APRIL 2015

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point out bureau
T
he
world theatre has evolved a
lot since its inception and so has
the Indian theatre. The Indian
theatre has a tradition going back
to at least 5000 years. The ‘Natya Shastra’
is one of the world’s earliest treatises on
theatre. It dates back to 2000 B.C. and its
first chapter tells the story of the Birth
of Drama. But in contemporary India,
theatre has lost its actual value with the
growing television and film industry.
People prefer sitting at their homes and
watching movies rather than going out
and watching a live performance. Because
of its losing appeal theatre has also lost its
investors. So, to revive this age old form of
performing arts, ‘World Theatre Day’ is
celebrated every year on March 27. World
Theatre Day was first initiated in 1961 by
the International Theatre Institute (ITI) –
World Organization for the Performing
Arts. Various national and international
theatre events are organized to mark this
occasion.
One of the important aspects of this day is
the circulation of the World Theatre Day
International Message through which a
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“The theater is the
only institution in the
world which has been
dying for four thousand
years and has never
succumbed. It requires
tough and devoted
people to keep it alive.”
figure of world stature shares his or her
reflections on the theme of Theatre and
a Culture of Peace. This year the author
of the Message of World Theatre Day
was the famous Polish director Krzysztof
Warlikowski.
To celebrate this day, National School
of Drama (NSD) organized the World
Theatre Day on 26th March,2015 at its
Abhimanch auditorium. The event was
celebrated in the presence of its faculty,
artists, students, staff and other theatre
practitioners. The Message authored
by Krzysztof Warlikowski was read by
Santanu Bose at the event. After the
message, Sorubh Shukla, an eminent
theatre and film personality, addressed
the audience. He told about his family
background, how he got attracted to
theatre, and how he overcame all hardships
to become a successful film personality. He
served in the NSD Repertory Company as
an actor and it was here that he got his first
break when Shekhar Kapoor, impressed
with his work, gave him a role in 'Bandit
Queen'.
The theatre, TV and cinema fraternity
together commemorated the World
Theatre Day. Also, this day reminds us of
the art form which is slowly dying in the
modern world. As John Steinbeck, the
famous writer says “The theater is the only
institution in the world which has been
dying for four thousand years and has
never succumbed. It requires tough and
devoted people to keep it alive.” Theatre
will exist till people value the aesthetics of
performing arts and till events like this are
celebrated every year.