Maaro Piyo Gayo Rangoon
vibrations had not yet subsided when Fanatika’s Jaagine Joun To caught the imagination of its viewers and they gave
it a spontaneous standing ovation – a rare gesture to a mere vachikam. Add to this,
glimpses of the verve of yore coming back to plays by Chorus, Gujarati theatre
seems set to rise again with vigour – a development that invigorates
theatre-lovers like this writer.
As for the
intrinsic worth of the play on Narasimh Mehta in elegant Jhulana, playwright Sitanshu Yashashchandra with his characteristic
modesty gave credit to the poet’s verbal power and his indomitable revolting
spirit. He termed his intervention minimalist. This minimalist approach in fact
comes across to the audience exhilaratingly!
Ante to hemanu-n hema hoye!
With the paarasmani touch of poetry, its rhythm and resonance, the aadi kavi
embraces Krishna, the all-pervading divinity. So does the contemporary poet. Of
imagination and creativity are both compact! At one end of the spectrum we have
an artless description of creepers and flowers and humming bhramaras. At this
end we have a disarming contemporary touch in taahara baapanu-n shun-y jaaya? besides the basic interpretation of
the unassuming poet and his great work.
For theatre, the
most heartening mentionable is the appreciation of these subtly beautiful
aspects and their audible, visual (read joyously pleasing) and soulful transfer
to theatre that has the audience humming, clapping and being palpably
responsive in silence. The director has the run-on lines dramatically divided
and distributed for the daring and dedicated dozen players now to sing, now to
interject as in real life, now to render them with fine modulation - getting
gestures, facial expression, and sparingly the harmonium in support.
Let us look
forward to a full stage version of the verse play with a little more attention
to verbal and rhythmic precision and innovative resourceful action. Challenging
but not impossible. If they could scale this height, why not a notch higher?
S. D. Desai
Ahmedabad,
30 August 2012
