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Khanabadosh – the street play society with a difference

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nukkad (street drama) and rangmanch (stage drama) have  been confined merely to perform for the competitive motives and have been restricted to perform to DU circuit audiences. With this thought of breaking the mainstream theatre culture, widening the ambit of theatre from the narrow DU restricted one, and opening the avenues for ex DU students, a theatre group called Khanabadosh was founded.

About Khanabadosh

Founded by DU alumnus Sidhaant Sharma (Maharaja Agarsen College) on August 31 2013, Khanabadosh caters to the general public with a motive of creating awareness and instigating a thought about the right and wrong. The group that initially did theatre with all the ex-students of the university has now expanded their artist base to others as well. In working since October, Khanabadosh has 24 active members and 17 performances to its credit till date. Khanabadosh is presently just a street theatre group. khan4

Vision

In words of the director, “Khanabadosh doesn’t aim to manufacture actors. It doesn’t even aim to create professionals. The vision is to create those human beings who can understand the matters of the society. Those who can notice what is happening around them, observe, analyse the problem and then play or act. Yahan motive insaan banana hai.” Sidhaant adds, “I wish to create such a team that has the freedom of expression with this clear vision in mind,never deviating from it.” The team has different people from various backgrounds. They have different perceptions and few members within the team have mutual admirations. So the most challenging task is to maintain harmony in the team where everyone has the urge to create a difference.

Mission

With this vision in mind, Khanabadosh vows never to participate in competitions and do theatre only for its target audience. They have created a mission to let the audience introspect about what is happening around. The plays of the group are a satire on the society and its systems or to put it more precisely, a slap on the face. Their theatre is different from the fancy and organized theatre at the university. ‘Khanabadosh’ (the word which means ‘nomads’) undertakes unorganized form of theatre through the dramatic art. According to the members of the group, today’s common man doesn’t understand fancy theatre which includes extensive element of music and poetry in nukkad. The group, therefore gets to the street with a less complex plan of action for the play and a dhafli and plans to cover each part of the capital city under this theatrical cause.

Members and Performances

Khanabadosh has artists from  Maharaja Agarsen College,SGTB Khalsa, Kamala Nehru College, Gargi, PGDAV and DCAC. It also has other members with no acting experience or background who are provided with required training. Khanabadosh has one production to its credit after completing six months. Their nukkad natak DEMO-CRAZY is a play based on the political truths and is a satire on the political system. It highlights how common man of the country is left with no option in this vicious circle of politics and how people who don’t vote, have no right to question. The team has performed for the general audience at metro stations, Shri Ram Centre (Mandi House), Connaught Place, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Park, Mayur Vihar, Ashok Vihar, Patparganj, Tri Nagar, GB Road, Dilli Hatt, IIT Delhi and TDI Mall as part of Manthan’14. Their viewers range from market going people to the vegetable or fruit vendors and from students to people with political backgrounds. “In all performances, it is amazing to see how people could relate to the play and gave responses. For us, it is still a learning process.”  said a team member. The team  travels to different places allover the capital city, and arranges for  certain formal permissions required to perform in respective areas.

Future Plan of Action

Khanabadosh, the team that is currently on an election break plans to resume the series of performances soon. They also plan to get the group officially registered with the government and expand itself to stage theatre as well. The new season will witness a new play by Khanabadosh on some other social topic. The team apart from Delhi will also move out of the city for both revolution and change. As one of the members of the team say, “Khanabadosh wishes to grow from a baby to kid and then to an adult.” [gallery ids="22658,22656"]

Appeal to the University Theatre Circuit

During the conversation, Sidhaant who was also a volunteer for General Elections 2014 told DU Beat how the voters of the country portrayed dilemma on their face while voting. “This is all a shitty mess, jahan janta pareshaan hai. We are happy in doing our bit by taking our political play out for the public.” Team Khanabadosh appeals to all the teams of the university to bring their brand of street theatre actually out to streets and not limit it only to the university and competitions. The group feels that the meaning of ‘nukkad’ is lost otherwise. For more updates about the team and their performances visit: Khanabadosh Facebook Page]]>

([email protected]); IInd year commerce student at Hans Raj College, Delhi University, Iresh inherited writing from nobody. Not equipped well with mind of a business maestro, he just likes to sit back with a cup of tea trying to balance journalism and poetry. One can generally find him chit-chatting with people (strangers and known, both) or struggling in the overcrowded city of Delhi looking for a seat to watch a play or some Bollywood film, at a cheap price ofcourse. (He hates people who hate Bollywood). An anchor, compère and interviewer, he also enjoys event management and cooking. Known well for his sense of humour, Iresh aspires to integrate his three interests of Movies, Marketing and Writing to make something out of his unproductive life as his elder generation terms it to be.

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