You see, I was there in Lahore, to cue in the music of this
Hindustani adaptation of 6th Century Sanskrit play by Bodhayan,
‘Bhagwatajjukiyam’ (‘The Saint & the Prostitute’, which by the way, has
been especially invited in the Bharat Rang Mahotsav, NSD this year!). It is a
hilarious play with steps based on Bharatnatyam and hence, the music is
integral. I forgot the tapes entrusted to me the night before, at the hotel,
which was quite far from the Alhamra stadium, the grounds for the theatre festival.
But Baba Sir, our Director was prepared for it and as I wept, he told me not to
worry as he had brought the copies with him. Not just in Lahore, sometimes people
in Lucknow also asked me if he is my father and (my mother would probably have
killed me if she knew) I have replied, ‘Almost’.
We were at a new place, the music system was old which had
to be replaced and then I got the head phones very late, by which time the
rushed run-throughs were beginning, as the performances were to start soon and people
from the neighbouring stalls asked me to lower the volume... Only then I
realised the music was loud as I tested the new system with head phones... But
the harm was already done, as a senior actor from our team, you know how we
tend to get extra tense during production, cursed our own performance due to
the music!
This play has travelled with seniors of NIPA Rangmandli for
25 years. It has been so skilfully developed that the language has never been a
barrier for European/ world audience that has been mesmerised by it. The team
gets the required response and laughter at every punch! But this evening was
special, as Hindustani is very close to the Lahori audience’s heart but sadly the
magic was eluded as music got slightly delayed and the act was beginning to go
haywire when thankfully, the music composer rushed over to suggest I take the
head phones off; the extremely talented artists who were playing the saint and
his student, their bald wigs started coming off; the seasoned actors were just
trying to hold it together when out of nowhere the ‘Seth’/ rich man’s pearl
necklace fell open and spilled on the stage; and the ‘Yamdoot’/ ‘messenger of
death’ jumped hard while laughing, just the way he was supposed to, beside the
dead body of the prostitute he had killed by mistake, but his crown fell
nearby. The actor with great presence of mind, picked it up in one hand,
pointed at it, laughed with the audience and made his exit, dancing to the
music, which was right on track now.
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| The team's members have moved a lot, shifted homes... we just have this one photo available right now:) |
This photo was taken when we were waiting for Sir to say
something to us all, as we felt terrible but then rushed in a few cameramen.
One of them was a co-ordinator, whom I had consoled in the morning as he had sat
shocked after having received a scolding from the same senior actor. At this photo-op, I
realized he may have become an admirer of mine. He was taking his time on a
sophisticated camera; then, he indicated to me to put my chin down for correct
posture. And I obliged... But some other people noticed it too. One of his
friends asked, ‘Masla kya hai’? / ‘What’s the matter here?’ It was sweet, embarrassing
and still feels nice... the idea of being admired by a sensitive and intelligent
young man who sees you as a human being and respects your personal space.
The crowd wanted to interact happily and Sir sincerely told them that we shall need a few minutes to discuss on the next performance. They
finally left and we all desperately tried to convey that the next performance
will be better, while our Director sat quietly. As I apologised for the music,
he pointed out, that he had bungled up the lights too!
Next morning, some of the men from our team went to the
Bazaar. The Hotel concierge was spared the heavy Urdu one of our seniors had
been spewing on him ever since we had arrived, trying to coax him to engage in
the ‘Jamhooriyat’ and ‘siyaasatdaan’ (democracy & politicians) discussion!
Dr. Sanjeev told us that the Taxi Driver refused to take
money from them, “Aap India se aaye ho, aapse paisa lenge?/ “You have come from
India. How can I take money from you?”
Our performance that evening was smooth as butter.
Next morning, the rest of us went to the old bazaar. Here we
could see some women in Burqas. To meet back at that spot in half an hour, Anamika
& I separated from the group. We were accosted by a beggar. Anamika told
him she had change only in Indian currency. He said he will hold on to it for
the rest of his life. He further told us that whenever ‘they’ threaten to ban
Indian tv serials, these people threaten to shut the bazaars in turn! As we entered,
an adolescent boy at the corner shoe-shop began singing “Om jai jagdish Hare”.
He knew the full ‘aarti’ as we smiled and walked on. We bought a nice suit piece and earrings.
Back at the Alhamra grounds we got to interact with a few
co-ordinators who said something to the effect of, “Partition happened because
of ‘lalas’/ businessmen who simply wanted to profit financially.” And then we told
them how we were awestruck by the A-class gentry of Lahore that came to witness
theatre and the amazingly classy suits/clothes the women wore!
We all came back to India happily after Gunjan (Kathak) and Late Ravi Nagar (Classical Singing) had performed their
bits. We got to see a few nice acts by other teams as well.
After a couple of years, a friend asked me to work on a script
for a play based on a book, wherein I learned how the writer had been
tortured decades ago in the secret jail apparently, right under the Alhamra Stadium.
While the Indian Government has to do what is necessary for
saving the innocent and punishing the guilty, let us keep our faith intact, and pray for wisdom. Karma, they say, is created by
thoughts, words and actions. Best Wishes:)
