From Habib’s Playhouse

Kolkata-based writer Katyal says that she was a young editor at a publishing house when she landed a project to translate Habib’s iconic Charandas Chor into English in the early ’90s. Till then,she had only known Habib through his plays. “He would go through each line rigorously but I also noticed how relaxed he was. He was serious about his work but not a solemn person. His humour reflected in his work,” she says.

Though Katyal drew upon her knowledge of Habib’s theatre collected over the years,research for the latest work began two years ago. Towards Inclusive Theatre is a lucid journey through Habib’s life,with interesting episodes enlivening the pages. Katyal stresses on the inclusiveness of Habib’s theatre and how he merged his education gained in London with the earthy flavour of Chattisgarhi theatre to create plays that were modern yet rooted. “Though his later plays did use urban actors,the troupe of Chhattisgarh remained at the core of the production,” says Katyal,who also debunks the myth that Habib worked only with folk literature. “He has also worked on classical and literary texts such as Bertolt Brecht and William Shakespeare,” she says.

In 2009,Katyal was to work on the translation of another Habib play,Bahadur Kalari. “He was to come to Kolkata and we would have met up,” she says. That never happened,as Habib died on June 8,2009. This book is Katyal’s tribute to her hero.