annual Report
Darpana Academy of Performing Arts is an Institution run under the Karmakshetra Educational Foundation, a Public Charitable Trust, registered with the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, New Delhi, under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act 1976. Regd. No. 041910043 dated 2nd March 1985.
Contents
Letter from the Director
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Introduction
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Mission
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Organizational Structure
10
The Governing Council
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Projects: 2006-07
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Special Projects
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“Dance for me is a deep, spiritual affirmation of life, an emotionally charged sacred energy. The children who came to me were like unopened buds. My longing was to make them blossom gently into flowers that mirrored their artistic and ancient heritage. ‘Darpana’ means ‘Mirror’, and the universe I feel is reflected within each one of us, so I called my academy ‘Darpana’. Although we started in 1949, the school formally opened in 1962 … without much fanfare as students now began to enrol in larger numbers. But it was a difficult beginning. When Darpana was founded, it was regarded as a cultural oddity and a curiosity in this industrial city of Ahmedabad where artistic activity had hardly any place. But my husband Vikram kept telling me that someday Darpana would have a strong influence in Gujarat.”
– Mrinalini Sarabhai
Letter from the Director
Dear friends, well-wishers and colleagues, Darpana’s last year seems like a breathless run, with projects, collaborations and performances which have taken us from the magnificent ruins of the Acropolis to lepers’ homes, shelters for street children and dozens of schools and colleges. There have been huge collaborative performance projects, with artists from Peru, Australia, France, Algeria, the United States and Colombia, and an arts for change project in the Dangs. But the Unsuni project has definitely been the front runner this year. For close to thirty years Darpana has created innovative performance pieces and televsion material to communicate particular messages or information to target audiences. In fact two of Darpana’s departments, Darpana for Development, started in 1982, and Darpana Communications, started in 2000, do specifically this. However we have never ourselves gone beyond that, to start a nationwide movement. And that is what we have done with Unsuni - created a performance to launch a national youth movement in elite schools and colleges, to motivate youngsters to volunteer their time and talent to work with and for the less fortunate. And the response has been phenomenal. You can read more about it here, and log on to www.unsuni.net. As one of the many efforts we are making as an institution to slow down global warming and conserve scarce resources, a majority of this year’s annual reports will go out by e-mail rather than in a printed version. We hope you will take the time to share our year with us. With best wishes, Mallika Sarabhai
Introduction
From a small dance academy founded over five decades ago, today Darpana is a workshop for the arts where tradition meets technology to break down boundaries in art and life, where performers from the world over work together to open mindscapes through the arts. With a beautiful campus on the banks of the historic Sabarmati River, only a mile away from Mahatma Gandhi’s famous Ashram, Darpana is one of India’s oldest performing arts institutions. Established by legendary dancer Mrinalini and her husband, renowned scientist Vikram Sarabhai in 1949, over the decades Darpana has become an international centre of the arts where students and professionals gather to hone their skills and to explore new territories in the arts and their use for social change. Darpana’s activities range from performance and teaching of the arts to their use as developmental communication through direct interaction with communities as well as television programming. Its audiences range from arts lovers to District and Supreme Court judges, the less privileged across the world, children, women, tribal populations, and more. With over 25,000 graduates, well over 10,000 performances, audiences in 97 countries and a vibrant arts environment, Darpana is a centre for artists committed to excellence, innovation and the excitement of using the arts for change. Darpana’s vision is a contemporary symbiosis affirming the role of creativity in culture, researching into our origins and reaching out to the unsaid or unthought-of, with a language that is universal.
Mission
Darpana believes that through the arts it can play a vital role in... • Empowering human beings • Building a sense of equality in society • Encouraging people to find their own voice • Reinforcing people’s sense of pride in their community • Making people more responsible for their society • Provoking new thinking about ways to deal with violence and hatred • Refocusing attention on values for peace • Combating the destructive forces of communalism and casteism • Creating new life for dying art and culture • Providing opportunities for artists young and old • Bringing people together • Enhancing the quality of life
Organizational Structure 10
Darpana Conservatoire This is the training and teaching wing and trains dancers who have already completed their basic graduation, or professional dancers from other styles of dance. Special classes in classical dancing, folk dance, and Carnatic music are available for all students. Puppetry and theatre are taught through a series of continuous workshops and skill building. All students are encouraged to learn other related arts for a fuller experience and understanding of performance styles. Workshops are a regular feature, and visiting artists run workshops in subjects such as Comedia del Arte, Bhajans, Geets, and Ghazals. These are open to students of Darpana free of charge and to others for a minimal fee. Students are also actively encouraged to watch performances at Natarani to broaden their understanding of the arts. The extensive library is at the disposal of all students. Janavak Janavak was born in 1982 for the revival and preservation of folk forms, be they music, dance, drama, or others. It ran training workshops, teaching and documenting Bhavai, Gujarat’s folk drama form. Bringing renowned performers from the villages, it gave them financial support and also scholarships to students to study under them. Besides this, Janavak also commissioned research into folk traditions and funded monographs, audio and video recordings, and produced CD ROMS. Having completed a ten-year programme to revive Bhavai, Janavak now concentrates on learning and documenting lesser known folk
Darpana Performing Group Amphitheatre
Art Gallery
Darpana Communications
Natarani
Janavak
CafĂŠ
Conservatoire Darpana for Development Centre for Non-Violence
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dance and musical styles. Its repertoire includes folk forms from Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bengal, Gujarat, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Nagaland, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Tamil Nadu. Darpana for Development In the early 1980s, each of Darpana’s departments were working with external agencies in trying to create new performance pieces to highlight issues such as corruption, family planning, environmental degradation, and women’s rights. It was felt that there would be a generation of synergy if this work could be centralized. In 1982, Darpana for Development was born to nourish this energy. Today it has launched several successful projects to spread social awareness and empowerment through the medium of performing arts. Some of these are funded by national and international agencies like the MacArthur Foundation, USA; ETC India, and SEDA. The Centre for Non-Violence through the Arts, which is an extension of Darpana for Development and is housed at the academy, focuses the attention of artists from all fields of art and literature towards issues of violence with the aim of encouraging them to create new works that demand new thinking on related issues. Perhaps the first of its kind in the world, the Centre provides facilities for artists to come together and share thoughts and ideas about non-violence. Artists and writers interact through workshop, exhibitions, and seminars. Others are given fellowships to work and create at the Centre, and some are given the facilities to write and be published. An annual Festival of Non-Violence, held on the anniversary of Gandhiji’s death at the Academy’s theatre presents new experimental work, some of it specially commissioned.
Children and youth are encouraged to create paintings, the best of which is awarded and exhibited. Darpana Communications Since the mid ‘90s Darpana for Development has been producing television programming using fiction, dance, and music to communicate with large audiences in remote areas. Working with the Indian Space Research Organization’s Development Communication Unit, Darpana produced over 40 programmes on the need for literacy and women’s empowerment. This led to the formation of Darpana Communications, Darpana’s audio and video production house, which was born in 2001 to create innovative programmes for significantly larger audiences. Starting in 2001 with 30 music videos on gender, women’s empowerment, literacy, functional literacy, the environment and prejudice, Darpana Communications has gone on to produce and broadcast over 1700 hours of programming on issues such as human rights, communal violence, the need for harmony, gender, and women’s empowerment. Many genres of television have been used, from fiction and interviews to quizzes and talk shows, music videos, and vox pops. The programmes are now being used by many government and non-government agencies for training and empowerment, besides having been broadcast on Doordarshan. Darpana Communications also produces audio and video material, CDs, VCDs and CD ROMS for sale, and publishes books and monographs on the arts.
Darpana Performing Group At the core of Darpana is a group of highly trained and multidisciplinary artists, proficient not only in dance or music, but also in theatre, the martial arts and other related forms. These artists train and work together to perform either as a group, or as soloists. Performances range from classical and contemporary dance to musical theatre, folk theatre, and puppetry, with a wide and varied repertoire. Guest composers and guest artists often collaborate in many productions. Natarani Natarani is a multi-cultural art centre dedicated to promoting an understanding of Ahmedabad’s and India’s cultural life. With new and innovative work from Ahmedabad and elsewhere in India, overseas performing groups touring India, traditional and folk performances, videos on the performing arts and the environment, children’s events and performances, workshops, cartoon festivals, animal and wildlife films, Natarani’s wide canvas has something to offer everyone. It is at the centre of all that is happening in the city. Natarani hosts two major international festivals every year: The Vikram Sarabhai International Arts Festival in December and the festival of Non-Violence Through the Arts in February. The state-of-the-art amphitheatre, with its sprung wooden stage, fully equipped technical facilities, ideal backstage areas, and a seating capacity of about 450, has a beautiful and serene ambience. Fortune Hotel Landmark supports the activities. The theatre is offered on a minimum rent to outside groups. 14
Café Natarani and the Natarani Art Gallery were created by local and international artists and are made entirely of recycled material and factory waste. Both the Café and the Gallery function as alternative performance spaces. Café Natarani has introduced a novel approach in interactive performances. It is almost impossible to sit in the Cafe without listening to world music, watching people dance or participating. Exhibitions held at the gallery are based on themes related to the events taking place at the theatre or the café. This is an intimate gallery featuring the works of both veterans and newcomers in the world of art. The space is also offered to crafts people to show and sell their wares.
The Governing Council 16
Jayabroto Chatterjee, Chairperson Jayabroto Chatterjee, writer, filmmaker and corporate communicator, has scripted, directed, and produced over 35 documentaries, including short features and serials. His career in writing includes creative writing, journalism, and corporate communications, with Guest Keen Williams, Tata Steel, Dunlop and the Ambuja group for 38 years. Anu Aga Anu Aga is responsible for turning around the fortunes of the engineering giant Thermax Ltd. The social sector has always been close to Aga’s heart. She is the chairperson of an NGO, Akanksha, which runs education and other projects for more than 1,600 underprivileged children in 36 centres in Mumbai and Pune. Subodh Bhargava Chairman of VSNL, Bhargava has been a past President of CII, and served as Group Chairman & CEO of the Eicher Group until March 2000. He is presently associated with several Boards as an Independent Director, and is currently Chairman, Wartsila India Ltd. Kamla Bhasin Bhasin is a noted Indian human rights activist. She received an MA in Economics at Rajasthan University and studied Sociology of Development at Muenster University in West Germany. She has written extensively on rural realities and the impact of development
programmes and policies on the rural poor. Her work has involved close collaboration with the U.N., government, and bilateral agencies, media, researchers, academics and others. Prof. Anil Gupta Prof. Gupta is the chairperson of SRISTI and the Honey Bee Network, Vice Chairman of the National Innovation Foundation (NIF) and a professor at IIM-Ahmedabad. He has a Ph.D. in management and a Masters in Biochemical Genetics. Sunita Kohli The first person to receive a Padmashree for excellence in interior design and restoration, Kohli has written several papers in design and is one of the authors of Architecture and Planning of New Delhi. A designer of repute, her overseas projects include three hotel boats in Egypt: the El-Arish, the Greenery Restaurant and the Public. Prof. Indira Parikh Ex-Dean of IIMA, Parikh taught Organisational Behaviour. She has served as Executive Director and Dean for the Research and Training of the Indian Society for Individual and Social Development, Ahmedabad. She has designed and conducted many management development programmes and is the author of several publications and books. She is currently setting up India’s first Liberal Arts University, FLAME, in Pune. Rappai Poothakaran, S.J. A member of the Society of Jesus, Rappai has travelled extensively, documenting the life, music, and dance of the tribes of India. He is Director of Gurjarvani, a communication centre committed to using mass media for integral human development. Gurjarvani also organizes and provides media training, and 17
specializes in low-cost and group-media training for personnel at the grass-root level. Rekha Rodwittiya A painter of great repute, Rodwittiya studied at the Royal College of Art in London, and the M S University. She has always been concerned with the representation of the female figure in art and is a staunch feminist. Mrinalini Sarabhai, Founder, Darpana Mrinalini Sarabhai, dancer, philosopher and activist, has been called the ‘high priestess of the dance’ for her purity of style and her bold experiments. She has a D.Litt from Rabindra Bharati University of Calcutta. She is the founding director of Darpana. She has toured the world and brought honour to India’s classical heritage since the late ‘40s. She is considered the mother of what is known as Indian contemporary dance today. A keen environmentalist, her love for trees has led her to constantly fight for their preservation and care. As a writer she has written plays, books on dance, and children’s stories. Mallika Sarabhai, Hon. Director, Darpana Mallika Sarabhai M.BA, PhD, is a performer and creator of many talents. Her career has developed from being a young, internationally acclaimed, classical dancer and film personality, to being an activist and commentator on social issues. As an artist, she celebrates positive reaffirmation of images of womanhood through 18
dance, theatre, and writing. As dancer, actress, choreographer, writer, and instigator of community projects, she challenges audiences to sit up and think, to realign themselves to questions of ecology, the role of women, gender awareness, cultural atrophy, and the very place of the arts in our society. R.K. Shah, Secretary Along with supervising and controlling the accounts department of Nehru Foundation for Development, Shah offers his services as an Hon. Consultant to the Water and Sanitation Management Organization (WASMO), Government of Gujarat, and runs an organization named Jansuvidha Medical Services for providing free medical services to the needy people.
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Projects: 2006-07
Darpana for Development Behaviour Change Communication for the Survival & Development of Children In continuation of the three-year project with UNICEF to train local itinerant performers to perform shows that deal with issues of infant and maternal mortality in the hinterlands of the Dangs and Valsad, Darpana for Development launched a unique project with UNICEF’s Anandshala schools. For one year, Darpana for Development actor activists and local actors from Valsad, trained and oriented by Darpana for Development, instigated activities and projects to mould their participants into becoming bearers of information on issues of HIV, the necessity of breast feeding, girl child education, and hygiene. Simultaneously, four teams of traditional performers were trained on the same issues and performed in villages in Valsad. Darpana for Development created theatre workshops and related activities intended for younger children, covering the topics of cleanliness and the necessity for girl child education. These were conducted in ten primary Anandshala model schools. Workshops on HIV and AIDS were conducted in ten secondary and higher secondary schools. The team spent a week with each school on each topic. The week started with the actor activists performing a play related to the topic. After the performance, discussions were held where children were asked questions about what they had seen and how it pertained to their own lives. Volunteers
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from the audience were invited to participate in a theatre workshop and related activities over the next few days. The child volunteers were then trained through the week in script development and writing, and in producing supplementary visual material like posters and cards. They were encouraged to write songs and poems on the subject, and to set them to music. This was aimed at encouraging creativity and developing confidence in the children about their ability to communicate issues in an interesting manner. Rallies were organized in each village in which the children displayed their posters and sang their new songs. These rallies had a huge impact on the villagers who often stopped the children to ask them questions.
During the rallies, villagers were informed about the performance that would be held on the last day of the workshop. The sarpanch of the village, Primary Health Centre doctors, school committee members and the Development Officer were invited to the performance. In the presence of these honourable guests, the children spoke of the issues of AIDS and HIV. They spoke of the need to address these issues and the need for community awareness and understanding. Newly created plays were presented and the children led group discussions at the end of each. The villagers and students were given the opportunity to ask questions which were answered by the UNICEF and Darpana representatives. By UNICEF’s own impact training measurement, it was found that one year after the intervention, 80% of the viewers had a clear recollection of the messages.
Darpana Communications SAT: Television for Change Darpana Communications created new programming and produced a mini band of programmes that aired on Doordarshan Gujarati for one month, with the aim of becoming the pilot project for other Doordarshan Kendras. Approval for an extension of the pilot project is now being awaited. The programmes covered issues ranging from human rights to education to health care to citizen’s rights to issues of violence, coexistence, celebrating diversity, literacy, employment generation, basic values, the processes of democracy, the environment, panchayat raj, gender equity and more. Specifically, there are four broad subject areas which have been identified in consonance with 22
the central Government’s thrust areas and by NGOs working at the grassroots in Gujarat. These are women’s empowerment, children and adolescent issues, health and water. The programming targeted primarily semi urban and urban audiences, and people living in city slums and lower middle class neighbourhoods. Whenever the time slots available allowed for reaching rural audiences, rural issues were highlighted. The main aim was to make people proactive partners in the path to improve and empower their own lives so that they take responsibility for change while accessing financial and other help available to them. The following programmes were created for SAT: Ek Moti Ekalvayu: A fictional series revolving around women’s issues and how they affect those involved. The SAT Chat Show: A chat show in which three panels, consisting of both experts and laymen, debate pertinent issues in today’s India. Sat Katha: True stories of the strength and perseverance of real life women. Sat Prabhat: A magazine format breakfast show with snippets to inspire and to set you off on a good positive start. It also gives daily tips on how we can make a difference to our immediate world and thus the world at large. 23
Tankshal: A programme aimed at economic empowerment of the poor, especially women. It brings together case studies with a chat with NGO personnel working in relevant fields in various parts of the state. Each episode highlights three stories, either about water, the Right to Information Act, self help groups, economic empowerment of the poor, health, or a success story SRISHTI: The Environment Quiz Srishti is a television environment quiz programme that began telecast on prime time Doordarshan in January of 2006 and involved children from 400 schools across Gujarat. The 16-episode game show was Gujarat’s first television quiz show for school children and became one of the top TRP rated television programs at the time. Due to the great success of the show, Darpana Communications was commissioned to produce an additional 15 episodes with support from the Ministry of Environment and Forests. The number of schools involved increased to 1200 with participants from all 26 districts in Gujarat. The rationale behind the quiz show’s production was to give regional language students the encouragement to think about issues relating to the environment in a competitive manner so that ecology becomes a live and crucial issue, rather than one to simply memorize for exams. In a state like Gujarat especially, with eco parameters so grave, deforestation rampant and industrial pollution threatening entire villages, the quiz aimed at turning students into activists. Yadavan Chandran of Darpana Communications worked over a three-month period to develop question banks for the programme. Darpana Communications’ experts then devised the game’s rounds and translated the questions into appropriate formats. Great attention was paid to draw out the general environmental awareness and consciousness levels of the students rather than have them rely on things learnt from books by rote. 25
TANA BANA: The Textile Documentation Project Darpana Communications worked for two years on a major documentation project on the lesser known handloom and handcrafted textiles with the Ministry of Textiles, Government of India. With 14 million families depending on handlooms and handicrafts for their livelihoods, this DVD cum book project was created as an invitation to the world of designers to utilize the splendor of India’s lesser known textiles for contemporary wear and use. Amongst these artisans, there is a wealth of weaves and colours, textures and embellishments, all of which have been nurtured over several centuries and is unsurpassed in the world. Today though, many of them languish for want of a market, or access to new patrons and users. One of the major reasons for the weakening of handlooms and handicrafts in the markets and thus the dire straits faced by their creators is the fall in their demand in a world that is constantly and rapidly changing. With the advent of polyester and plastics, the poor, who were the traditional buyers of these products, no longer use them. However with ‘eco-friendly’ and ‘hand made’ making a huge comeback in the developing world, there is a vast untapped potential market for them, especially in the high-end designers of couture, prêt-a-porter and furnishings.
Darpana Performing Group Unfixed A live dance and video piece created by Australian guest artist, Dianne Reid, in collaboration with the dance and media artists of Darpana. Reid experiments with the synergism and tensions that arise between dance and video. The work itself reflects upon the idea that nothing is fixed - our bodies, our futures, our destinies - and that we, as trillions of particles of matter in a continuous flux, are connected to each other and the universe. Unfixed is performed by the Darpana Performing Group with Mallika Sarabhai and Reid, and includes music from both India and Australia. 26
Huaca A collaborative performance between Mallika Sarabhai, the Darpana Performance Group, and acclaimed Peruvian theatre director Oscar Naters. It was an experimental piece in which elements of pre-Columbian Peru and Hindu culture were interwoven into a symbiosis of mythology. Pachamama is the primary Peruvian deity, mother earth. It is her flesh, also known as Huaca, from which humans developed and multiplied. This piece is representational of humanity’s search for a return to our origins, to the whole of which we are part, a return to Huaca. Don Juan An adaptation of Moliere’s book of the same name, directed by UNESCO Aschberg Programme recipient, Maud Leroy. As stated by Leroy, the play is “a succession of impacts, the clash of two cultures, yours and mine… the clash of characters meeting, of the rules of society and the search for freedom. Finally, all these impacts will give rise to Harmony, as we are all the same inside and all together on Earth.”
Unsuni Unheard Voices, Unsuni, is a physical, musical theatre piece based on Harsh Mander’s book of the same name. It gives voice to five of India’s millions of voiceless people through a series of monologues. In an energy packed performance, you meet people who have confronted life on their own terms but have never accepted fate lying down. These are stories of struggle, courage, and victories. India: Then, Now and Forever (Extended Version) This production is a fast and exciting journey through the history of Indian dance - folk, tribal, classical, ritual, and contemporary, and its parallels with the country’s history and telescoping of time in today’s world. While originally conceived and produced in 2005, an extended two hour version was created to be performed at the Herodus Atticus Odeon for the Athen’s Festival in Greece, September 2006. Krishna Vandanam Krishna Vandanam, a dance production in the Bharata Natyam style as homage to Lord Krishna, was commissioned to be performed at the capitol Guruvayoor Temple in Kerala. It was also performed on the second day of the 31st Vikram Sarabhai Festival in Mumbai.
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Collaborations in 2006-2007 Dianne Reid is an independent dance and video artist. Her work experiments with the synergism and tensions that arise between dance and video. Her collaboration with Darpana, Unfixed was performed by the Darpana Performing Group with Mallika Sarabhai and Reid for the 31st Vikram Sarabhai International Arts Festival.
Oscar Naters, Peruvian visual artist, director and choreographer, worked with Darpana’s artists to create Huaca. Naters’ work at Darpana revolved around uniting elements from differing cultures and piecing those elements into a hybrid performance that moved towards obtaining an understanding of the way religious and cultural syncretism arises and how it functions. Huaca was a collaborative experimental performance piece between Naters, Mallika Sarabhai, and the Darpana Performing Group, in which elements of preColumbian Peru and Hindu culture were interwoven into a symbiosis of mythology. The piece premiered at the annual Vikram Sarabhai International Arts Festival in December 2006. Marcelo Rueda, Columbian choreographer, spent three months at Darpana creating a contemporary dance-drama of John Steinbeck’s classic book, The Pearl, in collaboration with the Darpana Performing Group. The Pearl is a story of classic simplicity, based on a Mexican folk tale that explores the secrets of man’s nature, the darkest depths of evil, and the luminous possibilities of love.
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Natarani Theatre The Apple, directed by Varun Sharma, revolves around an Apple that is accidentally mistaken for a piece of art, addressing what art has come to mean to us. Presented by Bamboozles, the NIFT Drama Group. Saav Amari Jaat Alag Chhe, presented by the Ahmedabad Theatre Group, written by Iqbal Munshi and directed by Rajoo Barot. A story of one family and their struggle with internal and external hatred post the ‘Baabri Masjid destruction’. Lajo, a solo performance by Shruti Upadhyay. A story about sensibility & aspirations of a free-willed girl; her journey through a social system, which seeks to take away her innocence. It is also the story of her courage to break free from the shackles created by society and regain her free self. Shivom Shivom, presented by Asait Sahithya Sabha, based on the life of Adi Shankaracharya. Written and directed by Prof. Ashish Thaker. Post-Its: A play. Monologues. Partition. is a collection of monologues based on the Partition that try to capture as many emotions as could that flutter through the minds of people at the time of war. Directed by Sananda Mukhopadyaya.
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Ghar, Ghunghro Ne Ghotalo - A Lilting Three-Act Comedy, presented by the Yasdi Karanjia Group, is a story set in Poona in the house of Kaikhushroo Mehta and his wife Roshan. Their daughter Aban and son-in-law Jimmy, who have recently been married, also live with them. Things are turned topsy-turvy when the family learns that it is Roshan that is to be a mother at her late age. The play presents a hilarious solution to the problem of the Parsi Community’s dwindling numbers with a good measure of women’s lib thrown in. Written by Dorab Mehta and directed by Yazdi and Mahernosh Karanjia. Made for Each Other, presented by Hemant Shiavlkar, is a story of a man and woman’s relationship. It questions the meaning of the institute of marriage and the real desires of men and women. Written in Marathi by Chandrakant Deshpande and translated & directed by Hemant Shivalkar. Ye Kaun Sa Station Hey, presented by Hemant Shivalkar, is a reflection of today’s social condition. The play had been selected as the best play performed at the national level at the University Youth Festival, 2006. Written By Anil Devdhar, translated and directed by Vrundavan Vaidhya. The Chairs, a hindi translation of Eugene Ionesco’s play was presented by the Company Theatre, Mumbai. Two people, isolated in a circular building surrounded by water, pass their empty days remembering a past populated by imagined people. Ketlu Andharu Hu Luchu, presented by Rangkarmi, is a play 32
inspired by the life of Anne Frank, but set amongst strife in Gujarat. Written and directed by Parsh Vyas. Choli Ke Pichhe Kya Hai, presented by the Budhan Theatre Group, based on Mahasweta Devi’s story Breast Giver. It is a tribal interpretation of the story in the context of Chhara life write and directed by Alok Gagdekar. Visarjan (Sacrifice), presented by the Darpana Theatre Group, is a drama by Rabindranath Tagore dedicated to the heroes who stood for peace when human sacrifice was claimed for the Goddess of War. The play speaks out against all forms of violence. Translated by Arvind Gaur and directed by Ujjwal Dave. Music Carnatic Recital, by Jayan Nair accompanied by Palanivelu Thankavelu, Shajeesh Rajan and Manikandan. Classical and Western Jugal bandi, popular film songs, pop songs and famous English numbers presented by Rhythm Pulze, featured rare percussion instruments like the octapad, bongo, congo, timable, rotodrums, darbuka, djembe, kahon, etc. Composed by Akul Raval and performed by the young students of Rhythm Pulze. Gafur Khan Manganiyar and Group performed Rajasthani folk and Sufi songs as a means to raise funds after having lost all they had in the Barmer floods.
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Classical Music Concert by Smt. Mandakini Umdekar. Smt. Umdekar hails from the famous Gwalior Gharana and is the daughter-in-law of the famous Gwalior vocalist Balabhau Umdekar and wife of the renowned vocalist and tabla player, Pt. Madhav Umdekar. Smt. Mandakini is the epitome of Gwalior Gharana with personal renditions of Bhajans, Khyal, Thumari and several popular Marathi Bhavgeets in her own style. Films SHIT, a documentary by Amudhan R. P., a journey through a day in the life of a sanitary worker raising questions about caste, working conditions, the indifference of the Municipal Corporation and the lack of civic sense amongst the people who know that someone else will clean it up. Journeys, a documentary by Vinayan Kodoth, raises questions about progress and urbanization and the price that is paid for it. The Hidden Half, directed by Tahmineh Millani from Iran, is a fiction revolving around a fact-finding mission to Shiraz investigating the complaints of a female political prisoner who is awaiting execution. The Children We Sacrifice, a film about the incestuous sexual abuse of the South Asian girl child, directed by Grace Poore. Delhi-Mumbai-Delhi, directed by Saba Dewan, is a documentary following the work of Delhi Riya, a bar dancer in Mumbai. The film gives the viewer an intimate portrait into the everyday lives of bar 34
girls and the difficulties that they are presented with. Control Room, an examination of whether “America is radicalizing or stabilizing the Arab world”. The documentary provides a balanced view of Al Jazeera’s presentation of the second Iraq war to their worldwide Arab audience. Directed by Jehane Noujaim. Matrubhoomi – A Nation Without Women, directed by Manish Jha, explores the impact of the absence of women on men. The instability which can creep into a society due to the absence of women – be it physical, emotional and psychological – is them central theme. Images You Didn’t See featured the films:
Anti War Music Video, directed by Anand Patwardhan Contrast, directed by Ali Soozandeh The Last Post, directed by Dominic Santana Mein Wille Geschehe, directed by Jochen Bomm and Sebastian Witt Tempo, directed by Per Carleson The Thread, directed by Lieven van Baelen Ribbons for Peace, directed by Anand Patwardhan Le Processus, directed by Xavier de l’Hermuziere and Philippe Grammaticopoulos The Man With Beautiful Eyes, directed by Jonathan Hodgson
All Roads Lead to Cinema offers a glimpse into the lives of Assistant Directors in an attempt to understand their role in the 35
film making process. Reveals how some have realized their dreams whereas most have been driven to the point of despair. Directed by Sumit Khanna. Video Journey in Gujarat, directed by Ilppo Pohjola, is a record spanning over a year and a half of people who have survived one of the worst failures of state machinery since the Partition. Ahlaam, directed by Mohamed Al-Daradji, presents a voyeuristic look into the lives of three Iraqi people entangled by the chaos of the American ‘Shock and Awe Campaign’ in Baghdad 2003. Reinventing the Taliban?, directed by Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, provides a rare look at the rise of a Taliban-like movement in north-west Pakistan. Leaders of MMA openly speak of their goals to create a traditional Islamic society modeled after the Taliban, which reflects their beliefs in the oppression of women, limited civil liberties and Anti-American policies. Of Such Times: the Modern Indian Woman, directed by Vandana Kohli, looks into what and who is the ‘Modern Indian Woman’. Voices of women who’ve all graduated from India’s foremost colleges for women from 1950s till 2001 are strung together to form the narrative of the film. The Men in the Tree, directed by Lalit Vachani, is a documentary on the RSS and Hindu fundamentalism; it is about the individuals, the stories and the myths, as well as the buildings and the branches that enable the growth of the RSS and its Hindutva ideology.
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Yeh Hui Na Mardon Wali Baat (Now That’s More Like a Man), directed by Farjad Nabi, is the Pakistani contribution to a South Asian film project. A film about men through the eyes of women in which juxtaposing interviews of women all from different backgrounds from Lahore. As the women talk about men in their capacities as brothers, husbands, fathers, lovers, etc. a sort of an ideal man emerges. The film questions what it is that society expects of a man. Dance Bharata Natyam, presented by Bharat Baria in memory of Guru Shri C Acharyalu. Poothana Moksham, presented by Haripriya Namboodiri, is a story from the Bhagavatham about Krishna in his infant days performed in Kathakali style. Meera – Prem Deewani, a dance drama by Dolly Desai in the Bharata Natyam style, concentrates on the philosophical aspects of the saint poet’s life. Kuchipudi Dance, presented by Mallika Sarabhai and the Darpana Performing Group. The evening included solo items and the traditional dance drama Padmavati Nrityam. Krishna Katha, presented by Dhyanadhara of Baroda, is a dance drama conceptualised, choreographed and directed by Smruti Vaghela. The performance tells the story of Sri Krishna from his childhood to his meeting with Rukmini and the bhakti of Meera. 37
Adi Sankaracharya, presented by the JG College of Performing Arts, is a dance drama focusing on the life of the great saint Sankaracharya from the time of his initiation to Brahmavidya. A multi-dimensional technique of dance drama and audio visual presentation has been used, conceptualized and choreographed by Bijoy Anand Shivram. Children’s Events Children’s Film Festival featured the films:
Sixer, directed by Gul Bahar Singh Charandas Chor (Charandas the Thief), directed by Shyam Benegal Anokha Aspatal, directed by Sandeep Sharma Bhago Bhoot, directed by Sai Paranjpye Katt Katt Kad Kaddu, directed by Jayshree Kanal Lagi Shaarth, directed by Raghuvir
Festivals The 31st Vikram Sarabhai International Arts Festival, presented the performances: Unfixed, a live dance and video piece by Australian guest artist Dianne Reid in collaboration with Mallika Sarabhai and dance and media artists from Darpana. Included music from both India and Australia. Rhythmscape, a concert of foot tapping Indian fusion music
by famed tabla maestro Bickram Ghosh. Huaca, by acclaimed Peruvian director Oscar Naters in collaboration with the Darpana Performing Group, was the search for a return to the whole of which we are all a part, the flesh of Mother Earth. The Festival of Non-Violence Through the Arts, a highly acclaimed festival in celebration of non-violence exhibiting new experimental work and held annually on the anniversary of Gandhi’s death. Featured performances of: A Force More Powerful, a three-part documentary series on non-violent movements used to battle the forces of brutality and oppression. Darb Al-Harir (the Silky Paths), a musical creation with French, Indian, Arabic and Spanish Flamenco sensibilities. The ensemble featured Spanish French composer Manuel Aguilar, Algerian singer Meryem Koufi, Indian musician Nishith Mehta, and Darpana resident musician Manikanthan. Produced by Alterites and co-produced by Darpana Academy Jubuke Che Jaat – Vijali Ni Vatt, a play based on the unique Adivasi lifestyle with its unique beliefs, family systems and issues. Written and directed by Rafique Pathan. Final Solutions, a powerful play about the ticking time bomb of communalism by one of India’s most celebrated modern playwrights. 39
The 31st Nazariya Films for Peace Festival was organized to promote Ahmedabad’s awareness, appreciation and understanding of peace. A four day feast of films from countries as varied as Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kenya, Uganda, America, Sweden, Kashmir and Assam were screened. Exhibitions Kani Shawls, the revival of great Kashmiri kani shawl weaving tradition has been due in part to weavers like Mushtaq Ahmed, who have revived patterns that had brought the shawl fame in earlier times. Poetry Readings A World Poet with a Cause, presented by the British Council, featured the Sundowners with Benjamin Zephaniah, an oral poet that addresses serious issues concerning racism, animal rights, equality of the sexes and pollution. Zephaniah has written 7 plays, 7 books for adults and 4 children’s books.
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Special Projects
UNSUNI: The Movement Unsuni premiered in September, 2006 with ten performances at the Natarani Theatre for school and college students, teachers and the general public. Each performance was followed by a long debate. Many from the audience, shocked at the reality the performance showed, had volunteered to give time and ideas to work for the dispossessed. Darpana aimed to become a catalyst in having this volunteerism become a movement, by tying together with activists and NGOs who need help and can direct youths’ energy properly and usefully. In response to 44 shows, 1600 volunteers had come forth from Ahmedabad, Pune, Delhi and several cities of Kerala. Additionally some students, like from Mt. Carmel School of Ahmedabad, are working on their own under the guidance of their principal or their teachers. The Unsuni movement has also tied up with several NGOs across India. In Delhi, the NGOs Pravah, Aman Biradari, YoungAtRisk (YaR) and Youth Reach have all come forward; in Pune, Akanksha; in Kerala, CSE, the Chetana Film Institute and Jananeethi. In addition, iVolunteer, an internet volunteer network which works all over India, has leant a hand.
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Sanskriti Darpana’s International Student Program, Sanskriti, was in its first year of operation offering classes in dance, theatre, music, puppetry, martial arts and in developmental communication through specialized short or medium term courses specifically created for those interested in the Indian arts. Programmes were devised for credit earning college courses as well as for professional training and further skill enhancement in the arts and cultural studies. Attendees in the 2006-07 year included:
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Evergreen State College, WA, USA - Two week intensive programme on arts for social change and developmental communication.
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George School, PA, USA - One week intensive programme on arts for social change and community service with sister NGOs.
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Several individuals who came for short term internships and independent study programs. Students came from a variety of countries, including England, Switzerland, and the United States.
Design: Revanta Sarabhai / www.philabad.com Photos: Yadavan Chandran, Ramond Charpentier, Roopesh Maroli, Jignesh Patel, Alaigiri and Others Drawings: Roopesh Maroli
Darpana Performing Group
Darpana For Development
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Darpana, Usmanpura, Ahmedabad 380013, India Tel: +91 79 2755 1389, 2756 0971 • Tel/Fax: +91 79 2755 0566 Email: admn@darpana.com • Web: www.darpana.com