12th Edition of NSD's Jashne Bachpan Set to Enthral Children from all Walks of Life

 

New Delhi: The rainbow, the fables and the drama were all part of the reality which one could not wean ourselves from as children. Many a plays of TIE (Theatre in Education Co.) have also become a part of the same fantasy world for children who have been exposed to it. Have you forgotten, the colourful characters of ‘Pyaas Lagi Hai Mercury Piyo’ or the honest Alibaba of ‘Khulja Sim Sim’ or the ingeniously naughty worms of ‘Kitabon Mein Hulchul’ – all these are TIE productions that has stirred and shaken some of the most confined human emotions in the audience, more so for children.

T.I.E. Co has staged over 1200 shows, 350 workshops catering to more than 11 lakhs children apart from college students, teachers, parents and theatre lovers across the world with their plays celebrates its glorious 25 years. It has not only educated and entertained audiences in India but has also captured hearts in Poland, China, Philippines and Japan. 34 plays by renowned directors like late Shri B.V. Karanth, Shri Barry John, Dr. Mohan Agashe, Mr. Wolfgang Kolneder, Prof. Tripurari Sharma & many more had a long haul and an impactful journey with children theatre through TIE Co.

Celebrating some of the best children’s flavours and a distinct palate back on stage, every autumn National School of Drama (NSD) organizes a festival of theatre for children. This year, the 12th edition of Jashne Bachpan, from 2nd to 14th November, will make sure that children are treated to the best through theatre for children. Jashne Bachpan 2014 will be featuring various performances in 8 languages – Assamese, Bengali, English, Kannada, Marathi, Malayalam, Manipuri, Hindi and 1 non-verbal from 14 States/Union Territories at the National School of Drama Campus, Bhawalpur House, New Delhi.

This year NSD has invited the participation of Zonal Cultural Centres to get involved and extend encouragement and support to the various participating groups for increasing regional participation. In its Silver Jubilee year, TIE Co. is also organizing its first ever three-day seminar during the festival. This three day educational seminar, titled, ‘Theatre for children; who’s need is it?’ from 12th to 14th November will have known theatre personalities like Rudraprasad Sengupta, Feizal Alkazi, Kanchan Sontakke, Bansi Kaul and many more.

T.I.E. Company’s this year’s edition of Jashne Bachpan envisages maximum participation of child performers, adult performers and experts in the field. In its journey of 25 years, T.I.E. Company has emerged as an international body which has enticed, educated and empowered many young minds through its performance, workshops, Sunday clubs and festivals. Moreover, NSD this year has embarked on an initiative to not only include the children of the privileged strata of the society as audiences but also to include the underprivileged children. For every show, National School of Drama will invite maximum number of children with the help of various NGO’s from Delhi NCR.

As one of the major highlights, all the genres of theatre for and with children will be included in the current edition of Jashne Bachpan in terms of performances. Jashne Bachpan 2014 will have performances at venues including Abhimanch, Bahumukh and NSD Open Lawns and will include works of such Directors as Swatilekha Sengupta, K.G. Krishnamurthy, Laique Hussain, Bhagirathi, Jayati Bose, N. Jadumani Singh, Dr. Sripad Bhat, Mandya Ramesh, Manik Roy, Chandradasan, Joy Sankar Bhattacharjee, Jaimini Pathak, Radhika Ingle, K.V. Ganesh, Dr. Danish Iqbal, Goutam Gope, Parthapratim Deb, Dinesh Kakoti , Rajkumar Raikwar, Gagan Dev Riar, Chakresh Kumar, Binod Roy, Neeraj Gahlot, Tathagata Chaudhuri & Anirban Bhattacharya, Bharat More & Anvay Ashtivkar whose performances have been chosen from the 127 plays that came to the screening committee from all over the country.

In addition to these performances a director’s meet is scheduled to take place every morning from 4th  November to 11th November daily from 10:30am where play directors, group leaders and group members of Jashne Bachpan and media can interact to absorb energies, skills and processes in order to gain inspiration for their future work.

Shri Ratan Thiyam, Chairperson NSD Society, reiterates, “Mega Events of children theatre should happen regularly on the national level. By organizing such theatre for children of today we are preparing a generation which will be more creative, responsible and sensitive to their environment. NSD’s TIE Co has been instrumental in training the young minds for thinking out of the box and it has also introduced motivational aspects in creativity in Indian education.”

Prof. Waman Kendre, NSD Director, says, “It’s a proud moment for NSD as TIE Co. has completed 25 years now. TIE has been instrumental in educating and empowering young minds in Rang Sanskar who have achieved fame in theatres, films and television. Children theatre is the need of the hour as it is important in shaping up a child’s personality, confidence, vision and sensitivity as an artist and also a healthy citizen. Children theatre is a very important part of theatrical experience and its time we should include theatre as part of the curriculum.”

Shri. Abdul Latif Khatana, TIE Co. Chief, says, “Completing 25 years of Sanskar Rang Toli has been a fascinating and problem solving journey for all of us who have worked as performers, directors, teachers and students. Working with and performing for children in unusual spaces and conditions have taught us to explore new ways of achieving our objectives through various activities and settings. The T.I.E. Co has so far, created multiple" Educational, Dramatic and Theatrical Practices" for children ideating a vision for few more decades to come.”

Jashne Bachpan 2014 will be inaugurated by Shri Shripad Yasso Naik, Honorable Minister of Tourism and Culture on Sunday, 2nd November 2014 at 6 pm at Abhimanch in New Delhi Campus of National School of Drama. The inaugural ceremony will be followed by “Bal Rang”, a performance of various artists which will be guided by Sh. Laique Hussain.

Jashne Bachpan was started in 1998 by T.I.E Co., NSD in order to contribute to the growth and development of children’s theatre across the country, and has now come to be regarded as one of the largest and most important theatre festivals in India for Children.

About Sanskar Rang Toli (T.I.E. Co)

Sanskar Rang Toli (T.I.E. Co.) of NSD was established on October 16th 1989, and completed 25 years of its existence. It consists of adult actors performing and working with children round the year. The Toli began with an objective of bridging the gap between passive education and an active method of learning by doing through its performances of varied plays, Summer Workshops on self-development and social integration, Sunday Club for devising original performances with children, workshops with teachers on effective teaching-learning process. All these activities are practiced round the year.

Courtesy INDIA EDUCATION DIARY.COM