It is 6 pm and Bengaluru’s Ada Ranga Mandira is abuzz with a motley audience of 200 who have gathered to watch the slice of life play Bhasaan by Bodhisatta Sarkar. The curtain rises to show a young girl and a woman in animated discussion. “E kemon culture, e kemon ritual ja maa ke bisarjan dite bole? (What kind of culture, ritual can ask for immersions of the mother?)”. The girl is asking why the idol of goddess Durga is immersed in a river during the visarjan ceremony, especially when she is considered as mother. It doesn’t seem right. As the play unfolds, it turns out to be a poignant tale of how two communities deal with loss in diagrammatically opposite ways. Its staging in cosmopolitan Bengaluru shows that Bengali theatre has carved out a niche for itself in the South Indian city.
Bengaluru, once a city with the soul of a continent and the weather of an English summer, is now a potpourri of different Indian cultures owing to the influx of IT and hospitality careers which attracted youth from all over in the noughties. Among the movers were shakers of Bengali theatre and performances as well. The culturally inclined Bengali took to the arts for bonding. ENAD is one of the most active Bengali theatre groups in the Garden City, which started performances in 2000. It is run by Bengali theatre enthusiasts who work and live in the city.
Mitankar Das Sarkar, secretary, Society for Energising Performing Arts (SEPAI), another reputed theatre group which has staged over 50 shows and launched 15 productions, says, “Bengali theatre is booming in Bengaluru. Regular workshops, theatre festivals, one-act plays, mimes, pantomimes conducted by several independent groups doing Bangla theatre have created a niche for itself.” So did Smarannik which was founded in 2012 and has been consistently producing Bengali plays which run to packed houses in the city. Their work ranges from historic pieces such as Nati Binodini to thought-provoking plays such Simantini, Drishtikanya,
and Sadichha-r Rangbadal. Smarannik’s most recent play, Sesh Shringo, had no seats left. New entrant, Ekalavya Performing Arts (EPA), is dedicated to a wide range of stagecraft including, drama, mime, music, dance and other forms of depiction arts. EPA has made its presence felt in Bengaluru’s cultural circle since 2016. “One of our most popular performances is Split Mime—a unique mix of mime and visual illusions. There are pantomimes like Sonnet of Silence, Puppies and the Tree, The Lost Childhood, Amaar Nazrul and mimes such as Pickpocket, Paanipuriwala, Stone. Alongside these, Arunoday, Ratanlal and mime/play Bhasaan have earned widespread admiration and laurels,” says Sarkar, a founding member of EPA.
There is no dearth of Bengali theatre groups in the city to entertain professionals and students from the east. In 2005, a group of students in Bengaluru’s IISc campus set up MukhOsh to fulfil this need. “We created a space for Bengali theatre by organising a theatre festival named Moitree. This considerably boosted Bengali theatre here. Now there are several active theatre groups,” says MukhOsh’s founder Ayan Banerjee. After several members who were doing their PhDs moved out, the group has shifted stage to Kolkata. Despite the numerous active groups, Bengali theatre in Bengaluru is plagued by lack of funds—a common lament in the creative world. “People are keen to watch Bengali plays and we often get requests for information on upcoming plays and theatre festivals. Their quality here has improved. Even backstage props and technical aspects required to stage a quality production have advanced to a great degree. Since theatre is not a profitable enterprise, we don’t have the money to advertise upcoming events. Social media is our most important medium to spread the word,” says Sayandeb Bhattacharya, director, Smarannik.
The range of the audience which comes for plays is as diverse as their ages. “There are people who know many languages, who like to watch our plays. Quality work can attract all types of audiences and of course, then language does not become a barrier in theatre,” feels Bhattacharya. Most of Bengaluru’s Bengali theatre groups are popular both nationally and internationally. SEPAI recently staged its play Choloman Osoriri in Kolkata as a part of a theatre-festival held by Bengal-based group, Aneek. SEPAI was invited to take part in SOPA in Pune and has conducted theatre fests, providing platform for local as well as national theatre groups.
Smarannik has travelled to 15 theatre festivals till date, including several international and national theatre festivals like Paschim Banga Natyamela, Sayak Theatre Festival, Prachyo International Theatre Festival, Ganga Jamuna Theatre Festival. “All the groups are doing something new and unique. We are experimenting with mime, a less ventured art form. We try to convey social, psychological and emotional messages through simple acts of mime and plays.” adds Bodhisatta. Theirs is a tough act to follow.
The quality of Bengali plays have developed. Even the backstage and different technical aspects for a play have advanced.