Arts & Culture
Mall stops play by Shaheed Rajguru College for raising "controversial" issue of homosexuality
By Vani Vivek
By Vani Vivek
The debate surrounding freedom of expression in India turned a deeper hue of red when a performance by the dramatics society of Shaheed Rajguru College of Applied Sciences For Women, Mukhauta, at The Great India Place, Noida, was interrupted by the mall authorities on March 1. The play, which was being performed as part of Manthan 2016, the Annual Dramatics festival of Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies, was stopped by the coordinators after being pressurized by mall authorities claiming that the play titled ‘Voices.Choices’ about homosexuality dealt with too sensitive and controversial an issue. Another major concern for the authorities was the image of the mall. Following the rift at Jawarhalal Nehru University, the authorities did not want to get involved in any controversies and put the image in a spot and decided to stop the play being performed in the mall premises.
The students of the dramatics society were understandably gutted after the incident, sharing their thoughts through a Facebook status that said,
[quote] “This is with regret that we announce that our play, ‘Voices.Choices.’ was interrupted midway, by the authorities of GIP Mall during our performance at Manthan Mahotsav.
The coordinators stepped in our ongoing performance, on being pressurized by the authorities and stopped our instrumentalists, for the authorities felt ‘discomfort’ with a ‘sensitive’ issue like homosexuality, which shouldn’t be the subject of a play meant for the commonwealth.
This sort of behaviour was sad rather disappointing, since neither the coordinators nor the hosting venue played along. The reaction simply demonstrates the tendency of the so-called vocal powers to get away from any sort of ‘controversies’.
The incident puts us in a position where we question, for how long will the street plays remain prohibited from the streets ?
However, our message will stay as solid as the wall of numbness in the minds of the intolerant.
It’s a choice of love, and we voice it.” [/quote]
The mall authorities were informed about the performance with details about the play in advance. A report was submitted and the organising committee was granted permission for the event said Chhavi, a member of Manthan 2016 OC. The matter was resolved by compensating the society by arranging another performance by them.
The incident, along with many others happening in the country today, prove that Manthan’s unique concept of reaching out to a large audience with the plays by using roadside stops, NGO’s, malls, parks etc. as venues is only as effective as the society’s perception of “non- controversial” topics.
Photo from the Facebook page of Mukhauta.
th, “Mashgool”, the drama society of Symbiosis Law School Noida in collaboration with the Legal Aid Centre, organised a street play in Jesus and Mary College (JMC) on “Victimisation in Dating Abuse: Tale of Three Consensual Victims”. The fifteen-minute play created legal awareness among students about their indulgence into physical relationships too early in their lives. The play depicted a story of three girls who entered relationships and eventually became victims of rape and cheating. The court scene at the end of the play made them aware that a victim who had entered the physical relationship with consent has no rights to seek legal remedy. Through three different examples signifying rape, deception and threat, the play threw light upon on the implications one may face while entering into an immature physical relationship.
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NSS JMC organised a workshop in collaboration with NGO HopeInU[/caption]
On the same day, NSS JMC in collaboration with NGO HopeInU Foundation organised a workshop by the speakers Smriti Easwaran and Dwaipayan Majumder. The workshop, as a part of its new campaign in association with a Switzerland-based company, CrowdGuard, was about “Bystander Activation”. Through videos and interactive activities, the students were educated about the cause, effects and implications of being bystanders along with methods to break the prevalent practice. The speakers elaborated on the answers of how or when to de-escalate, intervene and stay safe. The students were then encouraged to give their support and join the mobile supported crowdgaurd movement to make Delhi a safer place to live in. HopeInU, being one of India’s women-centric organisations has been working for the betterment of young woman, with a special focus on Delhi University. For this purpose, they have organised talks and workshops in various colleges previously.
Lovleen Kaur
[email protected]
Photo credits: Nikita Gupta ]]>
Usually, Verve’s plays manage to create an emotional stir among its audience. Mehul Gupta, one of the spectators had the following to say, “Usually Verve’s plays leave you reeling in contemplation. This year’s play had a very pertinent theme. Beautifully acted and strung.” After performing at Dilli Haat, Jantar Mantar, Green Park and Moments Mall, the last week of the street theatre fest shall feature performances at M Block GK Market, Shadipur and Vishvidyalaya metro station, with a closing act at India Gate. To track performance schedule during Manthan, click here.]]>
The Arts Quad witnessed the street play competition on Day 2 of Gargi College’s annual fest Reverie. The judges for the event were Mrs. Shubha Sharma from the National School of Drama, Mrs. Mrinmoyee Majumdar, Director of Kathakaar Trust and Ms. Chaaya Sawhney, teacher convener of Kshitij, the street play society of the college. A total of 12 teams participated in the event including CVS, Hindu College, Hansraj College, Kamala Nehru College, PGDAV and Maharaja Agrasen College. SGTB Khalsa College’s street play – We, The People was adjudged the best, while Guru Gobind Singh College’s Chidiya ki Kahaani and Kirori Mal College’s Company Raj bagged the second and third place respectively.
The day also saw conventional debate being conducted at the Seminar Hall. The topic for the debate was – This house aims for the stars – which was open for interpretation. Eventually, the team of Sidhant Shekhar and Aiman Anjum from Deshbandu college bagged the first position, while Sushmita Singh and Meghna Acharjee from Gargi College were adjudged the second best team. The best interjector was Bhawna from Lady Hardinge Medical College.
Other winners:
Overacting
1st position: Nishant, Sulabh and Sanchit – Maharaja Agrasen College
2nd position: Akshat, Satyam, Rahul – PDGAV
3rd position: Devesh, Akshay, Rahul – Maharaja Agrasen College
Catch live updates from Reverie 2014 here | Visit the Reverie 2014 Facebook Album here
The annual street play festival of Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies : Manthan, was held from 15th February to 3rd march 2013. Organized by Verve, the street play society of CBS, Manthan is seen as one of the largest street play festivals in Asia .
Manthan attracted over 40 teams from Delhi, Mumbai and Chandigarh, from universities such as Punjab University, Delhi University, Indraprastha University and Bombay University.
The main event took place from 25th February to 3rd March, which involved performances by the participating teams in public places like market complexes, malls, etc and various schools and colleges. The highlight of the event was CBS’s performance at India Gate. It was the first college level street play society in India to perform at this venue, as the permission to perform here is very difficult to obtain. The closing ceremony of Manthan took place at India International on March 3.
The participating teams chose topics of social relevance as their performance themes. Some examples are disability, sedition, innocence, reservation, etc.
One distinct feature of Mantham was that through these street plays, they aimed to reach out to the kids living in slum areas rather than limiting themselves to an urban audience.
Picture Credits: Pinvite.grouptable.in
Siddhi Goel
“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”
– Aristotle
If we could change ourselves, the tendencies of the world as we know them to be, would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. We need not wait to see what others do.
Personal and social transformations go hand in hand.
Be the change that you wish to see in the world.
Begin the journey YOURSELF.
Badlaav Mujhmein Hai.
Presenting to you, MANTHAN 2013, the annual street play festival of VERVE, the street play society of Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies.
“Manthan” carries on its young shoulders, the distinction of being one of the biggest street theatre festivals in the whole of Asia.
The festival was conceptualized six years ago with the intention of revolutionizing street theatre or ‘nukkad natak’, a reformatory art that was getting shackled by competitive spirit, and creating a platform where it could reach the masses.
The motive of Manthan is to bring about social change. Now in its fifth edition, ‘Manthan’ is a nation-wide event and aims to reach out to a massive audience across all age groups, classes and categories of people and to harness the power of street theatre to bring about positive change in the society.
In the month-long extravaganza spanning 3 cities- Delhi, Mumbai and Chandigarh, Manthan 2013 will incorporate ‘nukkadnatak’ performances from 32 college teams with the aim of sensitizing the audience on various social issues persisting in the country.
In sync with the prime motive of the event are two unique socio-cultural initiatives, namely ‘Street Play to Schools Programme’ and ‘Street Play to NGOs Programme’.
The school programme witnessed a cheerful reception by the school students who were enthralled by the extremely engrossing and thought-provoking performances. Prominent schools across Delhi participated in the movement for change. Bal Bharati School, Pitampura; Sardar Patel Vidyaylaya; St. Mary’s School; DPS Rohini are to name a few. The school programme proved to be a huge success and served the twin-purpose of promoting street play culture in the future college students and to create awareness.
Following the school programme is the Street Play to NGOs programme, from 18th February 2013 to 22nd February 2013. Through this endeavor Manthan strives to reach the grass roots of the society by performing in slums in association with various NGOs across the Delhi-NCR region. The participating NGOs include AryaAnathalay, Daryaganj; BachhokaGhar, Daryaganj; Prabhaat and Blind Relief Association.
Kick starting from 25th is the main-event of the festival. Barring the opening and closing days, each day of the festival is modeled around a unique theme; plays relevant and pertaining to that particular theme will be performed.
Each day with the unique theme will witness gripping performances by college teams covering a myriad of social issues that are often ignored. This shall be followed by open discussion with the audience about the theme, presided over by a panel of eminent personalities from the field of theatre, performing arts, education, media, social and political activists etc.
Joining the movement are the following colleges and the themes of their play respectively:
- ShaheedSukhdev College of Business Studies- Disability
- Hansraj College- Childhood
- Gargi College- Animal Cruelty
- SGTB Khalsa College- Reservation
- Hindu College- Opinions/ Power to protest
- IP College for Women- Sedition
- Miranda House- Health care
- Shri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce- Caste system
- Sri Ram College of Commerce- Competition
- Lady Sri Ram College- Censorship
Manthan 2013 is being promoted as a free-for-all vibrant event that promises entertainment and at the same time a thunderous exchange of ideas on the diverse topics of the street plays.
Manthan 2013 is proud to be associated with Sun Foundation as its title sponsor. Sun Foundation is an initiative of Vikramjit Singh Sahney, Padma Shree and President of Sun Foundation, that has brought self reliance and betterment to the lives of thousands of women and children through their initiatives like Surya Kiran Centres for Women, Taare Zameen Par for specially abled children and Save The Girl Child Campaign among others.
“Samajik buraiya anek chunauti hain, sweekar karo
Kya kami rehgayi, dekho aur sudhar karo
Kuch kiye bina hi jay-jay kar nhi hoti
Himmat karne walon ki haar nhi hoti”
Join in the voices and be the change you wish to see.
Follow the link below to know more about Manthan2013.
http://www.facebook.com/Manthan.cbs?fref=ts
Verve, The Street Play Society at Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies is proud to present “MANTHAN 2013”, which aims to harness the power of street theatre to arise a sense of responsibility and cognizance about sensitive issues within the society. Over the past six years of its history, different colleges across Delhi have come together and performed street plays with various alluring themes at many public places, all with an aim to reach out to people and get them thinking. The largest and the most extensive street play festival in Asia, MANTHAN, is widening its expanse this year to a month long fest spanning across 3 cities-Delhi, Mumbai and Chandigarh. Manthan will incorporate ‘nukkadnatak’ performances from various college teams and professional groups on the plethora of social issues plaguing our nation. The highlight of the event is the unique socio-cultural initiative, titled the ‘Street Play to Schools’ programme, undertaken with the purpose of promoting Street Play culture in future college students and to create awareness at the same time. Spanning from 6th February – 15th February 2013, the school programme was host to a volley of excellent ideas and synergetic performances by reputed colleges in various schools across Delhi. The School programme had the following schools and colleges as its participants:
- Bal Bharti School, Pitampura- Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies and Lady Sri Ram College
- Sardar Patel Vidyalaya- Daulat Ram College, Sri Ram College of Commerce
- St. Mary’s School, Safdarjung- Atma Ram Sanatan Dharma College
- Delhi Public School, Rohini- Hansraj College
- Sri Guru Nanak Public School, Adarsh Nagar- Miranda House
- Mira Model School, Janakpuri- Motilal Nehru College
- Ahlcon International School- Hindu College
- Mount Abu Public School- IP College
Manthan’13 is privileged to present to you its title sponsor – Sun Foundation. An initiative of Vikramjit Singh Sahney, Padma Shree, Sun Foundation has brought self reliance and betterment to the lives of thousands of lesser privileged women and children through their initiatives like Surya Kiran Centres for Women, Taare Zameen Par for specially abled children and Save The Girl Child Campaign among others.
Follow the link below to get a sneak peek into Manthan’s endeavor to usher in change.
http://www.facebook.com/Manthan.cbs?fref=ts
Ek Khwaab Jo Maine Dekha Hai,
Khud Hi Mein Janma Hai…
Badlaav Ki Wo Soch Hai,
Khud Hi Mein Dekha Hai.
-Manthan 2013.
Aao, Ek Khwaab Ko Janm Dein.]]>
The students union of Miranda House proved its mettle by putting up a good show at Tempest, the annual cultural fest of the college. The three day affair drew crowd in thousands every day.The swarm of people seen outside the college gate trying to pour into the college through the thin entrance only proved it better.
The day one of the fest, tagged as ‘Qayamat’ kicked off with the stage play competition, which saw the audience asking for more. The plays went house full, while one could always spot a crowd of atleast 20 people waiting outside the auditorium waiting to get inside. A few students misunderstood the entrepreneurship cell event, ‘the End of Times Sale’ as some sale which the society had put up and went back disappointed as the event was about making a product out of waste material provided. The talent show organized by the NSS unit of the college for the differently talented people received a very good response. Supriya from Miranda House won the first prize in dance category while Shipra won the second prize. DJ Sumit Sethi who came dressed in red, coupled with a sparkling red hat, played out some groovy numbers for the crowd while rapper Aman had the audience cheering for him for his Punjabi rap.
Resurrection, the day 2 of the fest saw the two most crowd pulling events being held. The bare spring sun didn’t stop the audience from cheering, singing and clapping during ‘Dhol Pitara’, the street play competition. Shivaji College bagged the first prize in ‘Dhol Pitara’, while Kamla Nehru College and Ramjas College shared the second prize. The third prize went to Ramanujam College.All the three prizes in the Poster Making competition, organized by the Fine Arts society of the college were bagged by the students of the Fine Arts and Photography society of Kirori Mal College. ‘Rear Gear’, the cycle stunts show organized by the Adventure Club of the college was a big hit amongst students.
The folk dance group of the host college won bagged the first prize in Sira, the Indian Dance competition. The day ended with ‘The Last Step’ the western group dance competition. Teams from 17 colleges across the city participated in the competition. The girls from Maitreyi College won the hearts of the crowd and the first prize with their scintillating performance on numbers like the ‘Naadaan Parinde’.
On Nirvana, the last day of the fest, a number of informal events like Holocaust-the ad-mad, Ancient Sleeves- the t-shirt painting competition, The Signs- the Tattoo making competition, a treasure hunt, et al were held. The Nishad-the Indian and the ‘Ending on a good note II’, the Western Music events went on for the whole day.
The highlight of the day was a performance each by the Hindi metal band Nigambodh and Parikrama. Nigambodh played some original compositions, accompanied by some growls by the vocalists and killer music by the guitarists. Parikrama along with its original compositions played a number of popular numbers of other bands like the Coldplay. People in the crowd were seen banging their heads off to the music of the both the metal bands. Free artist Jasleen Royal sang a number of popular songs and gave away free autographed CDs after the show. Parikrama ended its show and also the fest by calling upon the stage the core organizing committee of the fest and bowing in front of the audience along with them.
Photo Credits: Parthiv Goel, Saurabh Jain and Shweta Arora
Huge crowds. Incessant singing and slogan raising. Raised voices. Loud invitiations to draw in the audience. A rampant air of festivity.
If you’re in DU and you notice an event with the above characteristics, then make sure you stick around. For what you’ll eventually witness will be a fine piece of street theatre performed by enthusiasts and concluded with a message meant to mobilize the youth.
Street theatre in DU is usually performed by the Hindi Dramatic Societies. However there are also a few groups which function as separate societies dedicated solely to this form of theatre.
Street theatre is largely devoted to addressing social and political concerns. Society today is witnessing widespread internal and external crises. From terrorism to communal riots to a wholesome political paralysis, the country is plagued with numerous evils. Hence it’s commendable that students of the university take it upon themselves to spread necessary awareness through a medium which shall reach the largest audience.
The street play societies also have the most amount of fun, aays Samriddhi Kukreja, Vice president of Kahkasha, JMC, “We have these sessions where we aim at making the voice of each member reach its highest frequency. So the whole group repeats “anna” and each time the frequency increases. Also, we want each of us to be comfortable with words that would otherwise make jaws drop. For instance, we have sessions where each member is expected to say “condom” really loudly. So these are some the fun things we do.” Various events last year saw the JMC girls perform on the much controversial theme of “homosexuality” and receive significant appreciation.
Besides JMC, Venky has Anubhuti which has been in existence since the last eight years and has immense popularity to its credit. St. Stephens has Shakesabha, Miranda’s Anukriti is popular for its signature human pyramid and Khalsa’s Ankur have been extremely instrumental in raising awareness.
The most reputed of all is Verve, The Street Play Society of the College of Business Studies. Last year their Annual Theatre Festival, Manthan, got a lot of colleges together to perform street plays in government schools and public places.
The street play culture ensures that even while you’re having fun, you’re getting across important messages to the society. Surely it’s a combination well worth exploring!