Download Mumbai`s Forgotten Theatre People! Ramu Ramanathan

Mumbai's Forgotten Theatre People!
Ramu Ramanathan*
Mumbai is a city with many cities in it. Its theatre is diverse and varied. How does one characterise it?
There are different types of theatre in Mumbai. But there is ignorance about it. Theatre remains a
peripheral underdog activity. There are hundreds of unsung heroes and heroines, out there. It is our
tragedy that we don't know their names, nor of their existence. Because they are the real creators of
Mumbai. Their voices have been suppressed. Beneath the Mumbai Shining syndrome, there's discontent
and anger. This paper identifies a few trends discerned in Mumbai. Some of the cultures in evidence may
see a conflict of ideas and beliefs, but hopefully the conflict will be clarifying and instructive. Some of the
identities in evidence may see a conflict of ideas and beliefs, but hopefully, the conflict will be clarifying
and instructive.
[Paper presented at the Regional Multiculturalism sponsored by the Canadian Studies Programme and
Centre for Performing Studies in Theatre
held at University of Pune on March 4 and 5 th 2006.]
Playwright, Editor PT Notes. Email:
Five years ago, I met a columnist cum renowned editor who penned a literary column for one of
India's most politically correct newspaper. His column examined novelists, short story writers,
travel writers, poets, biographists, essayists and even filmmakers. But not a single playwright.
Not even my oversight. I pointed this out. He asked me where I come from. I told him, Mumbai.
He asked me what I do. I told him I try to write plays. And then he said, ah, I didn't know there
are playwrights in Mumbai. This was a well-bred put down. So I informed the columnist cum
renowned editor, there are as many as 2000 performances in a month in Mumbai.
This includes, mainstream theatre in four languages, quieter work in smaller spaces; intercollegiate, inter-association and other competitions, workers & women theatre, etc.
Not just that. There are more playwrights in Vile Parle east (a suburb in Mumbai) in the rest of
the country. The columnist got interested. He queried as to why Vile Parle east was a centre of
excellence? I told him it had to do with the Parle Municipality, whose superior water supply
nourished playwrights!
Mumbai is a city with many cities in it. Its theatre is diverse and varied. How does one
characterise it. There are different types of theatre - making itself felt – in Mumbai. But there is
ignorance about it. Theatre remains a peripheral underdog activity.
I'll try to identify a few trends, which I've discerned in Mumbai. Some of the cultures in evidence
may see a conflict of ideas and beliefs, but hopefully the conflict will be clarifying and
instructive. Hopefully?
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November 2006
This is a country with multiple identities. Its theatre is diverse and varied. How does one
characterise it. There are different types of theatre – making itself felt - in Mumbai. But there is
ignorance about it. Theatre remains a peripheral underdog activity.
I'll try to state a few identities, which I've discerned in Mumbai. Some of the identities in
evidence may see a conflict of ideas and beliefs, but hopefully the conflict will be clarifying and
instructive. Hopefully?
With the evolution of modern drama, the theatre has evolved. In 1846, the Grant Road theatre in
Mumbai, known, as Shankersheths Natyashakha was a castle-like structure, equipped with stage
machinery but lit with coconut and oil lamps. These theatres witnessed a variety of plays, from
Shakespearean to Indian myths like Harishchandra to Nala Damayanti. Plays like Indrasabha had
a bit of everything: songs, fairies and demons appearing from the sky, and real horses to for
battle scenes.
One of the reasons, why theatre like Natyshakha fell out of favour, is because our theatrical
sensibility was modified. For example, when Mr Cabraji built the Esplanade Theatre in 1876, he
provided electric lights and fans. Similarly, the New Novelty Theatre, which was renovated and
renamed as the Excelsior Theatre, could accommodate 1400 seats had a 60 feet deep stage and
height; and hydraulic machinery to fly up entire sets. These changes were in keeping with certain
modifications in the theatre of the time. Until then, the scenery merely provided a background;
actors performed in front of the scenery rather than in the midst of it.
But all that changed, the forestage decreased in size, and the space for the audience increased
until the entire production took place behind the proscenium arch.
For example, in the sultry, sweltery days of 1944, when there were no air-conditioners, there
were theatres like Baliwala Grand Theatre (Playhouse), wherein a play opened with a loud bang
of exploding potash, whilst the curtain was being raised. And even as the audience went silent
and attentive, occasional shouts from the vendors around the theatre percolated the auditorium.
Pista-Badam – Chopdi - Punkha - Uthav Jaldi and the incessant extolling of the ticket-seller
"Khel Abhi Chalu Hua."
For some of the performances in the Gothic-style theatre like Victoria, Rippon, Baliwala, the
drama companies used to bring their own main curtain, which was operated by two men. Since
the curtain pullers often dozed off, the cue to bring down the curtain was a shrill blast of a
whistle. During one of the shows, the curtain pullers who were asleep were awakened by a shrill
whistle, and so, they hurriedly brought down the curtain in the middle of the scene. It was only
later that it was found out that the whistle was not blown by a prompter but by a BEST traffic
conductor on the street.
Dorab R Mehta, a producer of plays in the fifties reminisces "from the bug-infested stuffy old
theatres, we now have air-conditioned luxury. While amenities for the theatre-goers have
increased, stages have become smaller, limiting the scope of grandeur in the stage props.
Formerly, a dramatist had a larger canvas.
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One misses the glamour and spectacle of the older dramas. For instance, I was astonished to
find a huge steamer rolling in on the Baliwala Theatre stage in a play of
mine. The
imposing scene depicted the docks and other steamers in the background.
Besides
this, Bhangwadi has shown some spectacular scenes like fire-engines or a
train
rushing on a stage or a modern operation-theatre with surgeons in
attendance."
Old-timers still recollect Madon Company's extravagant play YAZDEZARD
SHERIAR at the
Royal Opera House in which girls danced with lit mashaals around a
titanic, but
pretty water-fountain which possessed coloured light-effects. The audience
in the
front rows swear they felt the spray from the fountain.
The point to note is, the stress was on the individual, as opposed to
extravaganzas
and ceremonial rituals on stage. This meant less reliance on chorus and
monumental
scenic designs, which included chariots, airborne clouds and battlefields. Of
course, the increasing prominence of the individual actor has taken place
over a
period of several hundred years, but the real transition began can be
attributed to
the arrival of playwrights like Henrik Ibsen and Anton Chekov on the
theatre scene
in the nineteenth century. These playwrights ensured that the privileged
setting of
the modern drama was the family home. And so, the dramatic interior, as it
were,
contained the history of a process, which began in the nineteenth century
and is
still unconcluded in the twenty-first century.
>From the late nineteenth century on, the image or idea of home has
reigned supreme.
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The fully iconic, single-set, middle-class living room of realism produced
so close
and so complete a stage world that it supported the new and powerful
fantasy of the
stage. This box set (as it is referred to in Mumbai) has dictated trends in
playwriting in Mumbai-Pune and other centres.
Dorab Mehta who is an old timer from the Parsee theatre states, "with the
advent of
the movies, audiences were no longer interested in spectacles. Audiences
wanted to
see the actor and more importantly hear him." Mehta then speaks about the
performance of plays at Sunderbai Hall, which is used, for sale of sarees,
toiletries, hardware, etc. The proprietor would fill the audience with
chairs for
the audience. There were 2-3 overpowering fans that made a rumpus. Those
members of
the audience seated near the fan would request, the fans to be shut. But
that lead
to protests from the rest of the audience. So the proprietor did the next
best
thing. He switched on the fans, and distributed copies of the play script
to those
members who were seated near the fan. So, you watched the play and read it,
simultaneously.
Such is the tradition this city.
Even the Chabbildas movement on the mid-seventies was a rejoinder to
Shivaji Mandir.
It was a reaction to the star-studded, stand-and-deliver, box set plays of
Shivaji
Mandir. The Chabbildas space was much more informal, much more flexible.
The stage
was at ground level and the stage lights and wings were makeshift. Seating
arrangements included a few chairs and bhartiya baithak. Many playwrights &
directors used this to their advantage.
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Chabbildas became a laboratory for the nuclear family, for modern
humanism. But if
you observe carefully, most plays from Tendulkar to Rangayan's version of
Ionesco
were grappling with the painful politics of location, of home, of exile.
The point is, theatre space has dictated creations on the haloed stage.
More so, in
a city wherein real estate costs can nullify, all.
Today, there's a temptation to closet Mumbai's theatre scene into
easy-to-swallow
capsules of star theatre (Naseeruddin Shah, Paresh Rawal, Anupam Kher, Vikram
Gokhale, Dilip Prabhawalkar, Prashant Damle); or commercial plays at
Shivaji Mandir
or Bhaidas or NCPA; or the Festivals at Prithvi, Nehru, and the recent Mumbai
Theatre Fest. Blinkered by class & caste, we tend to completely and
conveniently
ignore the majority of plays which are not performed in spaces, other than
these.
This is our loss.
For me, theatre is about the potency of the Word, and as long as the Word
battles
on, there is hope!
I attended a reading by Vijay Tendulkar. It was a simple, unfussy format.
He was
alone on an enormous stage in Mulund, accompanied by a few sheets of
papers. He read
his favourite poems by the new generation of Marathi poets, short stories,
even
newspaper columns. Basically, fragmented thoughts, and remarkably, the
audience sat
in rapt attention for more three hours. This was the magic of the Word. Of
course,
it helps matters that Tendulkar (in the finest tradition of Marathi
playwrights) is
a brilliant reader. It also provided a big boost to the popularity ratings
of the
poets, authors, essayists.
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Then, on cue, there was a bit of drama. Tendulkar began reading Jayant
Pawar's
interview with a death clerk in the Worli crematorium. Jayant Pawar, is a
playwright-journalist (like Tendulkar was). He had conducted the interview
in the
early nineties. This interview was read by Vijay Tendulkar in an 1500 seater
auditorium in Mulund. The audience was spell bound. This was because, the
death
clerk unselfconsciously discusses the deathliness of death with disarming
honesty.
The facts make a mockery of all our fancy notions of Hindu death rites.
Inevitably,
a few members of the middle-class, Brahmin audience raised a ruckus. It
was a bulls
eye. Tendulkar had scored.
Tendulkar paused, and enquired, if he should continue, and he did so,
unruffled.
Since then, Tendulkar has been having these readings at small gatherings,
Municipal
Schools. And through poems, essays, and Jayant Pawar's interview (which is
dying to
be adapted onto the stage), Tendulkar celebrates the sense of dialogue.
Of course, there are obstacles. And the first thrust of control is usually
directed
towards the performing art. Since they are easy, soft targets. Recent history
indicates that authoritarian powers are now aiming first at control of the
performance arts media rather than the print media since the latter are more
vulnerable to manipulation.
This is the main reason, Mumbai & Maharashtra has witnessed a longish saga of
"banned" plays: Keechak Wadh by K P Khadilkar, Sakharam Binder and Gidhade
by Vijay
Tendulkar, Mee Nathuram Boltoy by Pradeep Dalvi, Bedtime Story by Kiran
Nagarkar,
Yada Kadachit by Santosh Pawar, Avadhya by C T Khanolkar, Golpeetha by Suresh
Chikhale. The list is endless. And Tendulkar is in the midst of this
battle in a
Maharashtra which bans bar girls, makes people stand up for national
anthem before a
Bollywood or Hollywood phillum, silences voices of dissent.
The recent ban on the title: Maruti and Champagne is a case in point.
We're living
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in dangerous times. And theatre is a powerful tool. At times, the fight is
from
within the tradition.
For instance, the sort of thing, Vithal Umap does with JAMBHOL AKHYAAN.
The play is
entertaining, but it teases you, asks questions, and above subverts
established
norms. Its a performance of a lifetime. Everyone must watch Vithal Umap,
now 75,
transform himself into Draupadi, Yashoda, Radha and narrator in JAMBHOL
AKHYAAN.
I've watched this play more than a dozen times, and have been enthralled
by the play
and the robust performances.
But other than a handful of connoisseurs, have theatrewallahs and
audiences in
Mumbai embraced Shahir Vithal Umap? The answer is a resounding, no!
We're careless. We needn't be.
In Mumbai, theatre is everywhere. It springs up in maidans like the
Jambori Maidan
which is hosting a month long Kamgar Fest (the oldest theatre fest in this
city). Or
even Ram Lila. Last year, I saw three different troupes. And all three Ram
Lilas
were surprisingly competent, solid and with goodish audiences. Again, the
Word was
deployed to raise uncomfortable questions to the so-called proponents of
Hinduism!
These were not progressive groups with progressive agendas. These were
ordinary
people enacting Ram, Sita, Ravana. For e.g. a research assistant in a
Government
Hospital or an employee in the Railways.
This is not a new phenomenon. This city has always had its greatest actors
from
amongst the udnerdogs and working class. There was a time this city
celebrated Amar
Sheik's Kalapathak. Or as Madhukar Nerale loves to narrate, Tamasha shows
at Hanuman
Theatre. Both have been forgotten. We have a collective amnesia about the
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contribution of Shahir Krishnarao Sable (77 years. singer, writer, performer,
loknatya producer-director). We've forgotten Sheikh Janu Chand (63 years,
a bard who
led a group called Amar Kalapthak); Shivaji Divte (55 years, run a bhajan
mandali
but a tailor by profession); Maruti Gyandeo Satkar (50 years, and an
activist with
the Pimpalgaon Gaonkari Mandal situated in Lower Parel).
I attended a meeting of Tamasha Groups and Tamshgirs at Hanuman Theatre. A
scary
scenario is unfolding.
The Supreme Court ruling which bans loudspeakers between 10pm and 6am is also
affecting tamasha groups. Raghuvir Khedekar, a Tamashgir from Ahmednagar,
says, "the
show begins at 9.30 and ends in the morning. if we perform for only 30
minutes, the
local audience will burn our tents." What now? As audiences are aware, a
single
night's performance during a mela or jatra includes: lavani, vagnatya, and
so on.
This entails a longish performance.
Apparently, a single Tamasha group spends Rs 15 lakh, each. An estimated
1,60,00
artistes and other group members earn their annual livelihood through such
performances. Most tamasha artistes do not own a field or have a roof over
their
head. At the moment, the turnover is Rs 15 crore, and yet all the Tamasha
companies
have heavy debts. They dont get loans from banks or other financial
institutes. They
pay interest of 5% per month. a loan of 10000= 16000 in a year. There are
30 big
companies and many small companies. The licence fees are exorbitant at Rs
26000 per
annum.
What now?
Besides Tamasha and Lok Shahiri, a lot of other theatre movements are
being ignored.
For example, Mumbai has a strong tradition of Telegu plays.
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Telugu people, who constitute about 10% of Mumbai's population, have
carved a niche
for themselves in the city. Telugu people can euphemistically be called the
"Builders of Mumbai" because the CST station, the Municipal Corporation
building,
the General Post Office building, the High Court building, the Bombay
University
building, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Museum building etc. have been built by
contractors and construction workers from Andhra Pradesh.
A majority of Telugu people who migrated from Andhra Pradesh to Mumbai
were from the
working class. Their main concern was survival. That was why they did not
pay much
attention to fine arts or performing arts. As such there was not much
Telugu theatre
till 1947. The Jaihind Natya Mandali was formed in 1947 by enthusiastic
youngsters
who stayed in the labour dominated area of Sayani Road.
Somal Bhumeshwar wrote and directed 550, which was based on a real life
incident. It
was a family drama and had repeat performances. Its songs are sung in remote
villages of AP even today by those who returned from Mumbai after
retirement. Later,
the same troupe staged social plays such as KAPATA STREE about a cunning
lady,
DARIDRA JEEVULU about the plight of the downtrodden, etc.
Bhagavatam (Yakshagaanam) - There were groups of mill workers in the areas
of Lower
Parel and Prabhadevi who used to stage Bhagavatam (Yakshagaanam) and
Chirutala
Bhagavatam (both are forms of Telugu theatre) in the compound of their
chawls or in
by lanes on Saturday nights since Sunday used to be a holiday. The shows
were mainly
mythological productions, with artificial ornaments and gaudy costumes. The
performances used to go on till the wee hours of the mornings and used to
end with
Haarti (which is similar to Aarti) when the audience used to give their
contributions. Most of such performances were discontinued in the early
60s mainly
due to lack of patronage and consequent loss of interest among the
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performers.
The period between 1960 to 1985 can be termed as the golden period of
Telugu theatre
in Mumbai. While on the one hand dramas were staged by Jaihind Natya Mandali,
Suvarna Sangham and few others in the labour dominated areas of Lower
Parel, Worli,
Sayani Road, Prabhadevi, etc, on the other hand even educated and
enthusiastic
white-collared young people became active and started staging social
dramas at the
open air theatre of Bombay Andhra Mahasabha and Gymkhana, Dadar.
During 1958-61, C Kanakambara Raju, who taught at the Andhra Education
Society's
High School, took an initiative and directed plays in which the students
participated as actors and back-stage artists. Notable among these plays
was RANGA
BHOOMI written by S M Y Sastry. This play humorously dealt with the teething
troubles of amateur artists while staging a drama - the quarrels among
them and
their attempts at one-upmanship. Curiously enough, the group encountered
identical
problems while staging the drama.
The unemployed youth who had come to Mumbai in search of jobs after their
studies,
used to visit Bombay Andhra Mahasabha and pass their time by playing or
reading in
the library. Such persons, under the guidance of veterans like
C K Raju, P D Nageswar Rao Koochimanchi Venka-teswarlu, etc. staged social
dramas at
Bombay Andhra Mahasabha. Certain connoisseurs like Alapati Manikya Rao
used to bring
troupes on contract basis and organise shows, especially musical
mythological plays.
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In 1964, P Nageswar Rao organised a show of the famous RAKTA KANNEERU of K
Nagabhushanam. RAKTA KANNEERU had the distinction of being staged over
2000 times.
It used to camp and there were daily shows for weeks together at various
centres in
Andhra Pradesh. The show was a great success in Mumbai too.
Then there's Kannada theatre.
The first Kannada play written and staged in Mumbai was Suri Venkataramana
Shastry's
IGGAPPA HEGGADEYA VIVAHA PRASANGA (Ref: Kannada Rangabhoomiya Nadeda
Banda
Daari - a
History of Kannada Theatre - by various authors. Edited by Sriranga) way
back in
1887. From then on, the path charted by Kannada theatre has been
noteworthy, with
its own quota of agony and ecstasy. It has largely been the effort of various
amateur groups and organisations.
Over a period of a hundred years from its inception till the mid 90's,
Kannada
theatre in Mumbai had produced 48 playwrights who had written about 150
plays.
These works could be categorised as:
·
Original Kannada plays or based on Kannada novels / fiction - 110
·
Translations or adaptations from Marathi - 25
·
Adapted from English novels, short stories, films, etc. - 12
·
Translations of Hindi plays - 3
Further, these plays could also be grouped as:
·
Mythological plays - 10
·
Historical Plays - 10
·
Political plays - 5
·
Social plays - 125
Subject of the plays - the changing trends
The early decades up to the late 40's were dominated by mythological plays.
Professional Kannada theatre in Karnataka, with stalwarts like Gubbi
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Veeranna,
Subbaiah Naidu, Mohammad Peer, Raghavachar, etc. had made spectacular
presentations
on mythological themes. Music played a dominant part in these plays.
Actors used to
sing live on the stage to the accompaniment of instruments. Kannada
theatre in
Mumbai also followed this trend till 1947.
By 1948, this gave way to social plays. Newer playwrights like T P
Kailasam and
Sriranga ushered in a new era, which encouraged amateur theatre activity.
Soon other
playwrights like Naa Kasturi, Da Ra Bendre, G P Rajaratnam, V K Gokak,
Parvatavani,
Kshirasagara, etc. also brought out a number of social plays, which gave a
fillip to
the amateur Kannada theatre. This trend was followed in Mumbai too.
However, many of these plays tended to be verbose and lacking in other
dramatic or
visual elements. This disenchantment prodded the groups to come up with
their own
plays. The wave of absurd plays, which swept the Kannada theatre in
Karnataka in
70's, had its impact in Mumbai too. Kannada theatre of Mumbai too
experimented with
many absurd plays during that period.
Amidst this general trend, some musicals, some mythologicals and some
children's
plays have also been written and presented.
During 1933-37, public shows of the well-known playwright T P Kailasam's
plays were
staged under his own direction at Napoo Hall, Matunga. It is said that
for one of
these plays, T P Kailasam himself wrote the copy for the handbill, and in his
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typical style of humour added, "separate seats for up-to-date memsaabs.
if you
bring your brawling brat, be prepared to bear the bill for chloroform ".
Kailasam's
play NAMMA CLUBBU is believed to be inspired by the Association.
To Conclude.
These are just a few names. There are hundreds of unsung heroes plus
heroines, out
there. Its our tragedy that we don't know their names, nor of their
existence. Coz'
they are the real creators of Mumbai. Their voices have been suppressed.
But beneath the Mumbai Shining syndrome, there's discontent and anger. The
dam shall
burst, and along with it, a torrent of Words, shall flow!
Hopefully, then we shall listen?
RR
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