CNN Central News & Network-ITDC India Epress/ITDC News Bhopal: On the third day of the Tagore Theatre Festival, two acclaimed stories by storyteller Santosh Choubey, ‘Unke Hisse Ka Prem’ (‘Their Share of Love’) and ‘Lekhak Banane Wale’ (‘Those Who Make Writers’), were staged with impact at Ravindra Bhavan. Directed by noted theatre director Devendra Raj Ankur, the productions were presented on stage by Delhi’s ‘Sambhav’ Art Group. The programme also featured the release of the theatre dialogue magazine Rangsamvad. The stage proceedings were conducted by Avijit Solanki. The event is being organised jointly by Tagore National School of Drama, Vishwarang Foundation and Rabindranath Tagore University.
The first presentation, ‘Unke Hisse Ka Prem’, brought out the love relationships of the boss of an institution through a distinctive theatrical experiment. In the story, seemingly inanimate office objects such as a table, pen, mirror, chair and diary emerge as witnesses to, and investigators of, his love relationships. The way these objects reveal the story of the boss’s incomplete love relationships to the audience remained a special attraction of the performance.
The second presentation, ‘Lekhak Banane Wale’, satirised literary ambition and its commercial exploitation. The central character is a man employed in a bank who keeps writing and wants to become an author. After seeing an advertisement in a newspaper for a “writer-making centre” in Delhi, he goes there. The centre takes money from him and tries to prepare one of his ordinary poems while offering false praise for it. Disappointed and angry after the experience, he returns and realises that, in the name of making writers, such centres are turning people’s emotions and literary aspirations into a means of making money. The story presents this irony and deception in a satirical manner.
In both productions, the distinctive sensitivity and satire of Santosh Choubey’s stories were presented effectively through Devendra Raj Ankur’s theatrical vision. Making objects part of the narrative and bringing to the stage the social conflicts hidden within situations of ordinary life were notable features of these presentations.
Author Santosh Choubey, a poet, storyteller and novelist, is among those rare Hindi litterateurs who have been equally active in both literature and science. His six short-story collections – ‘Halke Rang Ki Kameez’, ‘Restaurant Mein Dopahar’, ‘Nau Binduon Ka Khel’, ‘Beech Prem Mein Gandhi’, ‘Pratinidhi Kahaniyan’ and ‘Magar Shakespeare Ko Yaad Rakhna’ – and four novels – ‘Raag Kedar’, ‘Kya Pata Comrade Mohan’, ‘Jal Tarang’ and ‘Sapnon Ki Duniya Mein Blackhole’ – have been published and widely discussed. His poetry collections include ‘Kahin Aur Sach Honge Sapne’, ‘Kona Dharti Ka’, ‘Is A-Kavi Samay Mein’ and ‘Ghar Bahar’. His stories have been staged at various platforms, including Bharat Bhavan and the National School of Drama, New Delhi, and his writings have been published in leading newspapers and magazines across the country.
Director Devendra Raj Ankur, who holds a postgraduate degree in Hindi literature from Delhi University and specialised in direction at the National School of Drama, has directed numerous professional and amateur theatre groups across the country. A founding member of the ‘Sambhav’ group and the originator of ‘Kahani Ka Rangmanch’ (‘Theatre of the Story’), Ankur has been associated with workshops across India as a teacher, camp director and theatre director. He has translated plays from various languages into Hindi and has also written on theatre. More than seven of his books on theatre criticism have been published. A recipient of the Tagore Fellowship, Ankur has served as Director of the National School of Drama. He has been honoured with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for his special contribution to the field of theatre.
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