The taste of childhood

Almost everyone I know, has at least one or more memories related with food. If I talk about myself, it would probably be the time when I was in standard ninth, coming up with a tastefully decorated salad which nobody ate because it looked so pretty, that no-one felt like disturbing the plate. I didn't know whether to feel offended or not!

A couple of days ago, I attended the book launch of Chillies and Porridge at The Bombay Canteen. The anthalogy of food, with essays contributed by people such as Tara Deshpande Tennebaum, Manu Chandra, Bachi Karkaria, Nilanjana S Roy, Wendell Rodricks and many others, and edited by Mita Kapur, was a revelation for me. Back home, reading through some of the essays, I could almost smell the liquor-fattened plums and raisins, going into Wendell's aunt's Christmas cake and sense the delight that Niloufer Ichaporia King felt, while strolling around the many bazaars of Bombay.

But perhaps, it was Rocky and Mayur's memoirs, of growing up in South Delhi as kids in the '70s, that ignited my childhod memories. Growing up in South Delhi in the 80s and 90s, it brought back memories of jars of black carrots fermenting in the sun which turned into the super tangy kaanji, that my brother was fond of. I preferred the aam panna, which my mother prepared from raw mangoes, a taste which I have never managed to replicate till date or found in any of the packaged varieties. It gave me an unexpected thrill to read about the street food vendor calling out 'kaale, kaale phaalse'. My friends in Bombay have never understood what the blackish-purplish fruit, made even more tangy with the special masala provided by the 'phaalsa wala', means to me. It reminds me of my childhood in Delhi, of lazy Sunday afternoons watching Spiderman on Doordarshan, searching for ladybirds on blades of grass during summer holidays, picking shehtoot from the trees growing in the colony park and rushing back home, so we could wash and devour them. Now, when I visit supermarkets and find packaged mulberries being sold at obnoxious prices, I sigh inwardly and think of the simple times when all we had to do was walk inside the park and pick up the 'gire huye shehtoot' from the ground.

Mita Kapur, Chef Floyd Cardoz, Tara Deshpande Tennebaum and Bachi Karkaria

Perhaps it does make sense to document our relationships with food. At the book launch, Tara had said that we come to a know a lot about people or cultures, when we discover their relationship with food. Maybe we need more of such books, that take us back to our roots and tell us who we are, where we have come from and where we are headed.

Much love
The Art Addict

PS: One of our most favourite people in the world, Gulzar, is teaming up with Salim Arif once again for a children's play called Nuclear Sher. The first show is on January 3rd 2016, at Prithvi Theatre. The show promises to bring the magic of Panchatantra stories on stage, in a contemporary and fun way. Whether you're a kid or an adult, this one is a must watch. 

Danish Husain and the angst of modern times

“I think of myself as an actor and a poet. At least, I fancy myself as that. I think people perceive me more as a storyteller and a director,” Danish Husain told me, when I met him one the other day, at the Prithvi Cafe.

                               Danish Hussain. Pic courtesy/Shawn Lewis

It’s ironic, I thought to myself, because that was a perception even I had, having sought him out after watching and being impressed with his play, Ek Punjab Ye Bhi, at the Prithvi Theatre Festival this year. My main agenda, of course, had been to watch actor Kunal Kapoor doing a full-fledged role on stage. I’m happy to say that I was mighty impressed with his acting skills on stage, but more than that, I was simply enthralled by the play. I wanted to meet Danish, who had so effortlessly (or so, it seemed to me), transported me to another place, painting a haunting picture of the fertile lands of Punjab, with its dark, crooked tales. “For me, it’s the larger geo-political context that matters. These are not just tales we were telling. They point to the ugly face of what’s happening around us, like the US invading Vietnam or the Dadri incident. That’s what makes great literature so great,” Danish said, referring to the four short stories by Urdu writer Ali Akbar Natiq, which he adapted into the play.

In between spoonfuls of chicken pasta, Danish recalled his days in Delhi, when he’d completed his MBA and was working in a bank. “I had a history of shutting down banks. Whichever bank I would work for, would shut down. I was like their unlucky mascot!” he guffawed. One thing led to another, and he found himself doing an acting workshop with Barry John, who, later, cast him in his play, Khamosh, Adalat Jaari Hai.  While Danish admits that he hasn’t done a lot of theatre, he did get to work with some of the best theatre talents in the country, right from MS Sathyu, to Rajinder Nath, MK Raina, Habib Tanvir and Sabina Mehta Jaitly and won acclaim for acting in plays such as Agra Bazaar, Jaat Hi Poocho Sadhu Ki and Rumi: Unveil The Sun. He also worked in a couple of movies, including Peepli Live, Dhobhi Ghat and more recently, Ankhon Dekhi.

            The cast of Ek Punjab Ye Bhi. Pic courtesy/Zahan Kapoor

In 2012, he started his theatre group, called The Hoshruba Repertory, literally meaning ‘jo aapke hosh udaa de’. “It was my way of expanding out, not restricting myself to being a storyteller, but to explore other forms and mediums,” he said. And because Danish has always been attracted to text and literature, the first play he opened with, was Samuel Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape, something which a number of people told him, was too dark a choice to start his theatre company’s journey with. “But that’s how we are, we have become this dark, poisoned people,” reasoned Danish, “A lot of our literature, poetry, social disorders are essentially urban phenomenon. There is an angst, of living beyond despair, where things will never change, where our air, food and even human relationships have become poisoned. That angst appeals to me, because that’s how we live in these modern times.” The same urban angst continued with his next play, Chinese Coffee, about two men in their mid-40s, and how their jealousies, unrequited love and unfinished agendas unravel over a period of two hours.

                     Danish Hussain and Vrajesh Hirjee in Chinese Coffee

Last year, after moving to Mumbai, Danish set about looking for an apt subject to make a new play. How Ek Punjab Ye Bhi came about, is another long story which involves the actor-director receiving a book of short stories as a gift, relegating it to the bookshelf without reading it, committing himself to doing a play based on those stories in an interview without really meaning to, and then finally, making a play on them – but we won’t go there today. “The stories have this haunting quality about them. Punjab has one of the most fertile lands in the sub-continent. But by the time you see these stories, it seems as if the colour is flying off the painting. By the end, it becomes a haunting, desolate place,” said Danish.

The artiste admits he’s enjoying direction now. “There are heartaches there too, but that’s part of life,” he reasoned. And his next play? “Mujhe maloom hai main bolke phans jaaonga,” he smiled, and then added, “It’s an absurdist play called Professor Taranne. It’s a play about a man and indecent exposure and a trial, extremely relevant in today’s times.” We can’t wait to watch. 

In Kalki's living room

Two years ago, Kalki Koechlin shared a cup of tea with me, as we both sat cross-legged on the floor. She was taking a break from rehearsing for Manav Kaul’s play Colour Blind and that day, I got a chance to observe Kalki, as an actor on stage. She was not very different from how I’ve found her in her film roles – intense, dedicated and a delight to watch.

A few months ago, the roles were reversed. A few days ahead of her directorial debut in theatre - The Living Room’s premiere in Bengaluru - I observed her, as she sat on a chair with her legs on the table in front of her, watching her actors rehearse. She remained quiet all throughout, letting them fumble, remember their lines and carry on.

Later, she sat cross-legged on the floor of the rehearsal room at Laxmi Industrial estate in Andheri, and examined her little toe which she had hurt a few days ago, as she waited for her actors to settle down around her. Sheeba Chaddha had left immediately after the rehearsal was over, but the others — Jim Sarbh, Tariq Vasudeva and Neil Bhoopalam — were ready for their feedback, and settled down near her. “Guys, you forgot your lines too many times today. You have to read the script at home,” she told them, as they looked suitably chastised.

By the time you read this, Kalki’s directorial stage debut, The Living Room, would have been staged at Bengaluru, and in Delhi, and is ready to be shown at Mumbai’s NCPA Centrestage festival which starts on November 27.

She told us she was glad that she didn’t have a film on hand to divert her attention from the play. “I would have gone nuts if that was the case. As it is, I have grown old in the past one month with all the stress,” she had said with a laugh.

Death brings meaning to life

She had written a play earlier, titled Skeleton Woman, but had left the direction to someone else. “This time, I wanted to direct. I guess I’m a bit of a control freak,” she laughed. Earlier titled A play on Death, Kalki changed the title to The Living Room, but was not sure where the idea of the play came from. “It’s a conversation between an old woman and Death. The dilemma, which it explores, is that does one live their life fully because life is so short or do you live life depressed because you will eventually die. Along with that is the idea that if you had that one extra day to live, what would you do with it. Death, in a way, brings meaning to life,” she added.

It might sound like a lot of philosophizing, but just as life can be either uplifting or depressing, the play too has heightened moments of sadness and happiness. And because she’d been told umpteen times about similarities between her play and Woody Allen’s Death Knocks, Kalki went ahead and read it. “The only similarity I found is that death plays a bumbling character in both the plays, but what eventually happens is different,” she revealed.

Taking inspiration from directors

Tariq, one of the actors from the cast, believes she is very patient as a director. “I guess I can be sympathetic to the position of the actors in terms of the frustration they feel when they are exploring a character, because I know what it is not knowing what you’re doing on stage,” said the actor who’s studied drama and theatre from the University of London and also acted in a number of plays.

Directors such as Rajat Kapoor, Atul Kumar and Rehaan Engineer have influenced her directing skills, said the first-time director. “Rajat always says that one should let the actor’s exploration period be as long as possible. From Atul, I’ve learnt about the specificity of movement. And while I haven’t worked with Rehaan, I’ve seen how he works and pays attention to the text and the intention of the grammer,” she said.

Would she act in a play directed by her, we were curious to know. “It would depend entirely on the kind of play it is. If it’s a monologue, then I can do it, but an ensemble play like this would be impossible,” she said.

All we can say is, we can’t wait to watch what this talented actor and director has in store for us, when the play is staged on November 29 at NCPA.
    

Much love

The Art Addict

PS: The Art Addict is no fan of James Bond but when it comes to the other Bond - Ruskin, she would like her name to be mentioned on top of the fan list. And so, she is super pleased to know that Penguin India has recently announced that the speaker for their Penguin Annual Lecture 2015 would be the much-loved author. The event would be held in the capital in mid-December.                              

A tale of two actors

Over the weekend, we got a chance to hear two of the finest actors theatre has gifted us – Rajit Kapur and Ratna Pathak Shah.

They could not have been from more different backgrounds. While Ratna’s mother Dina Pathak and aunt Tarla Mehta were both veterans in Gujarati theatre and the actress can’t recall a time when acting and stage wasn’t a part of her life, Rajit’s father mocked him openly when the young man declared that he wanted to join the National School of Drama.  “Have you seen your face in the mirror? Hangar jaisi shakl hai!” Rajit recalled the exact words his father had said to a somewhat amused audience.

The actor never ended up going to the NSD. Ratna, on the other hand, did and is grateful for the technical-knowhow, history of theatre and other lessons she learnt there. “NSD didn’t make me an actress, though it did make me a better theatre person,” she remarked.

Formal education or not, the two actors have, over the years, managed to leave a mark on all the mediums they have explored, be it theatre, television or films. Some of Rajit’s memorable stage performances include Class of 84, Love Letters, Me Kash and Cruise and Flowers, while his portrayal of detective Byomkesh Bakshi in the serial by the same name had shopkeepers downing their shutters early in order to catch the show at 9 pm on Thursdays. The film, Making of the Mahatma, earned him a National Award in 1995.

As for Ratna, the actress’ name is synonymous with acclaimed plays such as Ismat Aapa Ke Naam, Dear Liar and Antigone. Her portrayal of the snooty Maya Sarabhai in the popular comedy show Sarabhai V/S Sarabhai, is still talked about. Though she has played roles in movies such as Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na and Khoobsurat, the actress says that her best in movies is yet to come. 

It was interesting to know that when faced with different mediums, both Ratna and Rajit don’t change the way they approach the character. “At the basic level, acting remains the same. The difference arises because of the space and the actor has to adapt to that. You have to do it, to understand it, to feel it,” said Rajit.

It takes a lot of self-assessment, however painful, to reach where they are. And Ratna believes that more than depending on others’ opinions about your work, self-assessment is something which is non-negotiable for an actor. “You have to know why you like what you do or what you did not like about your performance,” she told the audience, while Rajit admitted to being his harshest critic.

At the end of the discussions, an eager audience waited patiently to fire some more questions at their favourite actors. Good decision, we thought, you wouldn’t get another chance like this soon!

Much love

The Art Addict

PS: The Celebrate Bandra Festival starts today and it would be a shame if you gave up the chance to miss the open air art classes, music events, theatre shows and more, which the organisers have planned for the next five days. The Art Addict will be going for sure, will you be there? 

The theatrewallahs

What is theatre?

Is it the pin-drop silence that we hear as soon as the curtains go up on the stage? Is it the spotlight falling on the actor’s face as he readies to deliver a dialogue? Is it the props or the story or the stagecraft?

Theatre is, because theatrewallahs are. If not for them, who would be the one managing the lights? Who would sound the gong for the play to begin? Who would spend sleepless nights writing the dialogues which would make the audience smile, laugh, cry or cheer? Who would go up on that small stage and light it up with their magical performances?

Nowhere in Mumbai does the beauty and the passion of the theatrewallahs come alive than at the opening night of the Prithvi Theatre Festival. To see Makrand Deshpande walk around as if he owns the place (his long-long association with Prithvi Theatre merits him that!), to see Gulzar make his humble entry only to be surrounded by young theatre enthusiasts eager to speak to the veteran poet and writer and to watch delightedly as the traditional lamp is lit and the gong sounded to mark the launch of yet another successful festival edition – this is only possible in a place like Prithvi!

Shashi Kapoor, who set up this theatre years ago in the memory of his father Prithviraj Kapoor, may not step out of the house because of his health issues but unfailingly, he comes to light the traditional lamp every year. Every actor, director or writer, for whom Prithvi is nothing less than a second home (and for some, almost their first!), pay their respects to the veteran actor before they proceed towards the performance.

This year, just like every year, the theatre decked itself in bright lights and waited for the theatrewallahs to arrive, and they did! Makarand was there, of course. We also spotted Lubna Salim, Lillete Dubey, Akash Khurana, Shabana Azmi, Akarsh Khurana, Naseeruddin Shah, Alyque Padamsee, Ratna Pathak Shah, Feroz Khan, Trishla Patel and Divya Jagdale. With every passing year, Prithvi adds a new gamut of actors and performers to its repertoire and so, we also noticed Kunal Kapoor (of Rang De Basanti) who's making his theatre debut with The Hoshruba Repertory's Ek Punjab Ye Bhi. He might just get addicted, more power to theatre!

The play for the opening night was Indian Ensemble’s Kaumudi, and Makrand invited Naseeruddin Shah to do the honours of launching yet another edition of the festival by speaking a few words, but Naseer being Naseer, preffered to clap his hand and set the ball rolling. The audience sat riveted as actor Kumud Mishra became the heart and soul of the play, with his performance of an ageing actor and of a father who is a stranger to his own son.The gathering of theatrewallahs continued to make merry once the play was over, catching up with each other over some delicious food. For the next few days, they would be busy, rehearsing and putting up shows for a loyal audience. But for now, they had each other’s company, under the canopy of Prithvi Theatre.

Much love
The Art Addict

P.S: For the first time this year, Prithvi Fest is introducing Udayswar, a curated early morning musical event. The good news is that Prithvi intends to make this a monthly affair, featuring different classical musicians each time.