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Theatrical delight at Hindi Natya Utsav

Aiming to promote Hindi literature among the youth, veteran theatre directors are now staging a bouquet of plays based on Hindi short stories here.

New Delhi: Aiming to promote Hindi literature among the youth, veteran theatre directors are now staging a bouquet of plays based on Hindi short stories here.
Spearheaded by the Department of Art, Culture and Languages, the four-day Hindi Natya Utsav titled "Char Rang", that ends on August 1 features 13 plays based on short stories spanning the beginning of the 20th century till date. "This four-day festival is our attempt to bring to stage some very interesting stories and depictions under the direction of some much respected directors," Harisuman Bisht, Secretary, Hindi Academy said. Stories by noted writers like Bhisham Sahni, Yashpal, Jainendra Kumar, Amar Kant and others have been dramatised. Veteran diectors M K Raina, Tripurari Sharma, Devendra Raj Ankur and Bansi Kaul have directed the plays. The festival was inaugurated on July 29 by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit in the presence of veteran theatre personality Vinod Nagpal and Ashok Chakradhar, Vice President of the Hindi Academy. The ensemble list of plays include Prem Chand`s "Kafan", Gyanpeeth award winner Amarkant`s "Zindagi aur Jonk" and Bhisham Sahni`s famous short story "Chief ki Dawat". The first day of the festival saw the staging of "Usne Kaha Tha", "Paajeb", "Parda", and "Chief ki Dawat" directed by Devendra Raj Ankur. The directors have lauded the efforts of the Hindi Academy to organise such a theatre-festival bringing together for the first time the work of so many hindi writers. "The four-day festival is devoted to Hindi stories only. The Hindi Academy, in a first of its kind effort, has concentrated an entire festival on Hindi stories," said director Devendra. "I think it will be a delight for the students, theatre persons, critics and everybody else to watch these plays," he said. Bansi Kaul, who has directed two short stories "Deputy Collectrie" and "Zindagi and Jonk" said it is "a very good idea to get into one genre. This time the theme is short stories." "The presentation is done differently. It is both about telling a story and dramatising it," said Kaul who believes in staging a story as it is written. For the festival, a total of 40 hindi stories were selected out of which the directors chose the final 13 Hailing theatre as a medium that can reach common people easily, Bisht said there was "overwhelming responses from the people keen to watch them". "Audience is accustomed to watching plays. People come to watch theatre plays because it is live action," he said adding rang-manch or theatre "is a medium of protest,a medium, which speaks against the set values, it questions the status-quo." While Raina directed "Kafan", "Faisla" and "Bheriye", Tripurari Sharma dramatised "Mulakat", "Bahri Log", "Stri Subodhini" and "Akeli”. Lined up for the final day on August 1 is a presentation of "Deputy Collector" and "Zindagi Aur Jonk" directed by Bansi Kaul. PTI