Back in the limelight

Sunday Business Standard Anoothi Vishal / New Delhi May 04, 2008 Sitting in a balcony overlooking frayed, ageing buildings in the middle of Delhi's Shankar Market, a place I had ignorantly believed only stacked reams and reams of fabric, ladies' "suits" and the like, I am all set to witness a rehearsal. This is the office of Bhartiya Natya Sangh, an organisation that I am surprised to find still exists (and functions) in the face of the shiny, "sponsored" spectacles of today. In the May heat, there are no ACs, just two somewhat pokey rooms, barely furnished, let out to people given to theatrics. And practising they are. In a room inside, there's a doctor, a journalist, a homemaker who has trudged here all the way from suburbia, and even someone who would be an RJ in another, alternate world. All of them are rehearsing a play to be performed later this month (at culture-savvy Mandi House) that will signal the relaunch of one of the country's oldest theatre and arts clubs — 25 years after it was disbanded. In 1943, when both Parsi theatre and nautanki, traditionally popular in various centres across British India, were on the decline, the Three Arts Club was formed by a bunch of government officials seeking their own evenings' entertainment away from card games. Their aim was to encourage music, dance and drama — but as it turned out, it was just Hindustani theatre the group got passionately involved with. The club shuttled between Simla, the summer capital, and New Delhi, and its plays reflected the common concerns of middle-class life — the family, clerks, servants and hawkers playing out their parts. With Independence, however, as the officers found their feet in a new, energised capital, the club shifted not just locale but also themes: Nehruvian socialism, perhaps a Partition-induced sense of displacement, the breakdown of class, the emergence of new money and therefore new elite, et al. I say this because I am afforded a glimpse of those times by way of the rehearsal. Bade Admi, the play in progress, will be presented by the new avatar of the Three Arts Club soon. And if you do catch it, you will realise it is not your usual performance. Written by Romesh Mehta (who has been recently conferred with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for acting) several decades ago (it was performed at the Three Arts Club's silver jubilee festival in 1968), the play is to be put up by a newer cast this month but with an unchanged script. In fact, the only things that have been altered is a year mentioned and the name of a car — Jaguar instead of Buick. And as the doctor, RJ, housewife… go over their lines, calling each other by names such as "Kumar", in a Hindustani so different from the SMS lingo we deploy, I am reminded of, well, a Manoj Kumar film! Director Sadhna Bhatnagar, a retired reader at Delhi University and associated with the original club as a young actress, says "the theme of this comedy is still relevant," dealing with a changing social order. Bhatnagar is making a comeback to theatre after 20 years and, in the process, is directing amateurs, 75 per cent of whom have not even seen a play before… because there are TV and films today". Anuradha Dar, a school owner and principal, who has restarted the club with considerable emotional investment — her father R M Kaul was one of the three founding members and its mainstay; the club shut down after his untimely death 25 years ago — recalls the old days. "We used to stay in School Lane (the site of Hotel Intercontinental, The Grand) and I remember all the rehearsals that took place at home and the sets stocked in our store. She shows me photographs and brochures full of nostalgia: Zakir Hussain at a silver jubilee felicitation, messages from Jawaharlal Nehru to Prithviraj Kapoor, and ads of companies that I barely know or remember: Hamdard's Naunehal baby tonic, Jhankar Radios, Burmah-Shell, Escorts (Agents) Private Ltd, but also Coca-Cola — "For Hospitality Serve Coca-Cola" such a long way off from "Thanda Matlab…" Dar says the original club was responsible for putting the first woman on stage, possibly in the entire country but certainly in Delhi, by way of Saroj Bhargava. (Earlier, men would play female parts too.) And besides Sapru House, there were other unusual venues for performances: in the open-air for Members of Parliament, in Army cantonments (the club was invited by General Cariappa), at Red Fort, at the behest of Pandit Nehru, who even asked for something to be specially written to carry his message. That became Mera Gaon. In the times of unabashed consumerism, we are unlikely to see that, though. For now, there's Bade Admi and two others in a festival that the new-yet-old club will be showcasing. May 11: Paisa Bolta Hai, Manchkriti, Lucknow May 12: Under Secretary, Akansha Theatre Arts, Lucknow May 13: Bade Admi, Three Arts Club, Delhi All plays will be staged at Sri Ram Centre, Mandi House, Delhi