Theatre with a conscience: DU students try to break new ground

Updated on: Tuesday, October 18, 2011

They took night walks in Chandni Chowk, made it a point to meet those living on the streets and visited night shelters to get a feel of the metropolis' pulse, particularly of those living on its margins.

And when they step out on stage for their first performance of 'Dawat-e-Khichdi', they will pose a question for those watching has the country's conventional economic development left out a large number of people in the lurch?

For these group of students of Delhi University, theatre is not just a medium of expression but also a medium of internalising and debating the trends playing out around them.

Under the banner of Deen Dayal Upadhyay college's 'Yavnika' theatre group, the students are working on their satirical production 'Dawat-e-Khichdi', which intends to lay bare the uncomfortable truths of urbanisation and its impact on the displaced as well as on the existing city dwellers.

"I strongly believe in theatre of conscience. And I feel when students come together for such productions they should be able to look with a judgement on what the society has in store for them," says senior theatre person Lokesh Jain, who has scripted the play and is also directing it.

So, as part of their education, Jain took the students around the city to introduce them to its dwellers, especially to the marginal ones. "We went around Chandni Chowk all night. We met people who lived on streets and in night shelters. Talking to people we realised how much we crib despite having all the facilities of life and how these people were happy even when they had nothing much to cherish," says Ankur, a second year student of English (hons) who is part of the group.

"Acquaintance with them then led to a respect which we find handy while playing the characters of labourers or slum dwellers," he says. Set in the poor quarters of the thriving capital city of Delhi, the drama talks about the futility of all the growth bubble for people of a certain section in the context of Mahatma Gandhi's talisman that any progress starts with the benefit of the poorest man.

"What comes to mind when you talk about 'khichdi'? The dish stands for a different composition for everybody," says Jagat, a final year student of the college. A montage of unconnected lives in the metropolis, played out on stage one by one but together, 'Khichdi' presents a blend of emotions and comments.

"Our play is a non-linear, non-homogeneous production and shows the mix of everything in a city like Delhi," Jagat says. For the mentors of Yavnika, the group is part of an experiment that extends the educational horizons for students.

"The theatre sponsored by the University and college is part of the overall education process of students and by overall education we mean what kind of people they grow up into," says Pramesh Ratnakar, who teaches history and also mentors the group.

"If we can groom them up as responsible people who can make right decisions when confronted by temptations through socially conscious projects, it is a great exercise," he says. And the play, which will first be performed at the DDU college itself and then at JNU, and at some other centres in the capital, will not be held in an auditorium, but under the open sky.

Experiment is part of Yavnika's repertoire. Last year, their unique theatrical experiment "Gul-Gulee Circus" of expression without dialogue had made waves in the capital and was performed several times on demand at several places.

'Gul-Gulee' too tried to return to Gandhi's values of non-violence and compassion as the only solution to miseries of man while capturing the entire evolutionary process of life, and the violence-marred history of human beings.

"When we discuss such concepts with young students, it brings out a different idealistic energy which is not often found in older people. We want these students to make an impact on others too through their rendition," says Anand Saxena, the convenor of the group.

Theatre with a conscience: DU students try to break new ground

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