When Girish Karnad passed away in June 2019, we decided to pay a tribute to him that very month with a dramatised reading of excerpts from his plays, at the India Habitat Centre, Delhi. The evening was very successful, with a full house and luminaries of the film and theatre fraternity attending. We got offers to perform it in other locations. Then it struck me, why not make this a regular feature? The new generation was not familiar with the works of post-independence playwrights. They had ushered in the modern era in Indian literature, whose offshoots we are witnessing in the works of the younger generation. When the India Habitat Centre offered support, I jumped right into it.
Post Girish Karnad, our core group read from the works of celebrated playwrights of the 60s, 70s and 80s like Badal Sircar, Mohan Rakesh, Mahasweta Devi, Vijay Tendulkar, Habib Tanvir, Mahesh Elkunchwar and Dharamvir Bharati.
After the stalwarts, it was time for the newer playwrights to step in. We then read excerpts from the plays of Mahesh Dattani, the youngest of the tribe to taste international success. He belonged to the 90s generation of playwrights, writing about concerns of his decade. Today, his plays are part of the academic curriculum of several universities in Europe and the US and are considered classics of modern Indian literature.
A whole new generation established itself subsequently. Abhishek Majumdar, Manav Kaul, Purva Naresh and Neel Chaudhuri became the new stars in the theatre firmament. They wrote in English and Hindi. It all started with their selection by the Royal Court Theatre, London, through the Writers’ Bloc programme. This programme facilitates workshops with its awardees in London and the resultant works are eventually produced as ticketed shows in theatres. The international recognition then brought recognition and popularity at home for the three of them. Manav Kaul, however, sweated it out as an actor and writer in Mumbai, before becoming a star playwright.
These young playwrights don’t see themselves as ‘new kids’ in the theatre firmament – but the fact is that as an audience, we are slow to pick up the narrative. As one of them noted, writers even younger than them have already established themselves and it would not be correct to call them the newest entrants (having been around for about a decade). But their names have not yet been etched in the history of drama literature. They may be popular in theatre circles in their own city, but don’t have a national profile yet. But it becomes necessary to talk about their work because they represent how the young, urban Indian thinks.
Playwrights are mirrors of their times. Their sensibilities are tied to their socio-economic circumstances – as are the issues they deal with. Their writing styles are subject to that too.
A scene from a dramatised reading. Photo: By arrangement
History of dramatised readings
In the 1950s and 60s, India was still in the flush of its newly found independence. Hopes of building a great nation were high. The old problems of socio-economic disparity were confronted with determination by the movers and shakers who were positive about reversing the stigma of backwardness and bringing the country into the limelight of developed and progressive nations. Therefore, plays were optimistic in their outlook and the writing style was florid – a kick-back to the days of classic British theatre and Parsi melodramas (which eventually spawned Bollywood).
But the dream of a modern and progressive nation was shattered in the 70s. India still remained backward socially and economically. The old fault lines of caste, poverty and social injustice remained. Politically, a new and aspirational middle class was rising. The plays of that decade reflected it. Fables and folk theatre were still a strong influence and many, like Karnad, wrote about the socio-political issues in a folk format. His Hayavadana and Nagamandala are classic examples.
Girish Karnad (May 19, 1938-June 10, 2019) Photo: Facebook/Girish Karnad Fan Page
Political unrest brought about the birth of street theatre, also known as the Theatre of Resistance. Students mobilised crowds to present political issues through speeches and skits. Playwright Badal Sircar (Evam Indrajit, Pagla Ghoda, amongst others) and Safdar Hashmi were products of those times. Hashmi was murdered while performing Halla Bol, a protest play in Ghaziabad, by a rival political group.
Similarly, there was Mahasweta Devi, who wrote searing plays about the predicament of women in a patriarchal society; Mohan Rakesh and Vijay Tendulkar wrote about the changing relationship between men and women as women became more assertive. Leftist Habib Tanvir attempted to bring awareness to the marginalised tribal communities of Chhattisgarh through his plays that used folk tales as an educational tool. Younger writers like Mahesh Elkunchwar and Mahesh Dattani focused on the fluctuating equations in families, vis-à-vis a rapidly changing society.
The next generation of playwrights has the same concerns, which is the individual vs society. They are dissecting the current disconnection between the individual and society, which has brought homosexuality, homophobia, communalism, loveless relationships and the immigrant’s dilemma to the fore. A dark period with a sociological need to find out how and why we became what we are today. And the new writers facilitate that.
Our next presentation is a dramatised reading of excerpts from award-winning plays of this very generation. Abhishek Majumdar, Purva Naresh, Manav Kaul and Neel Chaudhuri’s interpretations of modern society will be read out on March 12, at The Theatre, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi at 7 pm. Entry is free on a first-come, first-served basis.
I am often asked, “Why not a full-fledged play, instead of a dramatised reading?” There are many reasons for it. First of all, it takes less time and money to prepare extracts, rather than a full-length play that requires many actors, sets and costumes. Secondly, it does not need weeks of rehearsals, which becomes a nightmare keeping in mind the traffic situation in the city. Thirdly, actor absenteeism, which is endemic, is less traumatic for the director. Last-minute replacements are easier. Fourthly, it enables us to present the essence of different plays of the same playwright, or perhaps the concerns of an entire generation within a short time span. Lastly, the attention of the audience rarely lags, as it is briefer than a play. Audiences today are attention deficient, thanks to the ubiquitous mobile phone – which always competes for attention in the hall. The number of times we have to request the audience to keep their phones switched off cannot be understated!
Sohaila Kapur is an actor, theatre director and playwright.