SAAT TARI EKVEES- a series of seven monologues, which premiered at Prithvi Theatre on 15th July 2008 was publicized as something of an event in Gujarati theatre. After all it had got together a core team of twenty-one people- seven writers, seven directors and seven actors (a mix of established and relatively newer names) to join hands and unleash their creativity. Given that such initiatives are almost non-existent in Gujarati theatre these days there was good reason to look forward to the event. But if only great ideas by themselves could ensure a great outcome. This not being the case, SAAT TARI EKVEES was almost a let-down; sheer mediocrity in the garb of creative sophistication.
That Gujarati theatre or for that matter most commercially driven plays have happily condemned themselves to being what they are hardly seems to matter when you encounter the very paucity of thought. The fact of the matter is that there is little original playwriting to speak of- writing that has simply depth to begin with. This was clearly in evidence with this production, glorious as its aims were. Save for Saumya Joshi’s NAHI LAKHYEILI KAVITA and to some extent Chandrakant Shah’s KASPAR, almost all the other monologues were downright disappointing.
Good performances, an effective stage, light or music design or even a well-tuned direction appear to be of little consequence when the soul of the play- its content (be that in the form of words or otherwise) is unable to engage and provoke. So also in this case. In spite of uniformly good performances and other things being more or less up to the mark, most monologues themselves were at best superficial.
As a society (and it’s interesting how this gets manifested in our cultural spaces), we seem to have a deep mistrust of Science and are always courting the moral high ground. More significantly we don’t read extensively. Research again for the most part is absent in our plays. More often it seems we’re just happy to preach. Shishir Ramavat’s PRATI PURUSH and Sanjay V. Shah’s RAM RAKHE TEM are what you would call good examples of this truly sorry state of affairs. The former has human cloning as its subject; the latter consumerism and the pursuit of a high flying life. Neither of them has substance.
There is ample drama soaked in sentimentality- take Naushil Mehta’s LAPSI and Aatish Kapadia’s MANE AANKHO THI VAAT KARTA AAVDECHHE. Naushil Mehta’s LAPSI is about a surrogate mother (like the Human Clone it’s a contemporary subject) but its treatment has not been able to overcome our deliberate play with emotions. LAPSI dosen’t have anything to offer except for the overrated theme of a mother’s love for her children while Aatish Kapadia’s piece gives great scope to Darshan Jariwala- the actor rather than to Raju- the character.
Ankit Trivedi's URMILA, a mythological re-imagining of a woman who had to suffer her husband’s absence for fourteen long years was promising to begin with but by the end there was no significant insight one had into her character. There was a lot of poetic aplomb; in fact the art of writing- the ability to exploit metaphor and to create visual images through words are skills that our writers possess but nicely strung words are hardly a substitute for essence. They may be good for the intermittent wah-wahs but don’t add up to anything that is remotely exciting.
For all the great expectations that engulf a production like this it’s difficult to separate the grain from the chaff. But clearly the Ahemdabad based Saumya Joshi is a talent to watch out for. His NAHI LAKHYEILI KAVITA gives an interesting peek into an ageing poet’s life and of the poetry that he was unable to write. There is a natural potency to it; so much so that it is not afraid of laying bare scatological references- something that Indian theatre by and large has shied from.
Chandrankant Shah’s KASPAR leaves much to be desired but is at least somewhat engaging in its ramifications over our ability (or the lack of it) to use and deal with language. Based on the mysterious incidents surrounding Kasper Hauser, the monologue attempts to delve into the human connection with language and thought. It’s a fascinating subject really that has induced significant research and writing from people like Steven Pinker and Noam Chomsky.
Were it not for moments like these one would be compelled to write off the current Gujarati theatre scene. But ironically enough it thrives in the account books of the men who have unabashedly converted it into a business that dosen’t depend on public shows but on mandal orchestrated family entertainments. Productions like SAAT TARI EKVEES are commendable but to justify them just because there is a larger rot out there would be a real pity. We’re just missing the point then. Aren’t we?
*The writer is Editor of this site, a theatre critic and an academic keenly interested in Theatre & Performance Studies.
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