THEATRE : Sehar presents Vijay Tendulkar's "Viththala" First Time in Hindi at JNU - 6th September 08

• Time : 9:00 pm
  

• Entry : Free

• Event Details : Sehar presents Vijay Tendulkar's 'Viththala'
  
• Viththala, is one of the masterstrokes by Vijay Tendulkar, one of the master playwrights of the 20th century India. Although other plays of Vijay Tendulkar have been translated to Hindi long back, but Viththala even being one of the earliest plays, had to wait till his death. This play has just come out in Hindi and it’s the sole reason for not being staged in Hindi as yet. This would be the first performance of Viththala in Hindi.
• We have chosen this play for two different reasons. First and foremost is although the play was written down in the seventies, the theme of the play is quite contemporary and breaks all the regional borders and takes place the centre stage. We are living in a time of two folds, a certain class of society has reached height of its growth and the other is going through the traumatic experience of lacking behind. On the card of development, our country is on rampage but the actuality is applicable to a handful of people. The rest are marginalized, who are the majority, are not only at the bottom but having a downfall day by day. To justify the ruthless growth where majority of the people are on the shrinking stage and give them consolation all the communication tools like electronic and print media are propagating the Jadoo-Tona materials. In a sudden outbreak, we are witness of emergence of hundreds of Babas (saints) through this medium. This is not just a business policy, rather this is a political statement that the masses are in need of Jadoo-Tona in this time, when they are loosing their livelihood. This play is a comment on this development. The second reason behind choosing this play is it would be the very first performance of this play in Hindi belt by our group. This legendry playwright had left us forever in May this year. This production would be a tribute and offering of our gratitude towards his splendid contribution to the Indian theatrical scenario as a playwright.
• This is Sehar’s fifth production and the fourth in a row in the last one year. We have started working actively since September 2007 with ‘Teri Meri Kahani Hai’ which was performed in Oct’07. The other mile posts of our journey were ‘Bahut Raat Ho Chali Hai’, ‘Hey! Ram’, and ‘Suicide.’ We have always chosen unconventional spaces for our performances and ‘Viththala’ is an extension of our experimentation. We hope our endeavor will satisfy your artistic zeal once again as in past.

• Directed by : Mrityunjay Prabhakar
  

• About The Group : ‘Sehar’ is a dynamic group, composed of different sections of society i.e., intellectuals, academicians, journalists, social scientists, activists, research scholars, art practitioners, & students, aiming for the change required in time. We have come together out of our concern for the society in which we are placed. The group takes off with the basic need of expressing and communicating for the problems of the marginalized and underprivileged section of our society.
• The group feels very strongly for creating a harmonious society which is still not on floor. We can see the fight among different castes, communities, ethnicities and religious identities on several issues and it’s obvious that many times they are manipulated. (Maintaining the social fabric of the society is very much needed in developing democratic countries like ours so that the focus of struggle should not be shifted to any unwanted situation.) The group will try to expose these forces which play the divisive tactics to undermine the struggle of the fighting masses. The group also stands for the rights of the people all of whom are different in their views, culture and beliefs because in a vast country like India which is full of diversities, it should be the basis to maintain the fabric of the society.
• The group felt the need of communication and expression in the interest of the common people and considers it as important as any other form of struggle. We are willing to explore each and every tool of communication for the concerned issues of the masses, whether through Education, Art, Culture or Media.

• Place : School of Arts and Aesthetics ( SAA ) Car Parking, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Mehrauli Road, New Delhi 110067
• Website : www.jnu.ac.in

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