Bhopal's Parsi Theatre Flourished During British Rule, Says Theatre Director At 'Sanskriti Parv-7'

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Parsi theatre was in full swing during British rule from 1850-1930. The British who made Kolkata the capital in 1854 made their own theatres, and curtains were used to show Indian scenes like the lion, says theatre actor and director Vivek Savarikar.

Savarikar was speaking on ‘Bhartiya Natya Parampara Vikas Aur Vidhan’ on the day of two-day ‘Sanskriti Parv-7,’ organised by a cultural organisation Kala Samay at Shaheed Bhavan in the city on Monday.

“Theatre music should be simple, which even a child can understand, children's tunes should be there in a theatre,” Tarkaswar said, adding that  “ Nowadays,  people do not want to learn. Music is being used in dramas based on the music available on YouTube.”

Director of Madhya Pradesh School of Drama Teekam Joshi presided over the session. He said theatre is going on because people still have curiosity towards it. “If we look at theatre in different states, it is true that Hindi theatre started a little late,” he said, adding that dance and drama in Hindi are different subjects.

Besides, a felicitation ceremony, classical songs, and plays were held.  Five personalities in the city were feted with ‘Kala Samay Samman-2024’for their contribution in the field of art, literature and music.

Classical singer Sulekha Bhatt was conferred on ‘Kala Samay Sangeet-Shikhar Samman’ whereas Pt. Vasudev Mishra, Lata Agarwal, Saroj Sharma and Bhagwati Saxena were feted with ‘Kala Samay Rashtra-Aradhana Samman,’ ‘Kala Samay Shabd Shikhar Samman,’ ‘Kala Samay Rang Shikhar Samman’ and Kala Samay Yuva Sangeet-Sadhana Samman’ respectively.

 After felicitation,  Sulekha Bhatt   presented ‘Tum Deen Dayal Hai Gopal…’ and ‘Laagi Lagan Mori Tumhi…’  in  Raag  Charukeshi.  She also presented Amir Khusro’s ‘Naina Apne Piya Se Laga Aayi Re…’ in Raag Janasammohini.   Ashesh Upadhyay accompanied her on tabla, Jitendra Sharma on harmonium, Kaushika Saxena  and Alaap Bhatt on tanpura .

A play ‘New Hope of India,’ directed by Saroj Sharma  and presented by the artists of Koshish Natya Sanstha was staged. The play was relevant to the current times in which nine actors showcased  the good and bad incidents happening around a person and in daily life through 15 different scenes in about 60 minutes.