A Lasting Effect

George Bernard Shaw once wrote,It is all that the young can do for the old,to shock them and keep them up to date. A group of 15 teenagers is planning just this.

George Bernard Shaw once wrote,It is all that the young can do for the old,to shock them and keep them up to date. A group of 15 teenagers is planning just this. These college students have worked hard to put together a Marathi play – Prabhav (The Effect). Their efforts have paid off and the play is all set to be staged on February 12 at Karnataka High School Auditorium.

Prabhav is a story of students who have just been admitted to college. It portrays a mix of the light and serious moments of their life. Gaurav Joshi, a student of Fergusson College and the writer and director,says,It depicts the reality of today’s college life. It is a story of every Std XI student who gets influenced by pressure as well as the sudden freedom. While writing a post for his blog,the idea to pen this script struck Gaurav. He says,When I wrote the script,I shared it with my parents and friends. Everybody liked the concept and some suggested a few changes.

All participants of this project are from different colleges. Deep Mehendle,a commerce student of Garware College,says,I met Gaurav on a tour. I have been following his blog for a long time and I liked the concept. So I decided to join the group. Gaurav used popular social networking site Facebook to keep in touch with the others. “My friends spread the message to their friends and thus we all came together,” he says. The common thread between the members of this group is their passion for Marathi theatre. Aniket Kulkarni,FYBCom student of BMCC,adds,We all are passionate about Marathi theatre. This is the only thing that keeps our group intact.

Studying in different colleges,the students have tight schedules and a lot of study pressure. Yet,they take the time out to practice and rehearse for the play. Rutuja Wagh,a FYBA student of Fergusson College,informs,We are done with our mid-semester exams. Hence we get more time for practice. We have deliberately selected this period so that there is less study pressure.

Monika Mantri,SYBCom student of Symbiosis,adds,We practice for two-three hours a day. We try to get the consensus while deciding the time for practice. If we can’t fix a time,we take separate practice sessions for actors and backstage members.

The play has been self-financed. Gaurav says,I wanted to make this project on my own. I started saving money for it. I worked as an instructor at a tour-organising company and thus managed to save money. This has been a great learning experience for me. The presence of each member of the group is important,Gaurav stresses. Prabhav would not have been possible if even one member was absent, he adds.

(The play will be staged at Karnataka High School Auditorium on February 12 at 7 pm)

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A Lasting Effect

George Bernard Shaw once wrote,It is all that the young can do for the old,to shock them and keep them up to date. A group of 15 teenagers is planning just this.

George Bernard Shaw once wrote,It is all that the young can do for the old,to shock them and keep them up to date. A group of 15 teenagers is planning just this.