Cause and Effect

A rain soaked Chandigarh lifted itself out of a gloomy evening on Thursday,with the staging of Andher Nagri Chaupat,a play by children of the Government High School,Sector-24. The play was staged on the last day of the workshop on theatre,organised by the Chandigarh Sangeet Natak Akademi for students of the Theatre Age held from June 1 to 15. The play was a cocktail of tongue-in-cheek humour brewed with excellent depiction of comic satire penned by playwright Bhatendu Harishchandra and directed by Veena Dhir. It was presented by Zulfiqar Khan,president of The Theatre Age who strongly advocates that the upliftment of slum children can be possible only through theatre.

“There is a lot of scope for these slum children,for they are gifted and we enroll them in schools through theatre,to explain to them the value of education,” quips Khan.

Veena Dhir,of the same opinion believes that these children deal with a lot of harsh realities of life,which translates as an art to enable them to act with conviction. A student of Class VIII,Arun Sheryar who portrays the role of Guruji in the play,says it’s the climax of the play that brings out the beauty of the story. “It clearly shows that a successful State is like a mirror of its rulers intellect. I personally enjoyed enacting my character as he is witty,” he says.