Last weekend’s Equal Streets at Powai saw street plays on modern subjects like junk food, performed for the community, by the community
A few Sunday mornings at Powai are something out of the ordinary as the entire neighbourhood convenes at Hiranandani Central Avenue to celebrate Equal Streets. There’s street art, cycling, board games, skateboarding and more, minus the onslaught of traffic, honking and exhaust fumes.
A gem in this line-up of activities is Open Minds Productions’ (OMP) street plays. Led by film director, screenplay writer and theatre actor/d director Tejaswini Patwardhan, the plays enacted last weekend may well be in a league of their own.
A modern take on street plays
Powai has everything from malls to yoga but theatre was missing here, opines Patwardhan, a Hiranandani resident. Her troupe, which consists of kids aged between 8-12 years, college students, corporate honchos and even doctors, take up socially-relevant, and more importantly, modern subjects to turn into a street play. Last weekend witnessed ‘Janhit mein Jaari’, a play performed by OMP kids on the subject of junk food. “We’ve also done a play on men’s liberalisation called Namard, bringing out the inexpressible pressures faced by men right from their childhood,” informs Patwardhan.
Realising one’s potential
Patwardhan’s approach to theatre is based in Navarasas, the nine emotions or moods that are rooted in all performing arts. “We train our students such that they learn and incorporate navarasas in every aspect, be it acting, writing or even lighting,” shares Patwardhan, “If you train a child in all aspects of theatre, he/she may be able to tap into another talent like writing, and not necessarily acting, which many parents push their kids for.”
Patwardhan’s efforts seem to have borne fruit as the kids performing Janhit mein Jaari not only exuded confidence but seemed to thoroughly enjoy their act. But what happens if a kid forgets her line, I ask her. “Every performer knows everyone else’s lines so even if someone forgets her own, others remind her through a dialogue in the play, which would seem completely natural to the audience.” And it is interesting to note that none of the performers refer to a script as they are trained to be mentally alert.
For the community, by the community
Janhit mein Jaari was followed by another street play titled Chiranjeevi Bhava, which means ‘live forever’, based on the topic of organ donation and enacted by adults. “These performers are corporate heads and doctors, who after getting interested in theatre, spare time to rehearse and perform,” shares Patwardhan. Considering that street plays are a dying art form, Patwardhan seems to have reformed this age-old concept by being relevant to today’s audiences, involving the community itself to perform and helping one realise their true potential.
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 "Tejaswini Patwardhan with her troupe of performers at Equal Streets, Powai")
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