english

It was good to get back to Ranga Shankara and theatre after a long hiatus, and it so happened that it was a play from the land I had left behind! Poorna Jagannathan Productions was staging, as part of the Martin Moran India tour, his play, "The Tricky Part". The play, written and performed by Martin Moran, is the story of his life.  Between the ages of 12 and 15, he had a sexual relationship with a much older man, who was actually a counselor he met at a Catholic boys' camp. How he resolves the ancient conflicts, and his…

I've attended, and enjoyed, several of Bangalore Little Theatre's productions over the years, because it's Bangalore's oldest theatre society...but this evening's production of "The Court Jester: Tales of Tenali Rama" was very special for me, as my grandchildren, 5 and 1, were visiting me, and I'd been very keen to give Kavya (the elder) a taste of theatre...so having a children's play by BLT to go to was a wish come true! The whole family went to Woodlands Hotel to find that things were delayed a bit, but Vijay Padaki filled in the gap with great panache. He first invited…

I've attended, and enjoyed, several of Bangalore Little Theatre's productions over the years, because it's Bangalore's oldest theatre society...but this evening's production of "The Court Jester: Tales of Tenali Rama" was very special for me, as my grandchildren, 5 and 1, were visiting me, and I'd been very keen to give Kavya (the elder) a taste of theatre...so having a children's play by BLT to go to was a wish come true! The whole family went to Woodlands Hotel to find that things were delayed a bit, but Vijay Padaki filled in the gap with great panache. He first invited…

Having watched Adishakti Laboratory for Theatre Art Research (what a mouthful, I'll call it ALTAR for short!)'s earlier production, "The Tenth Head" at Ranga Shankara, and reviewed it here, I was prepared for an interesting evening when I went to watch "Nidrdravathvam". The play is about two brothers of the protagonist and the antagonist of the Ramayana: Lakshmana and Kumbhakarna. They are connected in having received boons that, in the words of the excellent brochure provided by ALTAR, "dramatically alter their cycles of sleep and wakefulness." Kumbharkarna's tongue is tied by Saraswati, and instead of asking for "Nirdevatvam" (destruction of the Devas) he…

Having watched Adishakti Laboratory for Theatre Art Research (what a mouthful, I'll call it ALTAR for short!)'s earlier production, "The Tenth Head" at Ranga Shankara, and reviewed it here, I was prepared for an interesting evening when I went to watch "Nidrdravathvam". The play is about two brothers of the protagonist and the antagonist of the Ramayana: Lakshmana and Kumbhakarna. They are connected in having received boons that, in the words of the excellent brochure provided by ALTAR, "dramatically alter their cycles of sleep and wakefulness." Kumbharkarna's tongue is tied by Saraswati, and instead of asking for "Nirdevatvam" (destruction of the Devas) he…

The play, "The Tenth Head", written by Vinay Kumar KJ, directed by Veenapani Chawla, and staged by Adishakti Laboratory and Theatre Art Research, Puduchery, has a very interesting central premise: that all the heads of Ravana are not alike, and that the tenth head is quite different from the other nine.   Intrigued by this, I went to watch the staging at Ranga Shankara, on the 18th of February, 2014. I found myself both interested and puzzled at different times during the play.   The on-again-off-again power situation took its toll on Ranga Shankara's usual punctuality, and the play started…

The play, "The Tenth Head", written by Vinay Kumar KJ, directed by Veenapani Chawla, and staged by Adishakti Laboratory and Theatre Art Research, Puduchery, has a very interesting central premise: that all the heads of Ravana are not alike, and that the tenth head is quite different from the other nine.   Intrigued by this, I went to watch the staging at Ranga Shankara, on the 18th of February, 2014. I found myself both interested and puzzled at different times during the play.   The on-again-off-again power situation took its toll on Ranga Shankara's usual punctuality, and the play started…

…Hindus, Muslims, Christians, boys and girls", were the heart warming words of Afreen Sultana, a promising class IX student of a government aided English medium school in Matadahalli, R.T. Nagar. A fornight ago, it all began as a question on the difference between a nest and a cage with Firdaus (of class VII in the Urdu medium government school nearby). This led to the meaning and importance of freedom for all living beings, eliciting interesting responses from Alan, Chetan and Abhinaya (in classes VII, IX and VIII of various government aided English medium schools in North East Bengaluru) on accepted…

…Hindus, Muslims, Christians, boys and girls", were the heart warming words of Afreen Sultana, a promising class IX student of a government aided English medium school in Matadahalli, R.T. Nagar. A fornight ago, it all began as a question on the difference between a nest and a cage with Firdaus (of class VII in the Urdu medium government school nearby). This led to the meaning and importance of freedom for all living beings, eliciting interesting responses from Alan, Chetan and Abhinaya (in classes VII, IX and VIII of various government aided English medium schools in North East Bengaluru) on accepted…

Have you ever observed or interacted with children from low income families (and sometimes first generation literates) studying in private or government aided English medium schools, in their school or outside? Who are their friends? What is their medium (language) and topic of conversation?  Do they commute by walk  or bus or private transport? Does their body language display confidence and stability or insecurity and discrimination?   While tutoring and mentoring such children I have found that many of them feel diffident primarily because they can't converse fluently in English and lack academic and career guidance at home. Further, their…