The Naya theatre group is all set to present ‘Agra Bazaar’, a play written, designed and directed by the late Habib Tanveer, a renowned Indian Urdu and Hindi playwright, theatre director, poet and actor who could captivate hearts with dazzling artistry. By blending folk artists with urban actors and art forms like ‘Nachs’ and folk styles, he made his plays effortless, mesmerising audiences.
The musical drama, set in the 18th century, throws light on the much-neglected Urdu poet of the era, Nazir Akbarabadi, an older poet contemporary to Mirza Ghalib. Written and staged in 1954, ‘Agra Bazaar’ integrated song with drama and rural actors with urban actors who performed in a marketplace. The play was revived in 1970 and again in 1976.
Amidst low sales, a cucumber seller hopes that sales will increase with words of praise for cucumbers and poet Nazir obliges him. He returns, singing Nazir’s song about cucumbers and customers’ flocks. Other vendors - the Ladduwala and Tarboozwala - follow the same path and soon, the whole bazaar hums with Nazir’s songs.
Nazir, a truly proletarian poet, often wrote on demand for vendors and traders, beggars and vagabonds, never caring to collect or publish what he wrote. Nazir never appears in ‘Agra Bazaar’ but casts a spell in the hearts of many with his poetry. The theme of the play is humanism.
While tickets are available on the ‘Bookmyshow’ website, the event will be held at Kamani Auditorium, New Delhi, on April 12, 2024, at 7 pm and April 13, 2024, at 4 pm and 7 pm. It will also be held at Apparel House, Gurgaon, on April 14, 2024, at 6:30 pm.