Articles by Umesh P N

The epithet ‘Gaanchali bidi Kannada maathadi' (GBKM) would translate colloquially as ‘let go of your (English) affectations and speak in Kannada.' For those of us born and brought up in Bangalore, this has been a familiar epithet; as children from middle-class families, we were exposed to peers from ‘convent' schools who spoke ‘European' English, but they would disdain to speak in Kannada despite knowing the language well. We would accuse them of ‘gaanchali', and of course would strive to throw in as much Kannada in our ‘English' conversations as possible. The fact that many of the wannabe ‘convent' schools (where…

Everybody has been talking about Ms. Meena. Every time the play comes to Bangalore, somebody is always telling someone else why they should not miss Ms. Meena (pun unintended). Why, even Citizen Matters has already reviewed the play! At long last, I stood in line, and a long line it was, to watch our darling Ms. Meena. A scene from the play. Pic courtesy: Perch CDs of the play were being sold, and anywhere you looked, all that you could see was a Tamil Maami straight out of a 70s edition of Ananda Vikatan (a magazine). The poster also said…

The Bengaluru Habba featured the staging of Robert Bolt's A Man for all Seasons. For those of us not familiar with Bolt's name, he was an Oscar-winning screenplay writer and playwright, who wrote the screenplays for Dr Zhivago (one of his Oscar efforts) and the legendary Lawrence of Arabia.His other Oscar came from the screenplay adaptation of this play, A Man for all Seasons. The play for the Habba was stage directed by Arjun Sajnani, who is of course known for the high quality of his productions that include Fire and Rain and Tughlaq. This play was no different in…

    The newspaper write-up for Dustin Bayi describes the play as "the complex relationship of a Christian family with local rituals and belief in spirit worship". Further "a powerful plot, reputed artists, authentic sets, music, and colorful costumes make this play a must-watch". This write-up seemed exciting enough, particularly in the light of the recent incidents with churches in Mangalore and Bangalore. Also, the play being staged on Christmas Day seemed symbolic as the occasion to watch it. The plot Pic: Kriyative Theatre Dustin Bayi is a short story by Gopalakrishna Aithal. It is adapted for the stage by…

      The Water Station is a critically-acclaimed play written by the Japanese playwright Shogo Ohta. It is the most famous piece of his "Station" trilogy, which includes The Earth Station and The Wind Station. The play was first performed in 1981 with a Japanese cast, and has since been performed all over the world with various actors of diverse origins. Director Sankar Venkateswaran of Theatre Roots and Wings first directed the play for Ninasam in 2010, and this time around he has put together a varied cast auditioned from all over  India. Scene From the rehearsals. Pic courtesy:…

Street play is one of the most basic forms of theatre. It is truly theatre of and for the masses. No special stages, elaborate sets, props, or costumes are required, no time is wasted, no special environment is created, and no fee is paid-yet, street theatre can speak directly to the heart of the viewer. The energy and vitality of performing in a public environment to a public audience also makes street play the perfect vehicle for political protest and propaganda. In India, the name of Safdar Hashmi is synonymous with political street theatre. The Ranga Shankara Theatre Festival 2011,…

The Ranga Shankara Theatre Fest 2011 had a political theme- all the events including seminars, film screenings, plays and platform performances have a political thread running through them. But then, who can get more political than Badal Sircar, the doyen of anti-establishment theatre in our country? Pic Courtesy: Ranga Shankara The Rangshila theatre group from Mumbai staged Sircar's "Teesveen Shatabdi" or "Thirtieth Century," on 21 October, a fascinating play about the moral aspects of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II. This is one of Sircar's early plays written in 1966. A time when the echoes…

      The word "Soorpanangu" is a concoction that is drawn from two root words-Soorpanagai, the demon sister of Ravana, and the Tamil word "Anangu" which means "Woman". In a deeper sense, "Anangu" can be interpreted as "demon", "one without form", or "invisible". Indeed, an apt description of the pitiable state of Woman. The press write-ups for the play appeared impressive, as did the fantastic photographs that appeared along with write-ups. The play, staged at the fabulous Ravindra Kalakshetra, had a formal inauguration, and all the guests emphasized on the experimental nature of the play. Pic: Pugal Magendran Dr…

Plays in regional languages other than Kannada - Tamil, Telugu, Gujarati, Marathi, Bengali et al. - have reduced considerably in Bengaluru over the past 15 years. This runs contrary to Bangalore's much heralded cosmopolitan nature. Citizen Matters decided to investigate, and found out that the question only led to more questions that encompass seemingly disconnected spheres. Dr K Y Narayanaswamy, 45, Sahitya Akademi awardee for his play Kannada Pampabharatha, says we must re-examine the meaning of cosmopolitan as it appears today. While it actually means a mix of multi-ethnic cultures, what it translates to, is the knowledge of English in…