HIGH STREET

Almost a year ago,a group of youngsters dressed in maroon kurtas,gathered near DLF Promenade,Vasant Kunj,to form a circle and talk to themselves

Almost a year ago,a group of youngsters dressed in maroon kurtas,gathered near DLF Promenade,Vasant Kunj,to form a circle and talk to themselves,while shoppers gaped with curiosity. Bellowing and roaring,they were no delinquents let loose on the streets. Instead,they were part of Be On the Streets,a street theatre festival organised by Be Artsy,a group that advocates social and environmental issues by using art as a tool. The idea of establishing the organisation came from the exposure to corporate training,that I underwent after college. I could not make sense of the concept of corporate training and thought that similar ideas could be expressed through

the medium of art, says 27-year-old Shikha Mittal,founder-director of Be Artsy.

In her office in Khan Market,the history graduate from Khalsa College,Mittal is now preparing for an All India Theatre Festival,which will be held from August 2011 to February 2012. This will feature more than 150 theatre performances by numerous colleges and independent theatre groups. To be held in seven states across India,the final competition will take place in Delhi,in February.

Other initiatives that are lined-up,apart from the theatre festival,include Beauty lies in the Eyes of Beholder,a photography event,Be on Quotes,where anecdotes will be compiled into a book,and Battle of Thoughts,

a competition for finalists to debate over their

respective productions.

Aniket Jaiswal,a member of the organisation and the composer of Be on the Street jingle,that promotes the event,is excited about the forthcoming festival. Im hoping that the event is a success. The response and the outcome was awesome last year.

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