Deliberately ignored? Fewer lights, camera, action on Gujarat riot saga

The ghosts of 2002 riots continue to haunt those who witnessed the massacre directly or indirectly. However, artists believe that the volume of work that was required to be done to showcase the brutality and promote harmony was a far cry from reality.

Playwright Saumya Joshi is one such person who has not been able to get over the haunting memories. Joshi told DNA how the artiste community did a job not worthy of discussion.

"Somehow I don't feel that literature, art and theatre have been greatly affected by riots. Not much was done by the community at large, as should have been the case. For instance, mainstream poetry and theatre did not have much of reflection of riots," Joshi says.

While he mentions sporadic efforts that were made to keep the spirit of promoting communal harmony alive, the volume of work was missing. "After my work, Dost chaukas eeyaan nagar basto hato I too haven't created anything. However, I would love to do something again on the same lines," Joshi says. 

Director Gaurang Raval of Sauhard Theatre group says "I was in college then and had participated in a play, Sabarmati puche che which was based on communal harmony and related to 2002 riots. Barring my college, most other colleges refused to showcase or even be part of this play as it was related to the 2002 riots."

He adds that post 2005, theatre was divided into two baskets. "While the basket of audience and society at large has just recently started accepting plays depicting truth and communal harmony, the actors, producers, writers and directors have not made many plays to promote the same for reasons best known to them."

Khamoshiyaan was based on short stories written by Gulzar, designed and directed by Abhinay Banker and performed in 2008, 2009, 2010. Another play Khuda Hafiz was also written by Gulzar and staged individually during 2012-11.   

Banker added, "The first play is about stories and poems against the backdrop of two areas - partition and riots. It is a beautiful collage of two stories 'Raavi Paar' & 'Khauff' and is a journey of wounds, fear, chaos, trauma, scars and silences of the partition and riots."

These two silences are inter-woven with selected poems of Gulzar, and scenes of both the stories are alternatively performed on stage.

Writer-director Kabir Thakore too mentions that only a few came out to produce plays or write books on the ordeal and the issue of harmony. "Commercial theatre, I believe, has become indifferent to such sensitive issues. Politics turning into such ghastly images are no more theatre's cup of tea and probably the reason why so less was seen."

The play, Mazhab humein sikhata aapas mein bair rakhna, had such a strong impact on the audience that it became the talk of the town.

Director Dakxin Bajarange says, "Through our play we wanted people to understand that our religions don't preach about killing others. Our aim was to promote communal harmony."

However Bajarange, like others, is rather miffed at the scarce work done by writers and theatre veterans on riots.