View from the Third Row

Established at a national level on May 25,1943,against the backdrop of the freedom struggle,the formation of IPTA was a culmination of the efforts of various artistes from across the country. Stalwarts from the fields of music,dance,drama,cinema and literature worked together to form a unique cultural connect and new form of theatre. “At present,IPTA is active in 24 states and all the Union Territories across the country,” informed Sekhon,who especially mentions the name of Tera Singh Chand,who was among the founders of the Punjab and Chandigarh chapters.

For IPTA’s golden jubilee celebrations,Sekhon is busy with new productions,with new as well as seasoned actors. The latest is Gypsy,a romantic narrative poem by Alexander Pushkin written in 1824,during his exile in south of the Russian empire. The play grapples with issues of human psychology and morality,apart from addressing the concept of noble salvage. “People who live farther from civilization live in harmony with nature and lead a simpler and happier life than the alienated people of modern cities,’’ says Sekhon as he throws light on the production. He has also created an elaborate production with huge sets,music and costumes. “The Punjabi translation by Karanjeet Singh brings out the real essence of the poem and is an inspiration behind this presentation,’’ said Sekhon as he introduced the lead actors — Barinder Kaur and Gorki Singh. The play was staged last week at Tagore Theatre and more shows are slated for Chandigarh and Punjab. Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s White Lights is another new production which opened in Shimla’s Gaiety Theatre and will travel to Chandigarh soon. “A sentimental love story of a dreamer,a lonely man and romantic,the essential theme here is loneliness and we chose to do the play in Hindustani,” said Sekhon,who has found support in thespians like Dr Joginder Dyal,Gurnam Kanwar and Balkar Sidhu. The team looks forward to staging Love,an American play that’s a satire on the emotion and Tiger,a play on an extremist’s life.