Theatre and I

Theatre! A childhood dream come true? An escape from misery? A must-do in college/Delhi University? Personality development? The only opportunity of an outstation trip? Passion? Love? Life?

Wikepedia defines theatre as a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. Technically, the definition says it all. But when seen from my point of view, it says nothing. Having joined the theatre society HASRATEIN of Ram Lal Anand College, Delhi University, around 1.5 years ago, my definition of theatre has changed from a childhood dream to being my life.

When I entered theatre for the first time, all I expected were scripts and actions. Now I know what a mind boggling job it is to make a play. From the moment an idea hits one’s brain till it reaches the final stage of being performed in front of an audience is a journey with ups and downs, hard work and dedication, team work and individual effort, fun and laughter, passion and love. Not everyone who takes this enthralling journey goes all the way to the end. It is a never ending path where you bleed irrespective of how far you’ve travelled. The best you can hope for is to be appreciated sometime or the other.

Theatre helped me develop as a person, helped me get out of the stereotypes of the society. It made me realize that the childhood that I thought to be perfect was nothing but a lie. It opened the doors of my closed mind to find my own individuality. Theatre brings out the best and the worst in me out. It probably made me a rebel in my family, because now I deny accepting anything blindly which I had been doing for past 19 years. It probably makes me look abnormal and weird in my friend circles where people still have a conservative mind set up. But in the end theatre gave me the freedom that I always wished for.

Making a play, be it a stage play or a street play, isn’t something which is done in a jiffy. Day long practice sessions, workshops, acceptance of teammates as one family, tears and laughter and what not! Attending my first college trip to IIT Kharagpur for the Spring Fest 2014 from 23-26^th January 2014 was the best choice I have made in college so far. The trip which started on 21^st and ended on 29^th was not only ravishing but was something which shouldn't have come to an end. But obviously, I tend not to appreciate the beauty of things that last forever, so it’s okay that it ended. Performing on stage for the first time was quite a big deal and no matter how much I try, I wouldn’t be able to express how the mixture of nervousness and excitement on stage felt. It surely was a moment, the memory of which I will carry to my grave. The street play, the sleepovers, the jam sessions by the lake side throughout the night, the breakfast at Dulal Nandi, the dinner at VS Hall, the late night/before dawn meal at the Veggies, the unforgettable train journeys, the proximity of teammates 24*7 as a family are a few of many things that make me want to wait for the year to end and experience it all again in 2015!

I am probably repeating it when I say, it’s not about the place but the people you find in that place. It is not about theatre but the people involved in it. Had I not found the very talented, artistic and welcoming seniors, then I wouldn’t have found the courage to stay in the Dramatics society when it drained out every bit of the teaspoon of stamina in me. Parikshit bhaiya, Mohit bhaiya and Puneet bhaiya, thank you for being such great seniors, warm and welcoming. Obviously I wouldn’t have lasted a day without my classmates being by my side as freshers, Deepanshu and Sushmita, I seriously have got a thing for both of you irrespective of what the first impressions were. And the first year as a senior wouldn’t have been fun at all without the all time entertaining juniors. Anmol, Vishesh, Gurpreet, Deepika, Yashashvi, Mansi, Ankur and Abbas, all of you are the best juniors I could have had! Sushant bhaiya, I have no idea which category to put you in but I missed you a lot during the trip along with Mayank and Yogita. What I want to say is that, I love you all from the core of my heart and I have no idea of my life at Ram Lal Anand College without you. And yes I am still suffering from the Kharagpur hangover and so you know why this post made it to my blog!

'A Clown Story'

 

Hasratein 2013-14 at Spring Fest, IIT Kharagpur.