‘The Triple Stream’

THE GREAT PENACE

Gandhiji fast from 21 days from february 10th to march 2ndwas a period of intense anxiety to the millions in India, and many out side. A whole nation went into prayer as the news from Poona become gloomier. There were many who under took sympathetic fasts for a day or more: everywhere one could sense the deep concern over Gandhiji’s priceless life. A whole nation was stirred to its depths: and the suspense was so trying that for the moment all feelings were repressed, and mass prayers and devotional singing gave great solace. When the crisis was over, and Gandhiji crossed over it as though by a miracle, great was the relief and the occasion of Gandhiji’s breaking the fast on March 3rd was celebrated all over the land with an outburst of rejoicing that finds no parallel in living memory. Men and Women who had never concerned themselves in public affairs–the very children at the school–felt the glow of joy and thanksgiving that lighted up the country when it was known that Gandhiji had survived the ordeal.

Dr. B. C. Roy, who had been permitted by the Government, at Gandhiji’s request, to attend on him, presiding over a meeting of the staff and students of the Calcutta University at Calcutta on March 7th, said:

"The whole fast was in the nature of a religious ceremony…..Mahatmaji started his fast with prayers and he ended his fast with prayers. And throughout the period he had kept himself in tune with the Infinite. Day in and day out while he was being nursed by doctors and nurses, he was always in a state of communion with the Higher Power. I can assure you, and through you all the country, that the whole period of his fast, the way he fought death, the manner in which from hour to hour he waited patiently for the successful termination of the fast were something of a privilege to witness. It was like watching a Yagna, like watching a devotee at his prayers and after these prayers were over I saw him shut his eyes, leaning against the doors, I dare say, to feel the presence of the Almighty nearer his heart, and then he broke his fast"

During the whole of that fateful period, all controversies were hushed, all political and other conflicts were forgotten. Even the issue of Swaraj and National Government receded into the ground, and the inmost thoughts of everyone dwelt on the value to India and the world of the Mahatma who lay hovering between life and death in the Aga Khan’s Palace. It revealed in a striking way the sense of values to which the Indian people hold fast, and which makes the most intimate appeal to their peculiar genius: the world was worth living in because of the presence of great and good souls–all else is as nought.

THE ‘TALKIE’ AND THE STAGE

The Talkies in India have almost displaced the stage playas a form of popular entertainment in India–not only in the towns and cities but even in the country-side. Producers and distributors of films, with greater resources, publicity, and ability to cater to the humblest purse, have made it almost impossible for Dramatic Companies, even with talented actors, to survive the unequal competition. Many dramatic troupes have broken up, and the erstwhile actors and actresses have sought their fortunes in films, or have sunk into obscurity. It is a repetition of the well-known results of machine-made goods and hand-made articles competing in the same market. But that the Stage may yet come to its own, and that it has certain inherent virtues in it making it a superior expression of the histrionic art, is the hope of some optimists and devoted lovers of the Drama. Among them is Sri. P. Sambandam, the doyen of the amateur Tamil stage, who has some interesting observations to make on the subject:

He writes:

" ... ... … Sooner or later the glamour of the new Talkies must fade to a certain extent, and it will find its level. The great point in favour of the old stage performances is that the audience see before them their favourite actors and actresses in flesh and blood. There is not the personal touch (in a Talkie), or personal magnetism, as it has been called, which counts so much with an appreciative audience: this personal touch works in two ways: so far as the audience is concerned, they would any day feel happier by seeing and hearing personally their favourites on the stage; so far as the actors and actresses are concerned they always feel the thrill of an appreciative audience while they are acting on the stage, and this makes them come out consciously or unconsciously with their best……….The Stage has one other advantage over the Screen which the latter cannot hope to beat. It is this: whenever you see a cinema drama there is no temptation for you to see it again and again: it will be the same thing repeated, without the slightest iota of change in every respect. Not so a dramatic performance. The same drama acted1y the same cast may present to you endless variety of good acting. A great actor or actress will present the same incident in a number of different artistic ways and you will be never tired of it……." (Hindu- 28-3-1943.)

The main line of argument in the above is unexceptionable and may be readily conceded. It is, of course, possible for cinema ‘fans’ to argue that even if the actors in a talkie do not get the thrill of acting before an appreciative audience–a loss which is compensated in other substantial ways–the frequenters of the cinema have trained themselves to get magnetised by the shadows flitting on the ‘silver screen.’ It is after all a matter of habit–like people getting accustomed to tinned milk or canned fruits and preferring these even when the real thing is available. Often, the fresh milk or fruit available is possibly poorer in quality than the preserved substitute: even so, the stage play may often turn out to be a poor and even miserable affair compared with the rich entertainment provided by ‘stars’ of varying magnitude who can be seen in the pictures for a paltry payment. Further, the contention that since a cinema story gets repeated mechanically, there is no incentive to see it more than once or twice is not borne out by actual facts. There are many people who are not tired of going again and again to see the same picture, just as there are some people who are not tired of playing the same gramophone record to hear a favourite song over and over again.

But when all this is said for the cinema-enthusiasts’ view-point, the fact remains that acting on the stage by actors and actresses who know their business is a type of creative art altogether in a different category. It is not certainly to be compared with the ‘drilling’ and posing, with or without emotion, and certainly without spontaneity, waiting for the benedictory ‘OKAY’ of the Directors, and their entourage of ‘engineering’ experts, for being ‘shot’ and canned once and for ever in celluloid films. This refers only to the travail through which, actors have to pass. So far, however, as the audience are concerned, the illusion created is fairly satisfying, as the finished product contains elements which normal stage plays do not provide–carefully planned visual effects which make every bit a ‘picture’. But the human touch and joy of ever-new creative effort on the part of artists when face to face with an appreciative audience makes all the difference in every one of the arts, be it painting as against photography, sculpture as against machine-mouldings! music as against the gramophone record and the stage-play as against the talkie.

But the ‘hand-made’ article here as elsewhere, needs ‘protection’ if it is not to be swamped out of the market. The protection is in the shape of patronage by the art-loving public through amateur societies, or through subsidies provided by public bodies like Municipalities etc., which in other countries have their own theatres and picture galleries.

Good art is bound to triumph in the long run. One is glad, therefore, to come across a news item like the following:

"Gujerat, unlike other provinces, has not allowed the talkies to supersede the stage. It has distinctive traditions of the theatrical art which are retained by the existing dramatic companies. A few plays have recorded a score of over one hundred nights in face of the stiff competition with the Talkie. One of them is "Lava-Kusa"……It has to its credit a continuous run of nearly 200 nights in a town like Bhavanagar which has a population of about 1,20,000. The Prabhat Kalamandal which has put it on board was founded by Haribhai Bhat…..himself a playwright, director and actor. He plays in it the leading role of Rama"

(Kapil Rai Mehta in the "Bombay Chronicle")

THE SHADOW PLAY

Writing in the Modern Review for February 1943, Sri Harindranath Chattopadhyaya gives an account of Sri. Uday Shankar’s shadow play, ‘Rama Lila’, produced at the Art Centre at Almora, which seems to have proved extremely popular and drawn thousands from the neighbouring areas to witness it. From the description given, extracts from which will be found elsewhere in this Issue under "Gleanings", one can see that it was an elaborate affair, with a stage of great dimensions, the silhouette figures moving on the screen being probably of more than human size. Sri. Uday Shankar’s well-known capacity for organisation and his supreme artistry have been pressed into service to produce a type of drama of great artistic possibilities, and it adds one more achievement to the many that are to his credit as a gifted exponent of Indian Dance.

The shadow-play, as such, is, however, no new invention for it is an age-old form of entertainment in our country. In South Indian provinces, at any rate, there are marionette plays–consisting of dolls made of wood or leather or other material, manipulated by strings by expert hands from behind, and throwing their animated shadows on a white screen, while the story is declaimed in words and songs with musical accompaniments–an effective exposition, if rather crude and monotonous by modern standards. The manipulators of strings from behind perform their task with an uncanny dexterity. That this is an ancient form of entertainment is evidenced by the term Sutradhara (literally, holder of the strings)–a person who introduces a play in the classical Indian stage and is the player and stage manager of the entire show. But this form of entertainment is disappearing, and the dexterous experts who manipulated the marionettes are becoming extinct. Here is a rich field for exploration and reconstruction for those who have an enthusiasm for artistic revival in our country as an important part of real rural reconstruction. Shorn of its crudities, which need not be considered an essential ingredient of true indigenous or national art, the marionette play may yet thrive in the country and provide entertainment to thousands even against the stiff competition of touring talkies which have invaded the rural areas and are revolutionising the unsophisticated tastes of the villagers in our land.

SOUTH INDIAN ART IN NORTH INDIA

Sri. Ram Gopal of Bangalore, the talented dancer, shares with Sri. Uday Shankar and Sri. Menaka Devi the honours of building up a reputation for Indian Dance in foreign countries in recent times. Young, enthusiastic, gifted with a supple and flawless frame, and a highly artistic temperament Sri. Ram Gopal can go far indeed in his mission for the revival of the Art of Dance in India. He maintains an Institution at Bangalore, where the South Indian forms like Kathakali and Bharata Natya occupy a prominent place.

Sri Ram Gopal and his troupe, consisting of South Indian musicians playing the orchestra, recently toured North Indian cities and have helped to famliiarise audiences there with the South Indian forms of dance and music. Writing in the Social Welfare of 26th March-1943, ‘Wajid AJi Shah’ under the title, "February ends in Lucknow" says:

"Ram Gopal visited Lucknow for the first time and showed us the glory of the Bharatiya Nritta. Ram Gopal has a perfect body, and his technique which he has acquired from the greatest living exponent of the Bharatiya Nritta is flawless. It is more than mastery, it is the ease that comes from the triumph over technique. He disabused us, the Northern Indians, of the notion that foot-work is our monopoly. But we saw his Tillana Adi Tala and we felt humble. His skill in the movement of eye-brows and the neck were of a very high order. I do not think I have seen any dancer who steps and retreats from the stage-front so artistically as Ram Gopal does. As in music, the avaroha is the test of artistry, so also in dance the step-makes or unmakes a dancer. And Ram Gopal glides and halts, halts and glides, and yet the impression is one of continuity and integrity. He knows the art of concluding, because he dances one whole idea...His troupe gave us Kathakali and a few folk items. Individually each performer was good, but somehow we felt that the performance in its entirety was not up to the mark in production. There Uday Shankar’s troupe have set a high standard. Musically, one was expecting an unfavourable reaction to the Karnataki compositions but the audience liked them. There is a slip of a girl, Saroj, in Ram Gopal’s troupe, who should go much further."

It may be added, by way of explanation, that Ram Gopal has had his training in dancing under Sri. Minakshisundaram and Sri. Ellappa Mudaliar; and Sri. Kunju Kurup, the Kathakali master, is helping the troupe in person...Saroj is a young dancer executing Bharata Natya dances, such as are familiar all over South India.

While North Indian films have familiarised us in South India with North Indian music and even types of North Indian dance, though they may not be always of the classical variety, North Indian audiences are on the whole strangers to the delicacies of South Indian music and dance. The occasional visits of South Indian musicians to the north often end in performances given to South Indians resident in the big cities. Any enterprise such as Ram Gopal and his troupe have successfully undertaken to present South Indian art in North India so as to break down the barriers that have grown in the way of mutual appreciation of art and music, is a matter for gratification.

A NEW YEAR

With this issue, TRIVENI enters upon its fifteenth year, and it is a matter of joy to acknowledge the kindness, the indulgence and the generous support accorded by its patrons. When Sri Ramakotiswara Rao shifted to Bangalore last year, I wrote a note: "Welcome to TRIVENI." Little did I imagine at the time that soon I should have to shoulder the honour and burden of conducting the journal in the absence in jail of Sri. Ramakotiswara Rao, who was able to edit only two issues last year. It is owing to the active moral and material support of a few friends that TRIVENI has survived. "To continue the journal or stop it" was the problem that again presented itself rather formidably after the four issues of last year were published. But without yielding to the voice of despair it has been decided to carry on TRIVENI. I am deeply grateful to the friends and respected elders whose kindness and encouragement have heartened me to take the decision. But the Journal needs more wide spread support if the question is not to come up again.

Going through the old files of TRIVENI one is struck with the frequent appearance of Editorial notes of a personal character written by Sri. Ramakotiswara Rao appealing for more support and setting forth his trails and tribulations. I was most reluctant, therefore, to add one more to the list of such notes. But I owe it to the friends, who would not like me to mention their names, to take our kind readers into confidence and tell them that all is not yet well with its business side. I beg the indulgence and forgiveness of readers for referring to these chronic troubles of the Journal in an editorial note, and trust I shall never have to revert to the subject again.