Art has met the future that its enemies have long wanted. It is dead. Also, praise the Lord for that because everybody around you is doing so...
KC Shankar during a previous performance and Manto
ADVERTISEMENT
Art has met the future that its enemies have long wanted. It is dead. Also, praise the Lord for that because everybody around you is doing so. This dystopian world is of Manto’s essay Allah ka Bada Fazl Hai, in which he reflects on the society around him after Partition. This essay and its world is the glue that binds together Kal Aaj Aur Kal, a storytelling event organised by Jashn-E-Qalam, where four artistes — KCâu00c2u0080u00c2u0088Shankar, Rajesh Kumar, Ajit Mehta and Sashwita Sarma — will perform three stories by Kamleshwar (Apne Desh Ke Log), Harishankar Parsai (Itihas ka Sabsa Bada Jua) and Bhisham Sahni (Leela Nandlal Ki), and Manto’s essay, on stage.
Sashwita Sarma
“Reflecting on our past, present and future, the stories are extremely relevant. So, in a way they are about the present,” says Shankar, theatre actor and founding member of Jashn-E-Qalam. The group was formed two years ago when a group of actors fascinated by Hindustani literature got together and decided that they wanted to introduce these stories to more people.
Rajesh Kumar and Ajit Mehta
“There are theatre performances based on such stories, but we decided to take the stories in the story form to the audience. For that we use the dramatic reading and performance formats. This is also our tribute to the rich oral storytelling traditions,” explains Shankar. He says that the performances are also distinct from other staging of short stories as it is more intimate and after performing each story there are a few minutes of interaction between the storytellers and the audience where they share what they found in the story for them. “This process lets us know a lot about the stories and the people. It is also an enriching experience for the audience as they get new perspectives,” he says.
The first story of Harishankar Parsai takes us to the past where the author makes a comment on the dice game in the Mahabharata. He points out how it is all for power. Bhisham Sahni’s story is also set in the maze of Indian bureaucracy where the protagonist loses a scooter and to reclaim it lands in an unending struggle. Kamleshwar’s story is set in the future of Kafkaesque bureaucracy, where the ideal citizen is one who does not question and newspaper headlines announcing the arrival of better days are found.
“The performances are based on the idea that the three storytellers are the last ones to tell stories as these are the ones they remember. After which, they too will stop,” Shankar concludes, explaining how Manto’s dystopian idea runs through the entire event.
On: November 11, 7 pm
At: antiSOCIAL, Rohan Plaza, Khar (W)
Call: 65226324
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
