Put kids in the audience, not just on stage

Theatre isn't about the spotlight; it is also about understanding, appreciating and enjoying art

- Avantika Bhuyan

It was a foggy winter morning in 2011. Shrouded figures on the streets were warming their hands on the dying embers of small fires lit overnight. Beauty and adversity made their presence felt in Delhi simultaneously. At this dramatic hour of the day, when the city was still waking up, I found myself at the end of a serpentine queue at the National School of Drama (NSD) waiting for the tickets to the annual Bharat Rang Mahotsav to go on sale. The lineup featured an assortment of nonverbal, gibberish, experimental and multilingual productions from India and abroad.

Being part of the queue was an education in itself. Veteran theatre goers held forth on the history of NSD and the plays staged during the time of Ebrahim Alkazi. A 70 year old gentleman talked about the different versions of Dara or Taj Mahal ka Tender he had seen performed by NSD over the years. There was a heated discussion on moral policing and banned plays, such as Vijay Tendulkar’s Sakharam Binder and Gidhade. A chat with a repertory member led me to a compilation of scripts based on Rabindranath Tagore’s stories at the institution's bookshop. It remains a cherished copy.