Breaking biases on stage

Over the past decade and a half,Gangopadhyay has remained resolute in his mission to encourage appreciation and understanding of theatre in children.

The fact that his interests lie mostly in vernacular theatre has been a deterrent,as has been funding or the Bengali parents’ obsession with ‘music,dance,swimming and cricket’. “Most Bengali parents now want their children to learn English. That wouldn’t have been a bad thing if it had not cost the children their understanding of Bengali – both the language and its literature,” says Gangopadhyay.

That apart,the fact that his group encourages children from vastly different social backgrounds to mingle and work together has turned several people away in the past. “We can’t deny that we live with a lot of prejudices. I have children who go to posh English-medium schools and children who can’t afford anything more than a corporation-run school. There have been times when some children in my group have had to drop out of schools,” he adds. However,the plurality of social backgrounds from which his group members hail from is also one of Jhalapala’s strengths. “One of my primary aims in getting children to do theatre is to make them sensitive to life,to society and its biases and help them figure out ways to battle them and emerge a better person.

Theatre is a lot about responding to situations,to people — this way,I think,they are better prepared to deal with life,” he says. Almost as an example,Gangopadhyay relates an incident. “When we used to go for shows,parents of the affluent children would accompany them. And most of them would carry homemade,good food with them. After shows or during rehearsal breaks,some children would be eating food with their parents while children,like a rickshawpuller’s son would be eating whatever food is being given by the organisers. So once I asked one of these affluent kids,how he feels eating all that food,when his friends can’t have them. He went and told his parents that from next time,he will have the food provided by us,like everyone else. These are life’s little lessons that I want to impart to them,” says Gangopadhay.