When asked why he chose the risk of picking up theatre as a career option in a society which invested little in performing arts, he replied, “I’m sure that my state is a treasure island of performing arts tradition. It is just that others as well as the people there were yet to pick up these raw diamonds scattered all over and polish them to let the world know, we also can shine and immensely contribute to the world tradition of performing arts.”
This reply by Bendang Walling impressed Dr. Anuradha Kapur, his professor of acting and direction at the National School of Drama (NSD), New Delhi whose seminal work ‘Actors, Pilgrims, Kings and Gods: the Ramlila at Ramnagar’ has been nationally and internationally read for providing rare insights into a community’s negotiation with religion besides exploring unique theatrical tradition in India’s heartland.
Since the day Bendang entered NSD, the country’s most prestigious theatre institute in 2009 and his sojourn in the country’s national capital New Delhi, he has formally learnt the art and craft of theatre. Along the way, Bendang also learnt many more things which he never thought were possible if he had chosen to stay back in his home state. He rediscovered that Nagaland did not really lack behind in performing arts with the rich cultural mosaic that have dotted the entire Naga landscape for centuries. All that he had to do was embark on a dream and fulfill the onerous task of infusing new ideas and thoughts to folk and craft traditions blooming in Nagaland.
According to Bendang, for a society which has variegated cultural patterns and numerous ways of narrating folk stories, Naga artistes have not been able break the barrier and march forward with an experimental theatre not necessarily ‘avant-garde’ as understood in the west.
Acknowledging that the blending of Naga performing folk arts with that of modern theatre could give birth to something unique that the world could talk about, Bendang opines that the tradition of western proscenium theatre perhaps came to Nagaland with the advent of Christianity and modern education in the state. However, “We have not been able to come out of the typical western conventions of theatre productions save the imitations of the trends prevalent in the west, be it in the realms of Shakespearean dramas or Broadway musicals”, he said.
Perhaps, there was an element of truth in Bendang’s understanding of the current trends of music and performing arts in the state. Despite this, some artistes and musicians have already made attempts to go the experimental way albeit with the extra large room for improvement in the craft of production or the usage of props et al.
Veteran Naga musician, Arenla M. Subong of Abiogenesis made one fantastic effort to retell the story of Lichaba’s Daughter, an Ao folktale in a musical format taking creative liberties to infuse dramatic elements into the narrative. The same musical based on a Naga folktale was also staged by Dreamz Unlimited, a theatre group based in Dimapur, making serious efforts to add Nagaland into the world theatre map.
Though this play was staged successfully and also drew the attention of theatre aficionados outside the state, the absence of patronage, support and critical observation have made staging of such works a rare occurrence. Yet, those who are engaged in the art of theatre still have not given up hope to experiment with more Naga folktales infusing their rich musical content and investing their creative best. It may be recalled that Dreamz Unlimited’s version of Lichaba’s Daughter has been staged in Gantok, Imphal, Guwhati and Delhi and elsewhere. Dreams Unlimited under the guidance of Rabijita Gogoi, an NSD alumnus from Assam also took the play Technicolor Dreams at the 12th Bharat Rang Mahotsave, Delhi 2010.
Despite the gradual recognition and existence of many young and talented Nagas, there were many more obstacles associated with experiments in theatrical forms. This, according to him has a lot to do with the overall perception as well as the understanding of what actually are performing arts.
He asked if it was just enough to sing folk songs or perform tribal dances. He wondered if theatre and films Nagas produced ended up with the imitations of what has been experimented in the west and still stuck up with the imageries of Hollywood or Bollywood productions. He is still trying hard to find the answers for all despite possessing a three year degree from NSD on the nitty-gritty of the art of theatre.
When asked about the physical obstacles in the development of theatre in Nagaland, Dreamz Unlimited’s president Tiakumzuk Ao said the absence of technically sound performing spaces or a permanent standing theatre auditorium exclusively for theatre in Nagaland have always been a problem. He says even by conventional standards, most of halls and auditoriums in Nagaland were not made considering the needs of either proscenium or experimental theatre.
Tiakumzuk also says the primary need invariably is sponsorship. Does this imply that the level of patronage for performing in arts the state is abysmally low or is it the failure of the state authorities to identify theatrical talents who can shoulder the responsibility?
It is worth noting that over years, the state government has taken several steps to promote the musical efforts of its people. In 2006, Nagaland government started a special Music Task Force with the intention of encouraging young people to take up music professionally rather than just as a hobby. The state board of school education has even introduced music as a subject in its higher secondary curriculum. When the state gives such patronage to music, the moot question one can ask is can the state government do the same for the large but less visible immensely talented young actors? Or is it the failure to infuse new thoughts and ideas in the productions process.
Bendang says apart from patronage or sponsorship, another issue that has dogged performing arts, particularly theatre is the absence of a well organized standing institute where the art could be learnt in its entirety including theory and practice of the theatrical arts.
“Each Naga tribe has its own distinctive folk dance, story-telling tradition, folk tales etc. We know for sure the content is also abundantly rich. Now the question is how do we transform these into theatre. Even after drafting the folk stories as scripts of plays, most of us engaged in this field for some reason are not fully equipped with theoretical issues like the uneasy relationship between the dramatic text and the performance text or the script writer versus the director issue,” says Bendang.
There are enough indicators to the presence of stories rich with content in Nagaland which could be transformed into dramatic texts and the strength of the rich oral tradition could also be easily transformed into stories that can be not only retold but also re-enacted just as Bendang says, “The content or the text is already there, we just have to concentrate in further enhancing the dramatic text as well as the performance text.”
This reply by Bendang Walling impressed Dr. Anuradha Kapur, his professor of acting and direction at the National School of Drama (NSD), New Delhi whose seminal work ‘Actors, Pilgrims, Kings and Gods: the Ramlila at Ramnagar’ has been nationally and internationally read for providing rare insights into a community’s negotiation with religion besides exploring unique theatrical tradition in India’s heartland.Since the day Bendang entered NSD, the country’s most prestigious theatre institute in 2009 and his sojourn in the country’s national capital New Delhi, he has formally learnt the art and craft of theatre. Along the way, Bendang also learnt many more things which he never thought were possible if he had chosen to stay back in his home state. He rediscovered that Nagaland did not really lack behind in performing arts with the rich cultural mosaic that have dotted the entire Naga landscape for centuries. All that he had to do was embark on a dream and fulfill the onerous task of infusing new ideas and thoughts to folk and craft traditions blooming in Nagaland.
According to Bendang, for a society which has variegated cultural patterns and numerous ways of narrating folk stories, Naga artistes have not been able break the barrier and march forward with an experimental theatre not necessarily ‘avant-garde’ as understood in the west.
Acknowledging that the blending of Naga performing folk arts with that of modern theatre could give birth to something unique that the world could talk about, Bendang opines that the tradition of western proscenium theatre perhaps came to Nagaland with the advent of Christianity and modern education in the state. However, “We have not been able to come out of the typical western conventions of theatre productions save the imitations of the trends prevalent in the west, be it in the realms of Shakespearean dramas or Broadway musicals”, he said.
Perhaps, there was an element of truth in Bendang’s understanding of the current trends of music and performing arts in the state. Despite this, some artistes and musicians have already made attempts to go the experimental way albeit with the extra large room for improvement in the craft of production or the usage of props et al.
Veteran Naga musician, Arenla M. Subong of Abiogenesis made one fantastic effort to retell the story of Lichaba’s Daughter, an Ao folktale in a musical format taking creative liberties to infuse dramatic elements into the narrative. The same musical based on a Naga folktale was also staged by Dreamz Unlimited, a theatre group based in Dimapur, making serious efforts to add Nagaland into the world theatre map.
Though this play was staged successfully and also drew the attention of theatre aficionados outside the state, the absence of patronage, support and critical observation have made staging of such works a rare occurrence. Yet, those who are engaged in the art of theatre still have not given up hope to experiment with more Naga folktales infusing their rich musical content and investing their creative best. It may be recalled that Dreamz Unlimited’s version of Lichaba’s Daughter has been staged in Gantok, Imphal, Guwhati and Delhi and elsewhere. Dreams Unlimited under the guidance of Rabijita Gogoi, an NSD alumnus from Assam also took the play Technicolor Dreams at the 12th Bharat Rang Mahotsave, Delhi 2010.
Despite the gradual recognition and existence of many young and talented Nagas, there were many more obstacles associated with experiments in theatrical forms. This, according to him has a lot to do with the overall perception as well as the understanding of what actually are performing arts.
He asked if it was just enough to sing folk songs or perform tribal dances. He wondered if theatre and films Nagas produced ended up with the imitations of what has been experimented in the west and still stuck up with the imageries of Hollywood or Bollywood productions. He is still trying hard to find the answers for all despite possessing a three year degree from NSD on the nitty-gritty of the art of theatre.
When asked about the physical obstacles in the development of theatre in Nagaland, Dreamz Unlimited’s president Tiakumzuk Ao said the absence of technically sound performing spaces or a permanent standing theatre auditorium exclusively for theatre in Nagaland have always been a problem. He says even by conventional standards, most of halls and auditoriums in Nagaland were not made considering the needs of either proscenium or experimental theatre.
Tiakumzuk also says the primary need invariably is sponsorship. Does this imply that the level of patronage for performing in arts the state is abysmally low or is it the failure of the state authorities to identify theatrical talents who can shoulder the responsibility?
It is worth noting that over years, the state government has taken several steps to promote the musical efforts of its people. In 2006, Nagaland government started a special Music Task Force with the intention of encouraging young people to take up music professionally rather than just as a hobby. The state board of school education has even introduced music as a subject in its higher secondary curriculum. When the state gives such patronage to music, the moot question one can ask is can the state government do the same for the large but less visible immensely talented young actors? Or is it the failure to infuse new thoughts and ideas in the productions process.
Bendang says apart from patronage or sponsorship, another issue that has dogged performing arts, particularly theatre is the absence of a well organized standing institute where the art could be learnt in its entirety including theory and practice of the theatrical arts.
“Each Naga tribe has its own distinctive folk dance, story-telling tradition, folk tales etc. We know for sure the content is also abundantly rich. Now the question is how do we transform these into theatre. Even after drafting the folk stories as scripts of plays, most of us engaged in this field for some reason are not fully equipped with theoretical issues like the uneasy relationship between the dramatic text and the performance text or the script writer versus the director issue,” says Bendang.
There are enough indicators to the presence of stories rich with content in Nagaland which could be transformed into dramatic texts and the strength of the rich oral tradition could also be easily transformed into stories that can be not only retold but also re-enacted just as Bendang says, “The content or the text is already there, we just have to concentrate in further enhancing the dramatic text as well as the performance text.”
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