Expressions

And what a year it promises to be! The city gears up for mega events like exhibits from the British museum in the Enduring Images exhibition and round-the-table readings organised by die-hard enthusiasts of the Poetry Circle. In between, a host of events will keep the scene buzzing. This year, I hope to applaud the living8217; culture, the unsung hero who plays the flute in a Virar local. Write in and tell us about the living8217; culture in your vicinity. Surely every area has an artist or a local troupe helping ease city tensions, bringing out the child in us, trilling with laughter or prompting us to meditate on beauty that is all but lost in the squalor.

God8217;s gift

Grass will survive their yellow death,quot; affirms the poet in Words of Autumn8217;, a poem once sung across the vast land of Russia 8212; much like Narayan Surve8217;s poems, which now have folk status and are sung in far-flung corners of Maharashtra.

It8217;s not often that a Russian poet and translator who teaches history at Harvard, passes through the city. A few poetry lovers made an appearance at the reading; if cleansing their souls was on the agenda, this was the place to be. I felt a certain calm descend as Philip Nikolyev read from his own works and translations of other poets including Katy Kapovitch. From collective nightmares of global villages8217; to snowy mountains in the country side, the poems left indelible images in the inner mind. Not many people read or listen to poetry these days. Why then do poets write? As one poet aptly put it: it8217;s the only way to talk with God!

Mundane fare

OM Katare was reportedly anxious about his new musical play Pyar Ki Gaadi, which premiered at the annual Yatri Theatre Festival at Prithvi.

Sure, musicals are difficult to stage, especially with live music, but this one turned out to be nothing more than filmi-style masala. Perhaps because it8217;s inspired by Padosan, the film with a hackneyed plot revolving around an unmusical bachelor falling in love with a singer. Come on, where is the originality? The play abounded in stereotypes and cliches like so many forgettable serials on television. A case in point was Chaila Ramani portrayed as a stupid Sindhi lady with nothing more than perfume from Dubai and papad on her mind. For countless years, our insensitive films have been creating stereotypes, but to find this happening in a festival organised by a major theatre company is totally unacceptable. The only saving grace of the play is Jayesh Barbhaya who plays the role of Rasik Babu with considerable ease.

The exaggeration in the play has obviously been added to evoke laughter for the poor script has mundane lines heard umpteen times before. But the director should certainly not create caricatures and offend sentiments. If there is no self-censorship, what hope is there for Hindi theatre?

The last word

A new year resolution not for yourself,

but for our minister of culture!

To educate those living in ignorance,

of dalits, adivasis and other true desis.