A teacher of theatre, director and actor, Vidyanidhee Vanarase is taking students of the Madhya Pradesh School of Drama, Bhopal, deep into the world of Anton Chekov. The play, Suhane Afsaney, which he is directing with them is based on the short stories of the Russian playwright. Every so often, Vanarase, also known as Prasad, receives a visit, message or call congratulating him on his latest achievement. Prasad has become the Vice-President, Asia-Pacific, of the International Theatre Institute (ITI). He is the first Indian theatre practitioner to join the Executive Board of one of the largest networks of theatre professionals from around the world. ITI was founded in 1948 as an initiative of Unesco soon after World War II ended. The iron curtain separated the East and the West and chilly winds of the Cold War blew over all nations. In a world riven with political turmoil, ITI aimed to create platforms to foster international exchange and education in performing arts for professional artists and beginners alike. ITI sought to engage the arts to create an environment of peace. “This is an important opportunity in terms of developing more possibilities for regional theatre. I will try to create more collaborative projects among artists from India and other countries,” says Prasad over the phone from Bhopal. At present, 10 Asian countries are a part of the ITI network and Prasad says he will try to bring in more countries. “There is a possibility of the Indian Peninsula to develop an independent creative project involving Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and so on,” he says. “Most of the time we look at the West when it comes to international work. But there are many more possibilities for cultural and creative exchanges with the Eastern and oriented world. We need to explore the possibilities within the Asia Pacific region,” he adds. In Pune, ITI’s presence is evident annually at the IAPAR International Theatre Festival of which Prasad is the founder-director. In the last seven to eight years, the festival has had experts attending from 36 countries, showing their works, conducting workshops and lectures and demonstrations and interacting with artists and audiences in the city. ITI has enabled performers from India to travel to foreign countries. Prasad was introduced to the theatre early as his mother, Dr Shyamala Vanarase, used to write and act in plays. He began to participate in workshops and act with a Pune-based organisation for children, Shishuranjan, until 1984 when he joined college. An alumnus of the National School of Drama, he has participated in theatre competitions such as Purshottam Karandak, which gave him exposure to the field. “As an artist, I like to explore the possibilities of human relationships. I look at how people interact with each other and try to find an understanding of life,” he says.
