Chandigarh Sangeet Natak Akademi 2009-2010

    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.  

                                    Homage  

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.    

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.  

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 festival opened with Bhasmasur, written by Vijay Machal under the direction of Ravinder Kumar. The play was staged to bring about awareness for reasons that cause HIV AIDS and also to clarify misconceptions associated with AIDS. Mitti Rudan Kare, a Punjabi play was directed by Gaurav Sharma. The play  dealt with the theme of drug abuse, so prevalent among the youth of Punjab. Written by Baldev Singh, powerful performances by Jasveer, Harman, Mukesh, Aasha and Ikattar struck a chord with village audience.

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.

Organised at Hathi Sadan, Bhartiya Vidya Bhawan, the evening was initiated by Dr Arvind Sharma’s recital of raga Miyan Ki Malhar. Arati Ankalikar, a disciple of Vidushi Kishori Amonkar and Ulhas Kashalkar who came to limelight with her award winning songs in Sardari Begum, began rendering in Megh Malhar, taking audience to other forms of malhar like Ramdasi Malhar and concluding the programme with Anand Malhar, a raga created by her guru Kishori Amonkar. Notes of garje ghata ghanghor and barsat ghan aayo reverberated air long after the evening was over.    

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    

Like drops of honey, amidst the cacophony of this world come  words of medieval poetry. Kabeer Bani delimits the limitation of mind, with inner realisation and doable wisdom that rejects all sorts of bias practiced in the name of religion. Growing more relevant and contemporary with the passage of time, these gems make all thinking minds find solace in his life and philosophy, engrained in unpretentious poetry of Kabeer, which is passed through oral traditions over generations.

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.

Prahlad Tipaniya gave a rendering of Kabeer bhajans in his inimitable Malwa folk style on the concluding day. The festival  became talk of the town with its unique structure and a very rich content which gave a new insight towards relevance of Kabeer’s words in the times of communal disharmony and petty political discourse.  Sh Prabhat Singh Resident Editor, Dainik Bhaskar Chandigarh presided over the function and honoured the celebrated documentary film maker Shabnam Virmani.

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.       

Ru-ba-ru with thespian M K Raina  

CSNA organised a ru-ba-ru with celebrated theatre director, actor, writer and visiting director of NSD, MK Raina at estate Library in December -2009. The veteran thespian, on the one hand was happy with government’s decision to implement theatre as part of school curriculum, at the same time he expressed apprehensions for tardy growth of theatre in a country where a population of one billion is served with just one National School of Drama, which too, he added needs to reinvent itself. There is need for state level drama schools, he added. With such diverse cultural richness available to Indians, he added, it is a shame to invite English theatre. He reiterated the fact that theatre was possible with minimum resources, what it requires is only maturity in education system which will allow creativity to grow. The meet was attended by intelligentsia and artist community of the city, apart from the press.  

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 

Welcoming the new- year with shades of mustard, this year Basant Panchmi coincided in the month of January. The city, as usual, celebrated the festival with musical notes. CSNA, in collaboration with Indian National Theatre organised Aai Basant Bahar, featuring celebrated singers Nivedita Singh and Baldev Saran Narang ( Pandit Kaivalya Kumar Gurav was supposed to feature in the festival but could not arrive due to cancellation of flight) at Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan.

 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   

In April 2010, an evening of classical music, abhang and natya sangeet was organised by CSNA and Indian National Theatre featuring Pandit Kaivalya Kumar Gurav of Dharwad, who could not participate in Basant Festival due to last minute cancellation of flight.An exponent of Kirana gharana, Pt Kaivalya is a versatile vocalist, who moves with ease across three octaves mesmerising audience with his 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.

The festival concluded with a melodious sitar recital by Dr Harvinder Sharma, on a note of promise to continue the effort initiated under inter state exchange programme, from both sides.   

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.  

Activities organised during 2008-2009.

Dear Friends,

                    We hope you must have gone through the activities of CSNA from 2005-2008.  Now, we are adding the activities organised by the Akademi during the year 2008-2009.  I am sure, some of you must have witnessed these programmes. Please do let us know about your suggestions, observations and comments.

Activities organised during 2008-2009

                   The focus of Chandigarh Sangeet Natak  Akademi in 2008-2009 was more towards bringing the local talent to the forefront and to let performing arts reach out every nook and corner of the city and its periphery. May it be theatre, music or other performing arts, the stage was extended from auditoriums to village schools, chaupals, streets and smaller auditoria.

In theatre, all genres; from a simple dramatic rendering of a script, to street plays of activism, to proscenium – all aspects were covered.

In music, if there were renderings by pure classicists, there was folk rendering of Kabeer Bani,

as well as K L Sehgal’s genius was brought alive by musical talents of the local artistes.

 The Akademi also invited artists and critics to put their heads together to chart out a road plan for the growth of theatre.

It has been an eventful year for the Akademi. 

 Stage of Social Relevance

A conscious effort was made to expand the scope of art to make it socially relevant and hence more acceptable. A Festival of Socially Relevant Plays was organised at village Kaimbwala on Oct 11 and 12 to initiate an interaction between rural and urban population.

 The idea behind the endeavour was to give voice to rural population; their aspirations, concerns, and dilemmas, in an artistic expression. Four plays selected for the fest articulated these concerns.

Sirjana ( written by Pali Bhupinder Singh) and Nawan Janam ( written by Gursharan Singh), directed by Anita Shabdeesh of Suchetak Rangmanch addressed the issue of  female foeticide and suppression of common man. Anhi Gali Da Mor and Zakhmi Khamba Di Parwaz , written and directed by Dr Sahib Singh addressed menace of drug addiction and common man’s struggle against unemployment, exploitation of the dalits etc. 

 The shows received success which went beyond expectations, with local population demanding staging of more such shows in their village. The backdrop of a water body and a full moon added charm to stage already set to articulate some touching issues. Audience was spell bound, as, they could relate to the  themes of the play which touched their lives. The festival was organised in collaboration with Dept of Culture and Public Relations, Chandigarh. 

The local stage

The third annual theatre festival of local theatre groups was once again organised to give a fillip to theatre activity in town. Young and old thespians participated with zest for Chandigarh Theatre Festival held at Tagore theatre from Nov 10^th to 15^th.

 The Festival was inaugurated by the Home Secretary, Chandigarh Administration Sh. Ram Niwas I.A.S., by lighting the traditional lamp. 

       

The curtain raiser was a tribute to S. Bhag Singh, a pioneer of modern Punjabi theatre, whose well known play Chhaleda was staged under the direction of Kuldeep Sharma of Ajnabi Rangkarmi.

The play presented a unique blend of tradition and modernity. The evergreen loveable thief, Charan Das Chor was staged the next day under Zulfiquar Khan’s direction for Theatre Age on Nov 11.Loot by Studio Challenge group was staged the next day, a rib tickling comedy based on Joe Norton classic. The ‘mystery’ was directed by Nima Dhandona.

Shankar Shesh’s Adhi Raat Ke Baad was the next on Nov 13. A strong satire on politics of the day, the play which brought to fore common man’s struggle against the system, was staged by local group Theatre for Theatre, under Sudesh Sharma’s direction.On Nov 14, Baawli was staged which dealt with the problem of loneliness in old age. Written and directed by Asif Ali, enacted with intensity, the play received a thunderous applause. 

For the final day, Jammu based theatre group Natrang staged one of its most popular plays Mere Hisse Ki Dhoop Kahan Hai which deals with the problem of children losing out on childhood due to pressures of academic performance and high parental expectations.

The play, with a cast of over two dozen children, directed by Balwant Thakur received thunderous applause.

Street wise  

Once again taking theatre to the doorsteps in the city periphery, a two- day Street Theatre Festival of Socially Relevant Plays was organised by CSNA on Nov 29 and 30. 

The venue, with the backdrop of Mani Majra Fort, added more appeal to dramatic material that dealt with socially relevant issues. On the opening  day, young theatre directors Rajiv Mehta and Gaurav Sharma attracted huge crowds when their group performed Paryavaran ka Vinash and Zara Bachke at old Mani Majra where no theatre performance was held before. If Rajiv Mehta’s play, based on the script of Ashwini Sawan and Suvinder Pal dealt with declining environment around us, Zara Bachke had a few precautionary tips against AIDS laced in heady dose of entertainment. 

On the second day Daldal dealt with the menace of drug abuse among the youth. Directed by Vijay Machal, recipient of Yuva National Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, the play was based on facts and figures about drug addicts from all strata of society. The last play Kiran, written and directed by much revered thespian Gursharan Singh bared open the menace of female foeticide.

Rendering drama by word

The power of word, when rendered with intensity surpasses need for stage or props. Two dramatic renderings by seasoned actor- directors offered a unique experience for theatre lovers of the city in September and December. 

Shahjahanpur Ki Shehzadi, rendered on Sept 20^th at State Library Building created ripples among the audience with its deeply disturbing theme. The script written by NSD alumnus Asif Ali was based on subtleties of Muslim identity crisis in post 9/11 world, going back to many uncomfortable historical truths. The text was rendered by six trained students of acting under his direction.

 Mungu Comrade, based on the struggles of Makhan Singh, a sikh based in Kenya and his struggle for independence of that country were brought to fore by playwright Dr. Atamjeet in a rendering of the same at Punjab Kala Bhawan on December 28. The dramatic renderings were received with applause.

Another script of a play titled Katra Katra Zindagi, was based on the theme of deteriorating condition of theatre practitioners in the present day. 

The script was read out at State Library building. Jaswant Daman and Davendra Daman presented the rendering for Nora Richards Theatre group. Later a show of this play was sponsored by CSNA at Punjab Kala Bhawan.

Yug Wartara

In February this year, another play Yug Wartara was staged at Punjab Kala Bhawan, in collaboration with NZCC, Patiala. Presented by The Punjabi Rangmanch, Patiala, the script attempted to delineate the crisis of values grown through four ages. With mythical characters like Dharmraj, and historical characters like Bhagat Singh and Waris Shah, enacting their own lives, a clash of values was explosive yet based on realism. The play was written and directed by veteran thespian P N Shahi

Musical Soiree    

 In December, when winds carried the coldest chill, Kalapini Komkali warmed up the evening with her powerful notes. The singer gifted with a deep resonant voice presented Purva Kalyan, to be followed by numerous other rare compositions in Khamaj, a few compositions from Malwa, including some of the bhajans sung by her legendary father late Pt Kumar Gandharwa. The evening was organised in honour of Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, who was conferred with the highest civilian honour of Bharat Ratna. Kalapini was accompanied by Sanjay Deshpande on the tabla, and by Mehmood Dhaulpuri on the harmonium.  

On this occasion, Padma Bhushan Dr. B.N Goswami, an eminent Art Historian of India presided over the function.

  Suno Bhai Sadho

A month later, in January,  after Kalapini rendered some of the gems from Kabeer Bani in Kumar Gandharwa’s inimitable style, Prahlad Singh Tipania and his party presented Kabeer, as the darling poet of the ordinary masses. 

Suno Bhai Sadho, organised at State Library witnessed some of the purest and most moving aspects of Kabeer’s poetry presented in its simplest form, with the accompaniment of a tamburi, just as Kabeer would have wished it to be. Tipania is known the world over for his spiritual earnestness, with which he brings out the essence of Kabeer. His choked vocal chords and flowing tears during the performance, a witness to his spiritual ecstasy, took the audience to a higher plane. The show was jam packed.

Sehgal nostalgia

 The magic of K L Sehgal’s voice grows gradually, like an intoxicant. And the senior citizens of the tri-city never fail an opportunity to take a dip in timeless charm of his music.

On a cold December night, they all came, once again, braving the cold to have a taste of nostalgia. Yadon Ki Kasak, organised in collaboration with The Environment Society of India, at Randhawa auditorium on the 62^nd death anniversary of late K L Sehgal, introduced the young of the goldmine of talent, that Sehgal was.    

 The evening opened with rendering of raga Bhairavi, Sehgal’s favourite by Priyanka Shrama, to be followed by Vinod Rajput’s rendering of jab dil hi toot gaya. Veteran professor J S Grewal presented the timeless gem, prem ka hai is jag me panth nirala. Kishor Shrma, Sarika Gupta, Betty Nangia were some of the other singers who presented a chain of unforgettable songs from Sehgal’s never- to- be- forgotten songs.

Debasheesh on the tabla and Dharmveer on the harmonium accompanied the singers.

   

Aai Basant Bahar

As the city wears a floral crown in February, CSNA prepares its annual soiree to welcome spring with musical notes. 

This year, veteran vocalist of Gwalior gharana, Pt Laxman Krishna Rao Pandit was invited to enthral music lovers with his amazing repertoire of rare compositions. 

On this occasion, Hon'ble Sh. Samir Mathur I.A.S., Financial Commissioner & Principal Secretary, Transport & Civil Aviation, Haryana was the Chief Guest. The stage was decorated with marigold flowers at Randhawa Auditorium. Even the audience came dressed in the colour code of the season. If the setting was in gold, Panditji’s notes added sparkle to it.   

 Panditji began his rendering with raga Basant, navi ke darbar aao, sab mil gao, that filled the auditorium with notes of joy. Piya sang khelo ri and phagva brij dekhan ko chalo ri, added to the flavour.

The maestro also rendered Jaydev’s Ashtapadi in Tilwada taal. Panditji’s renderings have the old world charm of  purity, coupled with his choice of some rare compositions of antiquity, it offered a heady mix of traditional colours of spring, celebrated by our ancestors over centuries. He was accompanied by Pt Bharatbhusan Goswami on the sarangi and by Ustad Phaiyaz Khan on the tabla.

The audience did not have enough of Punditji.

Panel discussion on theatre

After the Fourth National Theatre Festival , organised by Theatre for Theatre ( TFT)  was concluded, CSNA organised a panel discussion on the future of theatre , in collaboration with TFT at State Library, Chandigarh. Leading theatre directors who had come to participate in the festival from across the country were of the view that special workshops should be organised to promote theatre activity in the region. Many theatre directors felt that there was a need for smaller auditoriums to perform low budget shows, while, others demanded abolition of tax for theatre shows. They also stressed that greater involvement of the young was required for the longevity of theatre.  

It was decided that Probir Guha of Alternative Living Theatre, Kolkata will hold workshops on experimental theatre. Alakhnandan of Nat Bundele will train young aspirants in stagecraft while Pali Bhupinder of Off Stage, Moga, will hold workshops on script writing. Subsequently, more directors will be involved for holding workshops.

Nearly 75 participants took part in the discussion with enthusiasm. After the panel discussion was concluded Zulfikar Khan, Anita Shabdeesh, Ravi Vijay, Amarjeet Azeez, Sanjeevan,  Raman Mittal and Parveen Jaggi were honoured for their contribution to the theatre.

Kamal Tewari, Chairman, CSNA, was honoured on the concluding day of the festival by TFT for his sustained contribution in the field of theatre music and for promotion of theatre and cultural activity in the region.  

Carnival

On the occasion of Chandigarh Carnival,

CSNA and NZCC organised a musical show of rare musical instruments from the region. The participation of CSNA was greatly appreciated in the carnival.  

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