Content area
Full text
India, June 15 -- In the middle of this marvellous tazkirah of theatre in Mumbai, and Maharashtra, Ramu Ramanathan expresses his amazement that Patthe Bapurao, the doyen of tamasha, a Marathi folk form, wrote over 16,000 songs, especially lavanis. He explains that he was amazed to discover this fact because he thought he knew a thing or two about theatre. As we know, the present day crossing of Golpitha and Falkland Road, the red light district in Mumbai, is named after Bapurao. Golpitha has, of course, been immortalised in Indian literary history by erstwhile Dalit Panther and legendary poet of resistance, Namdeo Dhasal.
I thought that I knew a thing or two about theatre in India but Ramanthan's book has left me gasping at my ignorance and former smugness in the same measure. Like the pre-modern Persian and Urdu tazkirahs about Sufis and poets, this book that alphabetically chronicles theatre personalities through entries comprising brief life facts, illustrative anecdotes, and samples of work, is a discovery of delights at every turn. For instance: at the height of his theatre superstardom, Sriram Lagoo was playing three lead roles in three blockbuster Marathi plays, Natasamarta, Himalaychi Savili and Gidhade, on a single day! Lagoo also travelled across Maharashtra to raise funds for the Narmada Bachao Andolan, and for the slain rationalist Narendra Dabholkar's Andhsradha Nirmoolan Samiti. And yet, even during his heyday, he could not muster more than five people to see his performance of Mohan Rakesh's Asarh Ka Ek Din at the Royal Opera House.
To understand the range of this book, sample this. Before the pandemic, Mumbai saw nearly 1,500 theatre shows every month mostly in Hindi, English, Gujarati and Marathi. The top Marathi and Gujarati plays could net 2.5 lakhs for each show and the annual turnover for Marathi theatre could go up to Rs.20 crores per annum. In addition, there are plays in Konkani, Urdu, Kannada, Telugu and Malvani. Mumbai is also, of course, the city of theatre festivals, the NCPA, Nehru Centre, Avishkar, Prithvi, Thespo, Mumbai theatre festival, the Kamgar festival, Bhavan's cultural festival, a week of Marathi Prayogik plays, and the IIT theatre festival, among many others. Remarkably, all this happens despite the Kafakesque labyrinth of permissions, NOCs, and clearances required...