The much talked about Gandhi, made Gandhi a part of almost every conversation last year, taking this thought forward, tomorrow Prithvi Theatre will house a play introducing a little known personality in Gandhi's life, his spiritual guru Rajchandra.
Apurva Avsar, which means the celebration of life, is a Gujarati play introducing Rajchandra, Gandhi's spiritual guru.
In this play one sees Gandhi constantly questioning his guru about several spiritual questions that plague his 32-year-old mind. Not believing in religious differences and beliefs, Rajchandra, a poet, philosopher, thinker and businessman, has written extensively about religion, suggesting that the purpose of religion is to know oneself. The same thought is reflected in the play through the dialogues between Gandhi and Rajchandra, who were friends for ten years from 1891 to 1901 AD.
Rajchandra was known to be simple in his demeanour, and this simplicity extends to the play about his life as well. The play is rather minimalist too. 'I have read a lot about him before conceiving this believable character. Minute details like, what a businessman in Mumbai would have worn decades ago, or how he walked on the streets of Mumbai, have been looked into. Probably due to these nuances, the play is kept very simple. Through the play, I have tried to transport my audience to the past,' states the director Manoj Shah.
After a thorough study on Rajchandra for over a year and a half, the play written by Raju Dave and Shah has taken shape into a two-hours-theatrical challenge with three actors performing the role of 15 characters. What is more amusing is the fact that three poets Acharya Hemchandra (11th century), Acharya Anand Ghanji (17th century) and Rajchandra (19th century) are brought together on the same stage to the audience.
Explaining the idea of using the three Gujarati scholars and learned personalities, Shah says, 'I am giving Gujarati audience something that belongs to them. Audience and critics have celebrated my earlier productions warmly. If the response is favourable, I may make many more plays on Jainism,' hopes Shah.
Shah, who has been doing Gujarati theatre for more than a decade now, also part of the Ideas Unlimited theatre group for seven years. However, he's rather unhappy with the present standing of Gujarati theatre in the city, which has come to be known as 'commercialised'. 'People have ignored performing arts. What has happened to the city is reflected in the audience of Gujarati theatre. Gujarati play audience only wants to laugh their stress out while watching a play. The commercial discourse in the city is harmful and pathetic,' Shah rues.
Shah is always overwhelmed and inspired by his audience. 'The 200 people part of the audience in Prithvi watching my plays always fascinates me. I am happy they discover something new when they come to watch plays. I hope that after watching this play, the audience are enthused to read the autobiographies of Rajchandra and Gandhi,' he wishes.