Modi scores over Gandhi in Swachh Bharat puppet shows

Soon after, Munna faces his audience, a group of 15 students assembled at the BMC school in Tata Compound, Andheri West.

Enrolled for the theatre workshop under the Salaam Bombay Foundation, these boys and girls are attending the session to watch a 10-minute puppet show to promote Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. Produced by renowned Mumbai-based puppeteer Meena Naik, the show is, however, an initiative by the government-run Sangeet Natak Akademi.

“Early this month, I received a directive from the Akademi that Modiji wants a play that will spread awareness regarding his cleanliness drive among children. I have been asked to stage the play in schools and colleges across Mumbai, eventually taking it to other cities of Maharshtra as well,” says Naik who also conducts the puppetry course at Mumbai University.

Written and directed by Naik, the play made a debut last week at Ramkrishna Paramhans school in Bandra East, followed by a show at the BMC school in Kherwadi. It has since held three shows, at various institutions for children and also at All India Local Self Government, where the audience comprised adults. On November 6, the crew will stage the same for deaf and mute children at two organisations in Dadar. On November 8, they have been invited by the Naval Wives Association to perform at INS Hamla.
“We have received very good response from both children and grown-ups because the play is simple and manages to get the message across,” says Naik.

In the play, Munna, a class five student, is shown littering his surroundings with an empty packet of chips and then wanting to use a corner on the street as urinal. And Mr Clean, played by Gurav, explains to him the importance of cleanliness and hygiene.

During the play, Mr Clean, while engaging the audience and educating them about the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, mentions that a clean India was the Mahatma’s dream. However, while the Father of the Nation – after whom the programme has been launched – is mentioned only once, while Modi gets mentioned thrice as the one spearheading the project. “It’s Modiji’s dream to see a clean India in five years,” says Gurav as part of his speech.

Naik says that the directive shared with her by the Akademi specified that Modi be mentioned. “My original script also spoke of other issues, such as child labour, but I was asked to delete that bit and instead completely focus on cleanliness,” says Naik, who went ahead with the production only once the script had been approved by the Akademi.

On its part, the Akademi has assigned Naik the task, asking her to get in touch with schools and students’ institutions across the state. And while the Centre has planned to invest Rs 1,800 crore to generate awareness about the cleanliness drive, Naik is far from being its beneficiary.

The Akademi has not provided her with any financial backing for the play, except a nominal amount to cover the production cost incurred.

Naik, who has roped in four of her ex-students – Gurav, Kotwal, Rahul Kale and Abhishek Waghmare – from her theatre workshops for Salaam Bombay Foundation to perform the play, has instead been shelling out money from her own pocket to pay these students a stipend and travel to the various venues across the city. “I was told I should take it up as a mission given to me by the prime minister. I don’t mind it; I love working with and for children.”

dipti.nagpaul@expressindia.com