Kolkata: It is fitting that Kolkata in the grip of protests against the rape and murder of a junior doctor paused to celebrate the birth centenary of playwright, poet, and theatre legend, Habib Tanvir.
“He faced challenges, fought fascism, he was attacked. He walked riot-hit by lanes. He is our guide,” said the celebrated theatre actor and director MK Raina on 30 August, the first day of a three-day festival, ‘Dekh Rahe Hain Nayan’. Curated by Raina and Tausif Rahman, the festival is the first of its kind to celebrate Tanvir’s body of work and its impact on Indian theatre.
Raina, who met Tanvir when he was in class four, set out on a mission to curate his friend’s life. He thought it would be easy. After all, the playwright was a Padma Bhushan awardee and a member of the Rajya Sabha. How hard could it be, Raina asked. He had to run from pillar to post and wait for hours to speak to officials from the Sangeet Natak Akademi to gather archival material, but was left disappointed.
“I spent three hours in the documentation department but there was no material and that is when I decided Habib needs to be relocated in today’s time. It is a challenging time for creative people and Habib stands as an inspiration,” said Raina. ‘Dekh Rahe Hain Nayan’ was the answer.
The three-day festival included performances of his plays, folk music concerts, panel discussions on his work and life, a gallery of his writings, and masterclasses by actors Naseeruddin Shah and Raghubir Yadav.
One of the books launched during the festival was Habib Tanvir and His Legacy in Theatre by Anjum Katyal and Javed Malik to mark his birth centenary. Much of his work was an amalgamation of folk art and socio-political issues. This includes Ponga Pandit, which tackles religious hypocrisy and caste; Gaon ka Naam Sasural, Mor Naam Damad, a Chhattisgarhi folk Nacha-style musical comedy; and Zahareeli Hawa, based on the Bhopal Gas Tragedy.
“Every choice Tanvir made was political,” said Katyal. He excelled at weaving together narratives that remain relevant even today.
Naya Theatre
After Independence, Tanvir grappled with the idea of theatre in India. Should theatre go the Western way or should it keep revising and celebrating the folk way? At a panel discussion, ‘The Theatre Legacy of Habib Tanvir in India Today’, Katyal discussed how Tanvir resolved this by weaving both schools of thought together.
“Habib found the magical answer because he respected the artists he produced that work with. He wasn’t just taking it and using it for himself—his vocabulary was a very judicious understanding of the strengths of our own cultures and he weaved it through a modern contemporary perspective,” Katyal said.
After a brief stint in England and a tour of Europe in the 1950s, he founded Naya Theatre where he worked with tribal artists of Chhattisgarh. He revolutionised theatre by nurturing tribal actors, singers, and dancers. It was theatre of the people, by the people, for the people. Plays like Charandas Chor (1975) and Gaon ka Naam Sasural (1972) gained momentum across India and in other countries as well.
In 2003, the troupe was targeted by the BJP for staging Ponga Pandit in Madhya Pradesh. The story of a greedy Brahmin and a woman who worked as a sweeper did not go down well with the ruling party.
BJP and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) workers stormed an auditorium in Madhya Pradesh where Tanvir was set to perform Ponga Pandit. The district administration was trying to persuade Tanvir to cancel his show as it could hurt religious sentiments. But the playwright, who was 80 at the time, stood his ground and performed for an empty auditorium.
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Not in the business for money
At the event, thespians like Ratna Pathak Shah and Naseeruddin Shah paid tribute to Tanvir’s impact on Indian theatre and spoke about how he remains a constant source of inspiration for both of them.
“I have never worked with Habib Sahab, and that is my bad luck,” said Naseeruddin, who first heard of Tanvir when he was studying at Aligarh Muslim University. He was in the audience when lyricist Javed Akhtar’s brother Salman Akhtar performed Agra Bazaar, a play by Habib.
“He was not in the business for money,” said Naseeruddin, recalling how Tanvir had called him for advice on what to charge for his acting.
“I told him Rs 10 lakh—the phone nearly fell out of his hand, and I could sense his shock,” he added.
Tanvir eventually quoted Rs 5 lakh and settled for Rs 3 lakh.
(Edited by Prasanna Bachchhav)