Kolkata has been always acknowledged as the theatre capital of India. The rich tradition of modern Bengali theatre that started more than two hundred years ago is still revered by the cultural elite of the country. Hence, an invitation from Ganakrishti (one of the top tier theatre groups of Kolkata) to perform at their seventh annual theatre festival came to me as a major challenge. Continue reading
Recently I had the opportunity to watch Deepa Mehta’s film, “Waterâ€on DVD . Most of you may have already seen this movie as well as its predecessors, “Fire†and “Earthâ€. “Water†is the third segment of Deepa’s elemental trilogy. I am not a film critic by any measure. However, the reason for me to write about this film is because it deals with an issue which has always been a controversial and sensitive one in our culture and religion. Continue reading
Trip to Calcutta: A Chiaroscuro
Amitava Sen
I could hardly see her, behind the pile of sarees stacked on the shop counter; nevertheless, I recognized her and was pleasantly surprised to see Gouri of New Jersey at the Gariahat ladies tailoring shop. I confess that although not a customer, I am a frequent visitor to this place during my not so long stays in Calcutta. My wife always carries a big order of blouses from her friends during our annual trip to Calcutta and then she has her own stuff. That calls for more than a few visits. From logistical considerations we found that we save time and gasoline if we could drop-in at the tailor shop on our way to other destinations. Continue reading
Amitava Sen
What does the word Biswa-kobi mean? Poet laureate of the world, World-class poet, Universal poet? Bengalees use this honorific or title in referring to Rabindranath Thakur. I have always wondered about it as I have as to why the championship of baseball is called World Series. How does a tournament of game played by less than 5 % of the world population even after keeping other baseball playing nations such as Japan or Cuba out, claim to be a world event? Likewise, the “World†cup for the game of cricket played mostly by a few third world countries raises the same question. Continue reading
Amitava Sen
No one can say that Raghav Chatterjee does not sing well. He does. He is an extremely talented and skilled singer and performer. But he came up short in delivering for the major and I stress, major part of his audience at Kallol Puja. He was too loud and sometimes painfully screaming. His repertoire was too post modern and convoluted for our liking. He possibly was targetting relatively young Calcutta born crowd present, but he definitely did not cater to the people who paid most for hiring him. The fault does not lie with him. The so called younger group of Kallol is ostensibly in control of the stage and what goes on there. Programs are chosen and directed by them with a trace of arrogance and a little bias. We heard Raghav at Banga Sammelan in New York and really liked his not so hip performance on the sober side. But his program at Kallol was disappointing to many and I dare say most of us. 50 people who danced with his singing at Durga Puja are not the final arbiters, I am afraid. Continue reading
Sudipta Bhawmik
Finally 2005 Pujo is here. In this Garden State of ours, Kallol has started their celebration yesterday (Friday) evening and GSCA will start theirs from today. Are you all ready to hit the doors of Ukrainian Community Center or Plainfield High School? As you attempt to enter the doors, you’ll encounter few somber looking gentlemen sitting behind a linen covered desk with few preprinted stationary and scattered ball point pens. Yes, you now need to pull out your check book and be ready to shell out few dollars from your savings. The question is how much? Continue reading
Cerebration, a quarterly electronic journal is calling for submissions for its forthcoming issues. Cerebration is a trans-cultural magazine operating from NJ and Delhi and attempts at bridging academic and non-academic circles; Cerebration strives to provide a space for critical discussions and creative expression across cultures and is sponsored by Drew University, NJ. The editorial advisory board consists of eminent academics, critics, journalists and filmmakers from US and India including Gayatri Chakraborty Spivak , Bapsi Sidhwa, Barkha Dutt, Subrata Sen amongst other well-renowned academics from US (www.cerebration.org/board.html ). Cerebration is currently accepting submissions in the categories of essays, fiction, columns, poetry, photography and art work. Please visit Cerebration at www.cerebration.org
Many things have gone right and many things have gone wrong during our last NABC2005. The following letter from Chitra Divakaruni exemplifies one of the things that went really wrong. We understand that managing such an event of this scale is not trivial and especially for the volunteers (I repeat, volunteers) it was indeed an arduous task to do their job and also keep their cool. However, I only hope that this letter from Chitra helps us in improving our festival, rather than turn out into a finger pointing exercise.
Thank you.
Continue reading
Bratya Basu is currently one of the brightest young playwright and director of the Bengali stage in Kolkata. He is in USA now, rehearsing and preparing his latest directorial venture covering the post independence era of modern Bengali theatre. The play will be staged at the 25th North America Bengali Conference on July 3rd, at the Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan, New York. I asked him few questions on how he conceived of this project and the challenges he faced in directing this show.
Sudipta: NABC 2005 is celebrating 200 years of Bengali theatre through three plays covering the period. You have written the script and directing one of the segments. What part of this vast canvas are you covering in your segment?
Bratya: I have tried to cover the post independence era of modern Bengali theatre, from 1950 to 2000. The play presents snippets from several plays covering this period including a play from Bangladesh. The plays are, “Raktakarabi”, “Raja Oedipous”, “Tiner Talowar”, “Sarater Megh”, “Chak Bhanga Modhu”, “Ebong Indrajit”, “Winkle Twinkle” and “Eersha”.
Sudipta: What was your criteria in selecting the play segments?
Bratya: I primarily used three criteria to select my play segments; (a) Plays that were important as contemporary theatre during its time, (b) it has a significant literary value, (c) and is still relevant to our society in its fundamental message.
Sudipta: What was your thought process in developing your segment?
Bratya: It was particularly challenging for me to figure out a method to develop the entire play such that it comes out as a whole entity, even when the segments themselves stand out as an individual theatrical unit. Of all the three plays, I am the only director who is working with actors from India as well as USA. I had to take special care to ensure that there exists proper synergy and balance between the segments acted by the different groups of actors and also to develop a relationship as a team. To work as a team they need to get familiarized with the acting style and patterns of each other, build the mutual trust that is absolutely essential in producting a theatre. Since many of the actors whom I am working with in this play are new to me, I was not sure whether I’ll be able to get what I want from them and stage a show where the proper balance is maintained. I am glad to say that I was able to achieve that.
Sudipta: What can the audience expect to see in this segment?
Bratya: Primarily, I expect the audience to experience the development and evolution of modern Bengali theatre. They will also exprience a modern theatrical approach and acting style that is rooted in Bengal but international in every sense.
Sudipta: Is this your first visit to North America Bengali Conference? If so, what is your expectation?
Bratya: Yes, this is my first NABC. My expectation is that I’d like to see that true cultural relationship and cultural exchange happen through this conference. I’d like to see that this conference bring to life the true international spirit of Bengali culture in all its glory.
Ashok Mukhopadhyay, an eminent theatre personality from Kolkata, is visiting the United States to direct a play at the 25th North America Bengali Conference, to be held in New York during July 1 -4, 2005. I asked few questions to Askok-da (as I fondly call him) on how he approached towards developing this play.
Sudipta: NABC 2005 is celebrating 200 years of Bengali theatre through three plays covering the period. You have written the script and directing one of the segments. What part of this vast canvas are you covering in your segment?
Ashok: I have not actually written any script for my part of the production. I have selected scenes from some of the great plays written during the time-span and I am trying to link them with song-and-dance sequences to produce a theatrical collage. I am covering the period 1870 to 1944.
Sudipta: What was your criteria in selecting the play segments
Ashok: I selected scenes from some of the major plays by some of the major playwrights of the time. I wanted them to be various in appeal and approach ranging from the high satire of Buro Saliker Ghare Roa (Modhusudan) to the solemnly tragic note of Balidan (Girishchandra), from the comedic romanticism of Chirakumar Sabha (Rabindranath) to the musical rhythm of Alibaba (Khirodeprasad), and thus to the historicity of Chandragupta (Dwijendralal) to the garbed mythology of Karagar (Manmotho Roy) and finally reaching the agony and protest of Nabanna (1944).
Sudipta: What was your thought process in developing your segment?
Ashok: The basic thought grinding the selection of plays concerns the belief that theater provides the finest documentation of time and its flow. Theater intrinsically projects the truth about social transition, placing human beings and their values against the correct perspective. I hope our production of the play-pieces will provide a commentary on the theater of the time as also on the social milieu producing the theater.
Sudipta: Is this your first visit to North America Bengali Conference? If so, what is your expectation?
Ashok: This is my first visit to North America Bengali Conference. I am looking
forward to a great week-end when Bengali culture will shine proudly in America projecting the multi-dimensional character of this dear and glorious tradition of ours.