The Seventh Day: Sangeet Natak Akademi Awardees’ Festival

The Seventh Day: Sangeet Natak Akademi Awardees’ Festival New Delhi, July 29: The seventh day of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Awardees’ Festival, featuring recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards 2010, being held between 23-31 July in the premises of Sangeet Natak Akademi (SNA) here, witnessed one performance by noted artiste, namely – Urmil Kumar Thapaliyal (Bahadur Kalarin – a play in Awadhi). Profile of artiste is detailed below: URMIL KUMAR THAPALIYAL Born in 1943 in the village of Dhaudhan Mason in the Garhwal hills of present-day Uttarakhand, Shri Urmil Kumar Thapaliyal began his career in theatre as an actor in Ramlilas staged in Dehradun and adjoining areas. He learnt Garhwali and Kumaoni folk music during his formative years as an actor-director. He is the founder-director of Darpan, a theatre group of Lucknow.Shri Thapaliyal has directed around a hundred and forty plays for Darpan and other groups, moulding traditional theatre forms in his productions. Among notable plays written and directed by him are Harishchanner ki Ladai, Nagri Nautanki, Choon-choon ka Murabba, Barkha Bahar, Mahasati, Ladkiyan, Ek Chawanni Chandi ki, Shaheedon ne Lau Lagai Jo, Pyare Harichand ki Kahani Rah Jayegi, and Bhaunri Katha — all produced in the manner of Nautanki. He has also directed plays by other leading dramatists such as Kisi ek Phool ka Naam Lo written by Madhu Rye, Soorya ki Antim Kiran se Soorya ki Pahli Kiran Tak by Surendra Verma, Sooryast by Jayavant Dalvi, and Kamla by Vijay Tendulkar. In earlier years, he wrote and directed a number of dance-dramas for Kathak Kendra at Lucknow. His significant contribution lies, however, in giving a new lease of life to traditional theatre forms such as Nautanki, Swang and Bhagat.Shri Thapaliyal has been a prolific writer. Besides drama, he has written stories, plays and satire published in Hans, Saptahik Hindustan, Dharmayug, and other Hindi periodicals. He has also written columns in newspapers including Hindustan and Rashtriya Sahara, as well as a number of radio and television scripts. He has worked as Chief News Reader at the Lucknow station of All India Radio.For his varied work in the field of theatre, Shri Thapaliyal has been honoured with an Award and also a Fellowship by the Uttar Pradesh Sangeet Natak Akademi.Shri Urmil Kumar Thapaliyal has received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for 2010 for his contribution to Indian theatre as a director. Myth of the Kalarin by Habib Tanvir A kalarin (toddy seller) with the name Bahadur belonged to Balod tehseel of Chattisgarh, so say the elderly folks of the nearby localities. Though this tale is mostly woven around the mother and son, I have woven the character of King, the lover of Bahadur with King Oedipus in mind. The infatuation between blood relations (Oedipus Complex) depicted in the folklore of Chattisgarh amazed me. Probably a fatherless child with no siblings and friends, living constantly alone with her mother seeks emotional security in her. Mother’s aloofness numbs his body while her affectionate touch arouses his emotional faculties. Bahadur arranged several marriages of her son Chhachhan but he was fascinated and emotionally attached to his mother and one day he finally expressed, “Ma, I have never seen a prettier woman than you!” The folklore depicts the multiple complexes of the human mind, which can be well understood and accepted only through psychoanalysis and not on the scales of moral and ethical values. Having watched the play with interest, Secretary SNA, Jayant Kastuar remarked, “ Darpana of Lucknow is a leading theatre group of the State and it presented a very successful musical play under the direction of Urmil Kumar Thapaliyal”. Director’s Note The content and form of dialectal theatre is so personal and local that its literal translation or adaptation is almost impossible. Any regional tale can be viewed or heard in its own dialect. It cannot be rewoven in another dialect retaining its originality, style and idiom. In spite of the geographical distances, at least some of the original elements of the regional culture and ethos remain common . I have dared to reconstruct the candid rustic life and unstructured energy of the folklore of Chattisgarh on the basis of the myth of this tale and tried to repaint it through the Hindi-Awadhi folk setup of Uttar Pradesh. The music of the presentation combines Brij, Awadhi, Rajasthani, and Banwasi folk tunes saving it from being a literal translation.In fact, the presentation now no longer belongs either to Habib Tanweer as a writer or to me as a director, but to those who are involved, absorbed and are presenting it on the stage.Come what may, the dialectal theatre will always remain a vivid possibility for me. The Akademi Fellowship (Akademi Ratna Sadasyata) and Akademi Award (Akademi Puraskar) are the most coveted national honours conferred on performing artists, gurus and scholars of the performing arts. These honours are decided by the Akademi’s General Council, the apex body consisting of eminent artists, scholars and nominees of the Government of India and of different States and Union Territories of the country. Sangeet Natak Akademi, established by the Government of India on 31 May 1952, is the National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama. It was created as the apex body in the country for the task of preservation and promotion of the performing art traditions of India. One of the important activities of the Akademi has been to give recognition and honours to artists in order to set standards in the performing arts, and to restore art and the artists to their rightful place in independent India.