittar Sain Meet and Shiromani writer Om Parkash Gasso, there was a void where theatre was concerned. But the intense suffering of Naxalism, emergency and what happened nearly three decades ago in 1947 were waiting to be expressed in the form of plays. Eventually, this became the mainstay of the Naat Mela," said Maha Shakti Kala Mandir organising secretary Anil Dutt Shama.

Two lecturers from the local SD College, Prof Jai Parkash Garg, N D Sharma, accountant Kaur Sain Garg, Sham Sundar, Sat Bhushan Goyal and others came together in 1977 and decided to organise the theatre festival. Announcements were made in town about the natak (play) to be staged at Maha Shakti Kala Mandir at night. But late in the evening, the team that was to perform backtracked. The organisers contacted a theatre group from Rampura Phool, around 30 kilometres away, who saved the day by hurriedly reaching Barnala and staging a play, recalls Anil Dutt.

Taking centrestage

Punjabi comedian Rana Ranbir has been a regular at the fest for many years and satirist-turned MP Bhagwant Mann also used to perform here. Also, weather today is not what it used to be a few years ago.

In the initial years of the fest, the first week of February was relatively cold and artists from various teams used to bring their own quilts and blankets. They would stay up all night, wrapped in quilts. The fest has been a launchpad for many budding artistes.

When the idea of staging plays was conceptualized, organisers did not have a proper place and the open stage where Ram Leela was performed was used. Old timers remember a day in the 90s when there was heavy rain on the day the play was scheduled.

"Artistes drained water from the venue with buckets all day. The episode underscored the need for an auditorium, which was constructed with the help of philanthropists a decade ago," said organisation president Inderpal Garg, district attorney in Barnala.

The theatre fest, which began on invitation basis emerged as a prestigious event and was turned into a competition in the 1980s, with teams from far-flung areas vying for the award. For the last few years, the festival has been dedicated to founder members Prof Jai Parkash Garg, Sham Lal Layalpuri, Sham Sundar Mittal and Mata Lajwanti.