Sunday, February 3, 2008 by Indrajit
Fiddler On the Roof( translation of a Jewish play in Hindi)
Witnessing 2nd Play in delhi.:)
(My theatre visit @ Sri fort audi, khelgaon, New Delhi)
it was an enormous Auditorium , with an 1800 seater and i was glad to get
one , so what if it was from the back (they say 'nice boys come last' :( :( ) ,
reaching there all the way from Gurgaon , braving the winter chill , without
my new d cam ( they dont allowinside :( ), and managing a ticket from the
back row( cos the genteels have tele booked all prime seats, and no hard feelings for
this), the entire effort lavished a sense of an undermined achievement in my
heart , that continued and reaped rich dividends when I witnessed such a
marvellous Play.
In theatres ,the front seats are the most expensive and most sought-after
unlike the cine-plexes , just to get a better view of the artistes' subtleties
and executions..
I liked the ambience of the amphitheatre , with the rock-solid volunteers
jumping towards yu before you ask for the directions , the aroma of a
charming world inside, the perfect settings , and teh throngings of genteels ,
whom I would soon call 'A Class Public"..Throughout the entire 2 hrs
play , there were no side talks around me and not a single phone beeped.
Nor did i hear any cheap talks or the chomping of popcorns inside, taht
are so so distractive . the crowd seemed sophisticated and mannered , with people
mostly in their 35s to 45s.elderlies were also there in good nos and people in their
early 20s were far and few.
How unlike a cineplex ! one of the reasons i always ask them to give me a ticket away
away and as away as possible from the cine crowds, no matter if it's nearest to
the screen. Mostly i had to contend with a seat i dreaded. but that's a different story.
The play was called FIDDLER ON THE ROOF-- an account of the Jewish
community , struck in their orthodoxy and the their self-doubts , that
reared cynical heads, whenever someone tried to embrace the modernisms.
Every such phases revolved around a family , that comprised a mild hearted father,
a stern mother and 5 daughters.
With every liberal changes happening around the world, this community stuck
to it's old traditions , unless their 2 elder daughters gave way to a different outlook
marrying a groom of tehir choice.
The last straw for the Jew milkman was his 3rd daughter marrying a
Christian ( which was tantamount to a sin), for which he disowned his daughter..
The incident had a domino effectin their whole village and they had to leave
their village (the entire contingetnt :( )...
the fiddler who came in on and off was the metaphor for tehir survivals,
through odds and evens of life, thorugh uncertainties that it summoned.
The play had some mild witty sequences and some sarcasms on the Christian comm.
The songs did not augur well as they were translated from the original jewish play in
Hindi , but the choreography was fantablio...
One sequence of a ballad (well i like to think it was a ballad , dont know what it was:P),
where the 4 dancers sashayed around with empty bottles on their heads ,
that covered their cowboy cap.. That drew the largest applause, yes , the largest.
even when at teh end, when the artistes and backofice people came for encore,
it was the choreography director who drew the largest and heartfelt aaplause,
and sad that she was absent .:(
And then i came out . 2 hrs show over. It was drizzling in Delhi,that further
severed the cold yesterday night. It felt good and with a hot disposable cocoa
cup, I walked out with the crowd , with the desire to witness many more
Plays.:)
indrajit ghosal
Witnessing 2nd Play in delhi.:)
(My theatre visit @ Sri fort audi, khelgaon, New Delhi)
it was an enormous Auditorium , with an 1800 seater and i was glad to get
one , so what if it was from the back (they say 'nice boys come last' :( :( ) ,
reaching there all the way from Gurgaon , braving the winter chill , without
my new d cam ( they dont allowinside :( ), and managing a ticket from the
back row( cos the genteels have tele booked all prime seats, and no hard feelings for
this), the entire effort lavished a sense of an undermined achievement in my
heart , that continued and reaped rich dividends when I witnessed such a
marvellous Play.
In theatres ,the front seats are the most expensive and most sought-after
unlike the cine-plexes , just to get a better view of the artistes' subtleties
and executions..
I liked the ambience of the amphitheatre , with the rock-solid volunteers
jumping towards yu before you ask for the directions , the aroma of a
charming world inside, the perfect settings , and teh throngings of genteels ,
whom I would soon call 'A Class Public"..Throughout the entire 2 hrs
play , there were no side talks around me and not a single phone beeped.
Nor did i hear any cheap talks or the chomping of popcorns inside, taht
are so so distractive . the crowd seemed sophisticated and mannered , with people
mostly in their 35s to 45s.elderlies were also there in good nos and people in their
early 20s were far and few.
How unlike a cineplex ! one of the reasons i always ask them to give me a ticket away
away and as away as possible from the cine crowds, no matter if it's nearest to
the screen. Mostly i had to contend with a seat i dreaded. but that's a different story.
The play was called FIDDLER ON THE ROOF-- an account of the Jewish
community , struck in their orthodoxy and the their self-doubts , that
reared cynical heads, whenever someone tried to embrace the modernisms.
Every such phases revolved around a family , that comprised a mild hearted father,
a stern mother and 5 daughters.
With every liberal changes happening around the world, this community stuck
to it's old traditions , unless their 2 elder daughters gave way to a different outlook
marrying a groom of tehir choice.
The last straw for the Jew milkman was his 3rd daughter marrying a
Christian ( which was tantamount to a sin), for which he disowned his daughter..
The incident had a domino effectin their whole village and they had to leave
their village (the entire contingetnt :( )...
the fiddler who came in on and off was the metaphor for tehir survivals,
through odds and evens of life, thorugh uncertainties that it summoned.
The play had some mild witty sequences and some sarcasms on the Christian comm.
The songs did not augur well as they were translated from the original jewish play in
Hindi , but the choreography was fantablio...
One sequence of a ballad (well i like to think it was a ballad , dont know what it was:P),
where the 4 dancers sashayed around with empty bottles on their heads ,
that covered their cowboy cap.. That drew the largest applause, yes , the largest.
even when at teh end, when the artistes and backofice people came for encore,
it was the choreography director who drew the largest and heartfelt aaplause,
and sad that she was absent .:(
And then i came out . 2 hrs show over. It was drizzling in Delhi,that further
severed the cold yesterday night. It felt good and with a hot disposable cocoa
cup, I walked out with the crowd , with the desire to witness many more
Plays.:)
indrajit ghosal
...i like your mood,your own sweet will of getting out of quotidian...iven in a bad day; BUT :with my eyes closed,i see my overflow passing through foyer...those people[ where are they of 20 years?].... show begeining's emotion....and vogue-theme: trying to come out from the pattern... with reaching...aplauses... im not going out after the first pause- SO,A GOOD PLAY! aplauses ...thanks for invitation Indra![ no matter where's my siteing!]....out's still drizzle....so what? i feel good!.....
Lucky guy... ok next time I'll accompany u...
8-)
:-)
Simply love your narration about the visit & the review is also very nice...it really draws us into it...you have really made it lively & alive as if in front of our eyes through your descriptions...very nice!
hey this was a nice one
cud feel the cold n rain too :):)
good one
seems like u really enjoyed urself...gng 2 a play sounds like loads of fun...
Hey!
Good to know others (though very few) my age too enjoy watching plays... was not in town for Fiddler on the roof... but i had a grt time during the NSD festival
I saw Kanyadaan- a Vijay Tendulkar play directed by Lillette Dubey. So can really relate to ur feelings towards watching the play... it is an awesome rush unlike a film...
This comment has been removed by the author.
orre NAH..!I have always carved for to see one play ..but still did'nt make it ...it seems you really enjoyed it ..and indeed i am very jealous of you for that.