Life's STAGE This art is not just for art's sake, but a purpose - The Sunday Tribune . Sunday, September 19, 2010

 Life's STAGE

This art is not just for art's sake, but a purpose

The Sunday Tribune . Sunday, September 19, 2010

Pahchan is the new dramatic society iety formed by zealous stu-dents of the Government Col-lege for Girls-42. A corridor converted into a stage, girls dressed up as differ-ent characters (that they have con-ceived themselves as) and a crowd cheering at every line delivered...it is the finale of the 10-day workshop in collaboration with Sanskar Bharti.

Their teachers who are pleasantly surprised. "These girls were not even noticed 10 days back. It's due to the workshop that they are freely express-ing themselves today," says Jyoti Seth, head of Sociology Department and coordinator of the workshop.

Eve-teasing and ambitions of rural women find expression in these girls' creations. "It's been a fantastic work-shop," says an elated Pooja, a B.Com first-year student. "You know, from the very concept, to dialogues, preparation and act, its us who have created it all," she shares. "This workshop has been a great confidence booster," confides Veeru, a BA first-year student. "I could have never imagined walking the ramp earlier and today I did that," she adds.

And the man behind all this trans-formation is a smiling, content theatre person-Manjul Bhardwaj, founder of Experimental Theatre Foundation, a theatre movement for social change that practices the philosophy of The atre of Relevance'.

"Knowing the self and expressing, sharing the real you is what I strive for.

I am glad to be the instrument of change in the lives of these young girls," says Bhardwaj. "Our theatre starts as entertainment and facilitates the change in people," he adds.

Based in Mumbai, Bhardwaj's theatre journey is some 25 years long, but the atre of relevance came into being on August 12, 1992. "It took me a few years in theatre before I could find my true calling. It was on this precise date that I announced to the world what my philosophy was," he avers.

Bhardwaj also held a workshop for teachers. This is how he distinguish es the two groups. "While students needed to be given a spark, it was the rich repertoire of experience of teach-ers that needed an outlet. But both the groups were on a discovery of the self."

With as many as 25 plays that Bhard-waj has written, and performed all over the world, he is a recipient of a nation-al ward for 'gender sensitisation',

On a continuous journey, Bhardwaj is off to Muktsar to work with college students next, slum children and orphans in Phagwara follow, then, its management students at New Delhi. Not only students, Bhardwaj conducts workshops for corporates as well. And he is blessed to have a life partner from the same field, Babli Rawat. "There is one more interesting fact to our jour-ney," reveals Bhardwaj, "Hum jahan jate hai naya ghar bana lete hain (Wherever we go, we make a new home) And to date we have an abode in 12 countries, 28 states in India and two lakh theatre of relevance centres across the world."

Principal Mani Bedi plans to rein-force this process with periodic work-shops. "Response of the students was overwhelming. Such events con-tribute to developing a holistic per-sonality as well as empowering indi-viduals," she says.