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BAL NATYA UTSAV : : (Children Theatre Festival)
(A Process Report) : : by Darshana Dube

IMPACT ON THEATRE

The implementation and success of BNU has proved that theatre is gradually being accepted as a medium of change by the society. It is emerging out of the cocoon of entertainment to be used as a medium of expression for a common man. It is made accessible to masses through their participation. Also a new breed of talented young people will emerge who, in future would make an important contribution to the medium as they are being exposed to the fine nuisances of theatre in the form of script writing, direction and acting.

The important observations made by the people in the field of theatre are as follow:

Feroz Ashraf, an award winner Urdu journalist, a columnist and a scriptwriter, is also the founder of Vikas Adhyan Kendra that motivates the 200 school dropouts from the slums to go back to school. He observes, “ this is the right age for conditioning and training the young minds and theatre is a very interesting medium through which this can be achieved.” However he feels that the whole movement through the theatre should reach more people. He strongly advocates the staging of ‘Ram leela’ by the children in order to reach the masses quickly and effectively. He also expresses the regret of not having enough space in Mumbai to be able to have the ‘Manch’ in all the areas, which would help in gaining the momentum for the theatre movement.

Mr.Vishwanath Sachdev, the editor of Nav Bharat Times, a Hindi daily, says, “ when I saw the play, ‘B-7’, I was quite impressed and it was a refreshing change to see the children performing with total conviction that was a refreshing change from the professional actors who in spite of trying hard seem to carry their baggage. I think BNU is the beginning of a process for change that would take some time as change is a slow process but it deserves a pat on the back for taking an initiative.”

Ramesh Rajhans: The writer of a Hindi book on theatre, titled, ‘Natya Prasttuti Ek Parichay’ and an IPTA [Indian People theatre’s Association] member says, “BNU is doing a wonderful job for the neglected section of the society that will surely leave its mark and sow a seed for the social reforms. I think Manjul is very honest in his search and he does things by conviction rather than following any particular ideology” According to him theatre without doubt an effective medium. Citing the example of Gandhiji he says, “ even Gandhiji was inspired to speak the truth after watching a play on ‘Raja Harishchandra’, and it is the theatre activists like these who are the true pioneers and harbingers of the society that stand apart from the mainstream commercial theatre.”

Asif Balsara: a stage and T.V actor who is also associated with the British group THALIA that is working for the children welfare says, “ It was a very satisfying experience working with the slum children during the making of the BNU plays, ‘Mumbai meri jaan’ and ‘ Hello Zindagi where I had a chance to interact with the kids. Initially I noticed that owing to their backgrounds and suffering that they might have gone they were very listless and had no drive to do anything. But gradually after motivating them, they got very interested and especially after performing they felt totally driven as if they were energized on the stage.” Asif conducts workshops for children through theatre where the children are de-conditioned and released from their nagging problems and strongly feels that theatre activists should work for such noble causes. But he feels that sadly there are very few of them involved in such causes and a big noise must be made about the happenings so others are motivated to join.

Parmod Pathak, an actor conducting workshops for THALIA with Asif says, “ as a matter of fact I learnt a thing or two from the children that is very important in life. The most important thing that I learnt from the street children is how to say ‘no’ with an assertive mind which is totally unconditioned”. He also feels that theatre will further harness this mental energy of the children and turn it into a very productive energy for the society.

Vibha Rani, an IOCL [Indian Oil Corporation Ltd.] employee and a writer feels that BNU is doing a great service to the society by providing a platform to the vulnerable children and besides she says, “theatre virus should be infected into the society that will bring about the social change and media should help spread the awareness on a regular basis.”

Dhannanjay Kumar, a T.V. serial writer for many serials has written a play, ‘Vidya Dandt –‘ for the BNU that was a big success. He says, “ It was a wonderful experience working with children as I love them. But the slum children were a pleasant surprise as they were hardly conditioned and so spoke their minds out” He feels that though one can’t expect theatre to bring about the changes over-night it definitely brings about an awareness that helps.

Mr. Philip Padachira, the founder director of CAMERA [Cadre of Media, Resources and Actions] that supports organizations and individuals involved in the people’s struggle says, “ I was amazed at the theatrical skills of the street children which sometimes was even better than the professionals. The whole experiment is very novel, encouraging and promising for the new generation.” He feels that a new language has been given to the children for expressing and understanding.

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