Dear Friends,
I am sure you must have gone through the activities of CSNA from 2005 to 2009. Now we are going to give you details of our functions undertaken during the year 2009-2010 for your information.
Beyond the world of stage
Five years is a short period to plant and nurse a tree of five thousand year old culture in a city that is barely fifty odd years old. Yet, the effort of Chandigarh Sangeet Natak Akademi bore fruits, in bringing about a visible shift in the number and attitude of audiences. 
This was evident with packed auditoriums for all the events held under its aegis. May it be nukkad nataks played by local theatre groups in villages bordering the city, or, classical music concerts, the response of the audience was encouraging and supportive.
Theatre, music and dance apart, debates, symposia, documentary shows etc. kept the calendar busy, wherein the Akademi stretched understanding of culture beyond stage shows and concerts to nurture an atmosphere of appreciation for art, in all its forms. An effort was made to break boundaries between different genres of performing arts by making events more comprehensive and participatory, rather than passive listening exercises.
So far, the constant endeavour of CSNA has been to promote local artistes, by providing stage to them and by inviting artistes from other states and cultures to the city to enrich their perspectives. This year it introduced Inter-State Cultural Exchange Programme, which facilitated artistes from Chandigarh to explore and experience a different set up and audience. This year the artistes performed at Simla. If the Akademi introduced young stars on the horizon to the city audience, it also revered veterans by showing its gratitude to their contribution in nurturing the tree of culture.
The thespian who gave confidence to indigenous Indian theatre by creating a repertory of simple village folks and taking their theatre to international stage passed away in June 2009, leaving behind a void. In demise of Habib Tanvir a guiding light was lost to Indian theatre. And the city joined in mourning this colossal loss. CSNA organised a meeting to pay homage to the departed thespian, attended by the artist fraternity of Chandigarh. All the condoling artists had had some association with the veteran during his long productive span of life to share some warm memories. 
Chairperson, CSNA, Kamal Tiwari, recalled how Habib Tanvir had unlearned his European training in theatre to rediscover folk and tribal theatre traditions of Indian soil. Dolly Ahluwalia, costume designer recalled her experience of working with the thespian during the production of The Burning Season and TV serial Tanhai. Neelam Mansingh Chaudhary recalled her long lasting family association with the thespian, apart from the professional reverence she had for the departed director. G S Channi, Diwan Manna, Prof Yashpal, Sahib Singh, Dr Harish Bhatia, Dr Rani Balbir Kaur, Zulfikar, Sudesh Sharma, H S Bhatti, Madan Spatu were among the artists who paid their homage, Kamal Arora expressed a resolve to carry on the progressive work in theatre initiated by late Hahbib Tanvir, lauding social commentary of the genius in works like Agra Bazaar and Charan Das Chor.
Chairperson, CSNA, Kamal Tiwari, recalled how Habib Tanvir had unlearned his European training in theatre to rediscover folk and tribal theatre traditions of Indian soil. Dolly Ahluwalia, costume designer recalled her experience of working with the thespian during the production of The Burning Season and TV serial Tanhai. Neelam Mansingh Chaudhary recalled her long lasting family association with the thespian, apart from the professional reverence she had for the departed director. G S Channi, Diwan Manna, Prof Yashpal, Sahib Singh, Dr Harish Bhatia, Dr Rani Balbir Kaur, Zulfikar, Sudesh Sharma, H S Bhatti, Madan Spatu were among the artists who paid their homage, Kamal Arora expressed a resolve to carry on the progressive work in theatre initiated by late Hahbib Tanvir, lauding social commentary of the genius in works like Agra Bazaar and Charan Das Chor. Unfortunately, in July 2009, the Akademi had to call another condolence meeting to commemorate freedom fighter thespian Tera Singh Chann’s demise.
He was the founder of IPTA movement in Punjab, who believed in bringing about a change in society through the powerful medium of theatre, said Kamal Tiwari, chirperson CSNA. Bereft of any facilities, Chann sculpted Punjabi operas like Amar Punjab, Neel Shehzadi, Lakkar di Latt, Kaag Smein da etc.
Dr Atamjit Singh recalled him as a committed ideologist, Dr Sarabjit Singh, Dr Sukhdev Singh, poet Sham Singh and singer Dolly Guleria paid emotional homage to the departed thespian.
He was the founder of IPTA movement in Punjab, who believed in bringing about a change in society through the powerful medium of theatre, said Kamal Tiwari, chirperson CSNA. Bereft of any facilities, Chann sculpted Punjabi operas like Amar Punjab, Neel Shehzadi, Lakkar di Latt, Kaag Smein da etc. Dr Atamjit Singh recalled him as a committed ideologist, Dr Sarabjit Singh, Dr Sukhdev Singh, poet Sham Singh and singer Dolly Guleria paid emotional homage to the departed thespian. Theatre for every nook and corner
In July and August 2009 the Akademi organised festival of Nukkad Natak in village Kaimwalla and Khuda Lahora, on the outskirts of the city. The six day long festival staged plays with themes of social relevance like drug abuse, HIV AIDS, female foeticide and environment protection. 
The story of a thief who steals water leaving aside gold and silver not only amused the audience, it delivered a profound message of protecting resources in Jago India Jago, written and directed by Sumer Singh. Another Punjabi play, Dheeyan Dhan Aapna, directed by Rajiv Mehta mirrored Punjabi society’s fixation for a son. Written by Ashwini Sawan, the story poignantly enacted by Sawinder, Vicky and Kulbeer made the village audience sit up and think over their own bias against the girl child. Ode to the rains- Malharotsava
Pitter- patter of the first showers was made more melodious with strains of Malhar in the city. Malharotsava, organised by Chandigarh Sangeet Natak Akademi and Indian National Theatre in July facilitated renderings of rich, soulful music of the season by Prof Arvind Dutt Sharma and Arati Ankalikar from Pune. 
Ru-ba Ru with Imtiaz Ali, Irshad Kamil and Dolly Ahluwalia
Director Imtiaz Ali, lyricist Irshad Kamil, a former student of Panjab University and city based costume designer Dolly Ahluwalia Tewari, the team of film Love Aaj Kal were invited to the Akademi for a ru-ba- ru. The trio shared the creative processes involved in making a film, part of mass media. Imtiaz shared his views on making a art film which is also commercially successful, Irshad talked about using poetry in the form of popular music, the way Shiv Batalwi’s poetry was used in the film and Dolly Ahluwalia shared her experiences of dressing up characters in a period frame. Imtiaz Ali, director of films like Socha Na Tha, Jab We Met and Love Aaj kal has used Punjab as a backdrop for his story telling. Kabeer Festival- Suno Bhai Sadho
For the second consecutive year CSNA, in collaboration with Indian National Theatre organised a two- day festival on Kabeer ‘ Suno Bhai Sadho’ in September at Bhartiya Vidya Bhawan. The programme was stretched through two days, both days began with screening of documentary film shows on the poet, followed by discussions and symposia that concluded in musical renderings of the poet in the evening. 
Celebrated documentary film maker Shabnam Virmani’s films that touch several aspects of Kabeer; his life, poetry, philosophy, followers and singers of Kabeer were dealt with in films Chalo Hamare Des, Kabira Khada Bazaar Mein, Koi Sunta Hai and Had Anhad, which were screened during the festival. A seeker herself, Virmani made these films as part of her search for the truth of Kabeer’s word under a grant from Ford Foundation. On the first day Sukhdev Singh Namdhari and his group gave raga based recital of Kabeer Bani from Guru Granth sahib, with the accompaniment of several tantri instruments which are almost extinct. 
Natyotsava
Keeping the tradition of providing stage to local theatre groups by staging the annual theatre event, the city once again saw Natyotsava- 2009 open to packed Randhawa auditorium at Punjab Kala Bhawan in November. In the fourth consecutive year of its staging, the festival brought to fore some youthful energy of experimentation, along with voices of the veterans.
The opening play Rirde Parinde di Katha written over a decade by Shabdeesh had the protagonist caught between two value systems. The story of an acclaimed Punjabi novelist, who could not practice what he believes and preaches through his writing was brought to the fore under the direction of Anita Shabdeesh. Strong performances by Yogesh Arora, Harpreet, Jatinder Riar, Iquattar Singh, and poetic renditions by Salim Akhtar gave lifeline to production. 
A very ‘Thought’ provoking staging by Chakresh of Alankar group of a light hearted take on ‘Thought’ column that appears in newspapers everyday, and how it affects a reader’s mindset in conflicting directions was the theme for the second day’s play during the festival. All the actors, including child actors stole the show. The experimental presentation was a great success which was expressed in standing ovation received by the cast of the play. 
Portrayal of complex cobweb of human relationships was attempted in Rawaytan Ton Paar, written and directed by Sahib Singh. A physically handicapped man’s inner battle with envy and suspicion was portrayed by Sahib Singh on stage, supported by Amanpreet Kaur and Haarman Pal. The music was by Jaswinder Sohal and lyrics were penned by Jaswinder. Vijay Tendulkar’s satire on political system, 
Hatt Teri Kismat, directed by Shyam Juneja and enacted by artistes of CIPA( Chandigarh Institute of performing Arts) bared open the intriguing game of politics, where the schemer becomes a victim of his own game plan. No one is left untouched by the intrigues, with twist and turn of situations. A scathing comment on the double standards of society vis- a-vis women’s rights were highlighted in Udhari Hoi Guddi. 
Based on a story by Rishpinder Rashim, disparity and subjugation meted out to women in a male dominated society was juxtaposed with the absolute authority granted to male heirs. Directed by Devinder Daman, powerful performances by Jaswant Daman and Roopam laced with poignant poetry of Shiv Kumar Batalwi rendered in the voice of Suman touched a deep chord with audience.
Based on a story by Rishpinder Rashim, disparity and subjugation meted out to women in a male dominated society was juxtaposed with the absolute authority granted to male heirs. Directed by Devinder Daman, powerful performances by Jaswant Daman and Roopam laced with poignant poetry of Shiv Kumar Batalwi rendered in the voice of Suman touched a deep chord with audience. Ru-ba-ru with thespian M K Raina
Yaadon Ki Kasak
Dedicated to senior citizens, the popular annual feature Yaadon Ki Kasak, based on the songs of K L Saigal was organised for the fifth consecutive year by CSNA. This year the event was dedicated to the memory of S K Sharma, founder of Environment Society of India, an ardent fan of Saigal. The musical journey down memory lane, picking gems rendered by legendary singers like K L Saigal, Pankaj Mullick, Talat Mahmood, C H Atma, Noorjehan, Suraiya etc were presented by 15 amateur artistes at Randhawa auditorium. Despite biting cold of a January evening, the auditorium was packed to capacity. Bhupinder Singh, Joginder Bhalla, Bobby, Muktesh Diwan, Vinod Diwan, Preetika, Asawari, Shivam and Pooja regaled the audience. Aai Basant Bahar
While Nivedita, a versatile vocalist from Patiala painted colours of Basant by leisurely elaborating on notes of raga Basant, she moved on to unfold Rageshwari Bihag and Basant Bahar, the rendering of compositions, aei bhanwra re and sakal ban gagan were received with warm appreciation in a winter evening. 
Rendering of popular compositions like phagva brij dekhan ko and aaei basant birha bas ant enraptured the audience, even though the raga was same, when the globe trotting guru B S Narang took stage. He rendered other variations of Basant; Plasi Basant and Tilang Basant, apart from rendering a raagmala with great aplomb. Audience said, they had not experienced an evening so melodious in a long time. The fragrance of Basant was in air. An evening of music
technical virtuosity, combined with emotive prowess. His opening rendering in raga Puriya Dhanashree offered a unique experience to the audience, who sat mesmerised at his amazing control over notes and his ability to set new standards in aesthetics of classical music.
Pt Kaivalya offered some rare gems from his rich repertoire, giving glimpses of different genres of music. He introduced the audience to abhang and natya sangeet in a relaxed manner, in the process making them appreciate finer nuances of each genre. Inter State Exchange Programme
This programme was a new entrant to Akademi’s calendar and received much acclaim for its unique approach. As the city has many artistes of national repute, it is natural that they get wider audience. To implement this intent, CSNA, in collaboration with Directorate Of Language and Cultural, Himachal Pradesh, organised a three day cultural programme at Gaiety Theatre, Shimla in May 2010. Three eminent artistes from the city, Prof Yashpal, eminent vocalist of Agra gharana, Suchitra Mitra, bharatnatyam dancer from Kalakshetra and Harvinder Sharma, sitar exponent of high repute gave performance in their respective genres.
Vaishakh Festival opened with notes of Puriya Kalyan, combining compositions which represent a composite culture, namely compositions exhorting divine interventions from Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia and Lord Krishna, Prof Yashpal regaled the audience.Bharatnatyam exponent Suchitra Mitra with her disciples Suchita and Ishita presented a medley of compositions in bharatnatyam, ranging from Ganesh Vandana, Natesh Rachna, and compositions based on Jaidev’s Geet Govind and a thumri to showcase emotive aspect of the dance, which were aptly applauded by the audience.
Street Theatre festival- 2010
Committed to the effort of staging socially relevant plays in the vicinity of the city, CSNA organised six day street theatre festival at different locations in villages Karsan, Burail, Ram Darbar and Kaimbwalla. The success of previous years staging of plays in the villages enthused city theatre groups to voice contemporary issues in an entertaining way. Twelve shows of four productions were staged at various locations during six day festival in May 2010. 
Addressing growing number of road accident related deaths, Sadak Hamare Baap Ki by Theatre Arts Chandigarh, directed by Rajiv Mehta offered a satire on so called educated masses who take pride in violating traffic laws, inviting death. Rishma Hud Mitti Hoinya, by Facets International Theatre Group was a comment on female foeticide. Script was written by Kulbeer Virk and the play was directed by Samar Singh. 
Main Ih Nahi Hon Diyangi presented by City Entertainment offered a scathing comment on the problem of drug abuse among the youth. The play directed by Gaurav Sharma was penned by Sardar Gursharan Singh. Written and directed by Vijay Kumar, Dilon Ki Hadtal addressed the growing problem of eating junk food which leads to poor health among youth.
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