Venue: Meghdoot Theatre, Rabindra Bhawan
Date: 17 January 2016

Sangeet Natak Academy had organised a week long theatre festival “Natya Samagama” during 9- 17 January, 2016. They exhibited various pieces of contemporary theatre as well as traditional or folk theatre forms.

On the concluding evening, we saw “Kamdeo Ka Apna Basant Ritu Ka Sapna”, the noted thespian Habib Tanvir’s Hindi adaptation of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”.

The play, presented in the North Indian folk theatre format “Nautanki”, is a close version of Shakespeare’s works. Tanvir had stuck to translating the original script keeping the humour and theatrical expression intact. In fact, to add to the comedy, he had maintained the English names (“Quince”, “Flute”, “Bottom” etc.) on actors speaking the Chhatisgarhi dialect. The only aberration from the conventional Shakespeare style was perhaps the simple stage with no elaborate set or props. However, given the imagery created by the production, all these additional elements seemed redundant.

A few lines about Tanvir’s approach towards theatre in India would not be out of place here. Tanvir trained in theatre in Europe. When he returned to India, he created a theatre form that comprised urban actors as well as folk artistes. This was an altogether new theatrical language where contemporary styles seamlessly gelled with indigenous cultural expressions where no form was less important than the other. Tanvir is no more. However, his theatre group “Naya Theatre” of Bhopal has maintained this style.  Consequently, we saw various Bastar folk performances and the Chhatisgarhi language generously used in a mainly Hindi script.

It was a cold evening at the open Meghdoot Theatre at Rabindra Bhawan and the torches lit at various corners were thoughtful but not of much help. Notwithstanding, the steps of the amphitheatre were packed with many stood wherever they could and watched the play till the end.

We are used to light comedies / loud street theatre genre or celebrity plays on the stages of Delhi NCR.  However, one has to see this unique production to believe that Shakespeare’s work can be transformed into such local forms without compromising on the theatrical essence. The Delhi audience, including us, completely mesmerized by the performance, lapped up this treat. Braving the uncomfortable chill, the whole house moved only after the final bow.

It is sad that many of this generation have not heard of Habib Tanvir, a vanguard in Indian theatre. We hope that theatre organisations would bring more of his works for us.