Three cheers! curtain raiser
| Nandini Nair talks to Anuradha Dar of the Three Arts Club |
Sepia Times (from left) Bhushan Sethi, Ramesh Mehta, Uma Sahay and Om Sharma in an undated photo of a Three Arts Club production
It was the year that Mahatma Gandhi was arrested. The same year Casablanca released. In 1943, a group of government employees also decided to start an amateur theatre group in the hill station of Shimla. Three Arts Club, like the B ritish government, would follow winter, from Shimla to Delhi and back. Founded by Om Sharma, R.M. Kaul and Devi Chand Kayasth, it is said to be one of the oldest theatre groups of the country. It entertained both king and commoner. If Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Dr. Zakir Husain and Charan Singh were part of its audience, so were the clerks and office secretaries.
Last year on R.M. Kaul’s 25th death anniversary, the group made a successful comeback at Shri Ram Centre after a gap of 25years. Proving that last year’s festival was no blip on the stage, it returns with its Summer Drama Festival, over this weekend. This year an award, instituted in the name of Raja Kaul (as R.M. Kaul was affectionately called), will be presented to Ramesh Mehta, playwright, actor and director who was also conferred the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award 2008. He became the group’s pillar when he joined in 1948. M.N. Kapur, who was Modern School’s principal for 30 years, was also responsible for “taking Three Arts Club to a new height,” says Anuradha Dar, daughter of R.M. Kaul who blew life back into the group.
Flipping through black and white photos curling at the edges, she points out the famous actors and leaders of the day. In a particularly telling photo, M.N. Kapur introduces Nehru to his daughter, a small girl with a bright face. She grew up to be Anuradha Kapur, Director National School of Drama.
Today, Dar cannot recall why it was called Three Arts Club. “I haven’t been able to find the genesis of the name,” she says, adding, “Maybe it was because of the three people who started it. I don’t know.” Instead of trying to trace faded meanings, the group has its own interpretation. Today, Three Arts Club stands for music, dance and drama.
Future Perfect Anuradha Dar
Vivid memories
Her recollections of the group’s heyday, however, are still vivid. She recalls people rehearsing at home and sets strewn across the garden. She remembers the constant stream of tea and pakoras being served to tired actors. She adds, “As kids, we (her siblings and Mehta’s children) used to distribute brochures in the auditorium.”
The group has taken from the past but has not been hemmed in by it. Following the group’s principles, this year too they have focused on amateur talent. Saurabh Bhatnagar, who acted last year in “Bade Aadmi” has directed all three productions this year. He says, “We welcome new people. I’ve found old people are tough to mould. They are more set in their ways. It’s easier for me to work with newcomers.”
Satire and comedy used to be the groups’ forte. Today, they have also branched into social themes. The plays at the upcoming festival include “Ek tha Raja” a comic fantasy written by Badal Sarcar, “Bade Aadmi”, a Ramesh Mehta comedy and “Mundan” a drama on AIDS awareness by Dr. Jitendra Sahay. If “Ek tha Raja” is a light caprice about a king going broke, “Mundan” aims to break stereotypes on AIDS.
Gandhi-ism is struggling to find a modern context. Casablanca has not found a new audience. But Three Arts Club is once again ready to take the stage.
May 15: Ek Tha Raja (Comic Fantasy) Writer: Badal Sarcar Hindi Adaptation: Ravindra Nath Bahoray Director: Saurabh Bhatnagar
May 16: Bade Aadmi (Comedy) Writer: Ramesh Mehta Director: Saurabh Bhatnagar
May 17: Mundan (Drama, AIDS Awareness) Writer: Dr. Jitendra Sahay
Director: Saurabh Bhatnagar
Entry is free For invites call 9999311612
Venue: Shri Ram Centre, Time: 7:30p.m.
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