Most of you know him as a doctor/pediatrician in the valley, but very few in the community are familiar with his artistic and theatrical side. I had the pleasure of spending an evening chatting with Dr. Kamaljeet Sachdeva regarding his experience with street plays, more commonly known all over india as ‘Nukad Naataks’. Nukad Naataks, the most popular means of communication to the public and masses, became popular in India in the late 80s when women issues started getting a lot of attention in the media.
We began the conversation with a history of when these became popular and their purpose. Most of these naataks are directed towards a single social issue. In the late 70s and 80s, two incidents rocked India. The first was the Mathura Rape Case in 1978, in which two constables walked free from the court after raping a teenaged orphan named Mathura in the police station. The second was the story of Tarvinder Kaur (24), who was burnt alive by her mother-in-law and sister-in-law in Model Town, Delhi. Despite her dying statement to this effect, the police registered a case of suicide. At this time, two organizations — Manushi and Sangarsh – started these street plays, replaying the lives of these tragedies to raise awareness.
“Om Swaha” – a play replaying the life of Tarvinder Kaur, was performed all over universities, residential areas, and in the streets. It revolved around a girl who is educated, gets married, and goes to a typical Indian family thinking it is a dream come true. There is a demand of dowry which the parents fulfill but more demands follow and the parents are unable to keep up. Later on, the girl’s mother-in-law and sister-in-law, with assistance from the son, burn her and portray it as a kitchen accident. Based on Tarvinder’s life, the play ends with the message that this girl can be anybody. The actors go around into the audience saying this can be your daughter or anyone sitting in the audience. They make eye contact with individual people and ask questions such as What do you think? What if it was your daughter? What would you do? The performers do not give the answers or solutions but leave questions for the audience to make them go home thinking. They are not aimed at a solution but rather to raise awareness so the audience can think for themselves.
All educational institutions have social and cultural organizations and Dr. Sachdeva recognized his strength in acting and loved it. It gave him a euphoria and the fact that these were dedicated to raising awareness on much-needed topics was another attraction. While attending Lala Lajpat Rai Memorial Medical College in Meerut, participated in these naataks both as a participant in inter-collegiate competitions, as well as on the streets from which these plays take their name. For their performance in Om Swaha, they won first prize in Kanpur Medical College and Rurkee Engineering College.
In addition to competing, he has also participated in more traditional performances. A traditional nuked naatak consists of finding a place in the corner of the street, where an audience can be attracted. The performing group is prepared to perform, but it is a complete surprise to the audience. Since these are aimed at people going to work or for other business without a lot of time, they are short in duration and approximately 15-20 minutes long. The performances for competitive reasons can go up to 45 minutes. His most memorable performance took place at Kanpur GSVM Medical College. The performance resulted in the judges crying after seeing the play; there was pin drop silence during the performance and after as the audience was stunned and the environment was so charged, it brought the performing actors to tears too.
The biggest difference between regular plays and street plays, according to Dr. Sachdeva, is that a formal play is a well written story with a script and props. However, in a street play, there are no props and the most important tool is the human body. There are no rules and the story can be edited and progressed based on where it is being performed. For example, script can be change to accommodate regional language or slang but the core issue remains the same, making them more flexible than formal. In a street play, the important factors in order of most important to least are voice, eye contact, body language, and then expression. Everyone wears the same attire such as jeans and a kurta to keep consistency and not give away characters from rich to poor based on attire – it is truly the acting that sets them apart and identifies who is who.
After graduation, Dr. Kamaljeet Sachdeva go toto involved in the medical feidl and never got a chance to get back. He did it for 4-5 years in the late part of his medical school and during post-graduation and still misses it. In his own words, “Those were the times you are having fun and you know whatever you are doing has some purpose.” As he described the naataks, what they are, why they happen, the logistics and rules, and his own performances, it was evident that they still held a special place in his memories.
These naataks are still very popular all over India and some influential names such as Baadal Sircar with his ‘Balatkaar Kanoon’ and Gursharan Singh’s ‘Jhangiram ki Haveil’ have taken them to new heights. In addition to raising awareness, they have also become a social and political weapon. Safdar Hasmi, a political, leftist leader, had performed approximately 4,000 street plays using them as a weapon against politicians and the elite class to favor union workers. He was attacked and died the following day while doing a play called Halla Bol, which was eventually turned in a movie by Raj Kumar Santoshi. He was the founder of Jana Natya Academy, a very powerful organization whose basic purpose is to spread awareness acmongst the working class in India. April 12 is still celebrated as National Street Play day in India because it is his birthday and many competitions take place all over India on this day. In today’s environment, a lot of street plays were also inspired by the Anna Hazare movement and took place all over India highlighting the corruption in our political system.
I am sincerely grateful to Dr. Kamaljeet Sachdeva for spending an evening giving me an insight into his less-known passion and educating me on the history behind these plays. This column started as a way to show talented individuals within our community who have been part of something bigger or different than what they are branded with as their profession. And, once again, this interview met that purpose. Not only did I [and hopefully our readers] get an insight into a hidden talent of Dr. Sachdeva’s, but also learned a lot about a part of our culture and history that is not so well known here in the States.
Hidden Gems…Kamaljeet Sachdeva
By Deepa Walia
December 21, 2011
