Visit to JS and new year wishes

[Charumathi Supraja]

Dear friends,

I just shared an album of my first visit to Jana Sanskriti. Wanted to share some glimpses of how this group uses Forum in the villages.

 

Owing to family arrangements and adjustments that I needed to consider, I could not combine with Maitri and the others on this group, interested in visiting JS next year. 

 

To tell you a bit about my visit...

Between 29th Nov and 11 Dec, I visited Jana Sanskriti - a political theatre and activist group - based in a village in the suburbs of Kolkata. They've been using Forum theatre to open up discussions and action on domestic violence, dowry, ration cards, alcoholism, education, health and whatever else they find relevant to their lives, for the last 25 years. They work primarily in very remote areas where the challenges posed by ecology, globalisation, systemmic neglect, etc. are very real.
 
Augusto Boal visited them often in his lifetime and directly trained them in the techinques of his tool kit. They have performed their plays across the world. In their daily lives, members from this theatre group play the roles of farmers, actors, singers, homemakers, parents, village leaders, theatre trainers/ facilitators, social activists etc. They are internationally acknowledged as 'leaders' in the application of the techniques of TO.

When I met the core team, they'd all gathered to do a proscenium play - 'normal' theatre with a script, etc. - for the first time. They had a script, a set was being created and they had lots of songs and dances in the play and the play was about democratising the family and sharing work in a household. They found it 'odd' to learn lines and wear a little makeup etc as 'their theatre' is usually realistic and improvised. They happened to be video documenting Shonar Meye - their play on domestic violence of which I also saw a Forum performance in a village, three hours from Bangladesh. The photos will tell you more about all of this.

 

I interacted with the core team over ten days. Everyone at Jana Sanskriti is really warm and welcoming. I hope to write about this experience in some form, soon. Will keep you all posted. 

 

Meanwhile, there is a possibility of a training and performance by Jana Sanskriti, in Bangalore, around the third week of April. Jana Sanskriti's core team, including Sanjoy Ganguly, will be in Bangalore, hopefully early in 2012, to conduct a 5 day training in TO. Will get back to you all soon with more details so those interested can plan to participate.

 

Here's wishing you all a very meaningful, action-filled new year with lots of learning and living your dreams!

 

Warm regards,

Charu. 

[Prabha Pandey]

Not fair Charu , how come so much of the TO action is headed towards Bangalore ? Feel left out....Prabha from Mumbai.

[Satendra Singh]

Feeling left out as well
From Delhi

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[Ravi Ramakantan]

I thought Bangalore was in India..wherever... Enjoy the New Year with
more T.O.

RR

[Prabha Pandey]

Thanks , Ravi . Can't enjoy MORE T.O. when I haven't had any . Hope the coming year will allow me some... Best Wishes to you and the entire team of T.O. ITES . Prabha

[Radha]

Charu, thanks so much for that post- sorry i took so long to reply!-

People, Charu and I met yesterday and chatted about JS among other
things.
I had planned to ask Charu for a day-by-day account of her ten days in
Madhyamgram, but of course the conversation didn't go like that at
all! And at the end of the 3 hours, i am still full of questions,
hoping to meet Charu again soon...

JS has a huge reputation in the TO world, and Charu confirms many of
the reasons why.What i also found out from Charu is the actual,
practical help that JS offers people that they work with.When Sanjoy
was in Bangalore, he used the term spect-activists to sort of suggest
how they have gone a step further than Boal, perhaps.25 years,
several teams, lots of work, lots for us to know about.

JS is an unknown to many on this group. Jaya has interacted with
them, and now Charu. I'm sure there's lots of questions we all have
about JS. JS's visit to Bangalore should give all of us a chance to
know their work, to learn, and to figure out directions we might want
to take in our own work.

Feeling like heading to Bangalore in April, anyone?
Radha


.

On Jan 2, 1:17 pm, Prabha Pandey <prabha.pl...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Thanks , Ravi . Can't enjoy MORE T.O. when I haven't had any . Hope the
> coming year will allow me some... Best Wishes to you and the entire team of
> T.O. ITES . Prabha
>

> On Fri, Dec 30, 2011 at 11:21 PM, Ravi Ramakantan <ramakantanra...@gmail.com

[Ravi Ramakantan]

Thanks for that update, Radha.
I think, what JS does in what Boal did - true theatre of the true
oppressed. - political activism - Marxist philosophy - somehow, that
is not my cup of tea. I am secure in my urban upbringing .. urban
poverty and urban suffering the type that I saw staring at me day
after day for 30 years at KEM and the people who deal with them the
docs.. the teachers and the like...
Also as far as I know, JS's forte is FT. I would like to know if SG
does the full TO workshop-spread as is "supposed to be" in authentic
TO.
But with all my opinionated hang-ups about JS's work, I would really
have liked to meet the big guy and see and learn.. but, my travelling
to Bangalore looks very unlikley :-(

RR

[Radha]

Kolkata,then,:-)

On Jan 14, 10:44 pm, Ravi Ramakantan <ramakantanra...@gmail.com>
wrote:

[Ravi Ramakantan]

Nothing could be better than seeing the Lion in its natural habitat.
Kolkata, here I come !!