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The Living Tale of Hirma
Translated from Hindi by Anjum Katyal. Based on a historical incident, focusses on nature of the tribal world and issues about assimilation.
69 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2005
22 people want to read
About the author
Habib Tanvir
23 books9 followersHabib Tanvir was one of the most popular Urdu, Hindi playwrights, a theatre director, poet and actor. He is the writer of plays such as Agra Bazar (1954) and Charandas Chor (1975). A pioneer in Urdu, Hindi theatre, he is most known for his work with Chhattisgarhi tribals, at the Naya Theatre, a theatre company he founded in 1959 in Bhopal, and went on to include indigenous performance forms such as nacha, to create not only a new theatrical language, but also milestones such as Charandas Chor, Gaon ka Naam Sasural, Mor Naam Damad and Kamdeo ka Apna Basant Ritu ka Sapna.
For him true "theatre of the people" existed in the villages, which he strived to bring to the urban "educated", employing both folk performers as actors alongside urban actors. He died on 8th of June 2009 at Bhopal after a three week long illness. Upon his death, he was the last of pioneering actor-managers in Indian theatre, which included Sisir Bhaduri, Utpal Dutt and Prithviraj Kapoor, and often he managed plays with mammoth cast, such as Charandas Chor which included an orchestra of 72 people on stage and Agra Bazaar had 52 people.
During his lifetime he won several national and international awards, including the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1969, Padma Shri in 1983, Kalidas Samman 1990, Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship in 1996, and the Padma Bhushan in 2002; apart from that he had also been nominated to become a member of the Upper House of Indian Parliament, the Rajya Sabha (1972-1978). His play Charandas Chor (Charandas, The Thief) got him the Fringe Firsts Award at Edinburgh International Drama Festival in 1982 [9], and in 2007, it was credited for "an innovative dramaturgy equally impelled by Brecht and folk idioms, Habib Tanvir seduces across language barriers in this his all-time biggest hit about a Robin Hood-style thief" as it was included in the Hindustan Times' list of 'India’s 60 Best works since Independence'.
For him true "theatre of the people" existed in the villages, which he strived to bring to the urban "educated", employing both folk performers as actors alongside urban actors. He died on 8th of June 2009 at Bhopal after a three week long illness. Upon his death, he was the last of pioneering actor-managers in Indian theatre, which included Sisir Bhaduri, Utpal Dutt and Prithviraj Kapoor, and often he managed plays with mammoth cast, such as Charandas Chor which included an orchestra of 72 people on stage and Agra Bazaar had 52 people.
During his lifetime he won several national and international awards, including the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1969, Padma Shri in 1983, Kalidas Samman 1990, Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship in 1996, and the Padma Bhushan in 2002; apart from that he had also been nominated to become a member of the Upper House of Indian Parliament, the Rajya Sabha (1972-1978). His play Charandas Chor (Charandas, The Thief) got him the Fringe Firsts Award at Edinburgh International Drama Festival in 1982 [9], and in 2007, it was credited for "an innovative dramaturgy equally impelled by Brecht and folk idioms, Habib Tanvir seduces across language barriers in this his all-time biggest hit about a Robin Hood-style thief" as it was included in the Hindustan Times' list of 'India’s 60 Best works since Independence'.
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April 15, 2016
This is a terrific play. And the power struggle represented in it over issues of development and its effect on adivasis is still quite relevant. The best part of it is that it has at least 45 characters in it for those who wish to perform it and need a large number of roles (hint, hint: students).
Displaying 1 of 1 review