"Yatrik: A Journey Into Theatrical Art" | Delhi’s curtain raisers
The story of Yatrik theatre is an essential script on the often forgotten cultural revolution that had churned through the streets of our national capital, writes Sayantan Ghosh.
The silence of the pitch dark room is only broken by the intermittent echoes of the audience's anxious breaths; suddenly, the lights flick on and the curtain is raised off the stage – from complete darkness, you instantly have a vivid array of characters engaging your vision. In a similar vein,Yatrik, A Journey Into Theatrical Art will be remembered as the literary curtain-raiser on the post-Independence cultural extravaganza of the Capital.
The 271-page book, written by Diwan Singh Bajeli and edited by Indu Ramchandani, Bhaskar Ghose, Sunit Tandon and Ranjit Mathur, is a refreshing insight into the nuances of Yatrik theatre. The author has been writing on theatre for four decades with reviews and interviews of eminent theatre and film personalities appearing in almost all leading publications.
Bajeli has scripted the story of Delhi's Yatrik theatre – from its inception till its present-day. The chronologically-developed story has emphasised on the group and its members. However, the author, in this journey, never missed lending the readers insight into the prevalent cultural scene which, in its own ways, motivated the members to stick on and continue with their effort of performing meaningful plays.
Bajeli summarised, "A group of travellers, yatris with a passion for theatre, registered themselves as Yatrik in 1964 as a bilingual repertory company. The objective was to project the arts as a dynamic living force by providing regular sustained performances of theatre and other arts. Having staged almost 300 plays both in India and abroad, held dramatic readings, and conducted several theatre workshops, Yatrik has established its unique presence in the history of theatre as one of the longest-existing theatre groups. Hundreds of performers have walked the stage under the Yatrik banner and shall continue to do so. This is the story of the journey in the words of the yatris."
"At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom" – a well-known excerpt of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru's speech. The freedom came but took a different path in post-colonial India. Delhi being the capital of the nation witnessed upheaval. While the state was the centre of attention for its policymaking, the subtle cultural revolution of Delhi was swept to the sidelines. The story of this cultural revolution was remembered in Bengal and Mumbai, but Bajeli tells us about the less-discussed Delhi theatres.
In the first chapter, Genesis of Yatrik, the authors discuss the birth of this group, a silent revolution in many ways. "After Independence, the cultural world of Delhi had begun to vibrate with new hope, vitality, and spirit of an experiment to evolve new forms of art and infuse them with modern sensitivity and indigenous idiom," writes the author.
From the second chapter till the end, the author discusses the history and evolution of the Yatrik theatre group. Across the chapters though, the author's thematic emphasis has remained unwaveringly committed towards the substance of the group, the people who made its dreams reality.
It starts with Joy Michael, one of the founders of the group, as the author notes: "Yatrik is to Joy as Joy is to Yatrik." Michael produced more than 250 plays for Yatrik and portrayed wide-ranging characters. In the same way, the author described the work and contribution of other key people of the group including, Roshan Seth, Sai Paranjpye, Alyque Padamsee, Sushma Seth and others.
Discussing a journey should lend equal primacy to the founders as to the adapters. The author has been very candid in this view. In the chapter Movers and Shakers, Bajeli discussed the "Gen-Next" of Yatrik. The young minds that run the group today are as relevant as the founders.
This book is not an advertorial of a theatre group, it is not about some people, it is not a mere history of some plays. This book is of dreams which started with a small team and then became history itself. This book is about the much neglected cultural timeline of the Capital alongside being a sharp presentation of the importance of theatre in the Indian milieu. Today, when communication has become more electronic, the book reminds us how theatre has existed in India in its various forms through periods of rejection and adaptation.
Yatrik, A Journey Into Theatrical Art, is a narrative that confluences culture, dreams, performance and history.
