Theatre’s here, now for the patrons to arrive

TSHERING EDEN

Theatre may not have been a part of Sikkimese culture, but it has found takers in the state with the establishment of the National School of Drama Sikkim Training Centre in the capital in 2011. Sikkimese theatre is fast making inroads in the national arts and culture scene. That said, the road towards a vibrant theatre culture in the state will be a long one given the lack of support from the state government and the alien nature of this form of art to local audiences.

Theatre comes to town

GANGTOK, 17 Aug: Nepali play ‘Hami Nai Aafai Aaf’ opened to strong applause and praise from theatre lovers of the capital this weekend, staged on Saturday and Sunday evenings at Mannan Kendra. The play was presented by Nation School of Drama’s Sikkim Theatre Training Centre in collaboration with Cultural Affairs & Heritage Department and has been designed and directed by Bipin Kumar and features artists of the Sikkim Theatre Training Centre of NSD. The play is inspired by one of the finest writer of Dongri language, Padma Sachdev’s Hindi novel, “Ab Na Banegi Dehari”. The play follows the story of a widow, Rewati, and the saint Giri Baba who fall in love and the complications this creates.

NSD’s ‘Kalo Sunakhari’ promises a whole new theatre experience

GANGTOK, 07 Oct: National School of Drama’s Sikkim Theatre Training Centre is all set to stage a silent play, ‘Kalo Sunakhari’, at the centre’s studio theatre at Nepali Sahitya Parishad on 13 October. The play is inspired by Yeshe Dorjee Thongchi’s novel, ‘Sonam’, and features barely any dialogues, in what NSD is presenting as an experimental ‘non-verbal’ play.
The play has been designed and directed by Abhilash Pillai and is scripted by Hasta Chettri. The music has been composed by Jilmil Hajarika and lights by Himashu B Joshi.
Director of the play, Mr Pillai informed that the one-hour play primarily relies on expressions and actions rather than dialogue. He added that local artists have been able to effectively use their body to express beautifully in the play.
Centre Director, Bipin Kumar said that this new and different form would offer a new experience for local people.  The whole team of the play has been working hard to lend perfection to this whole new experience for the people, he added.
He further mentioned that local artists at the centre have been doing a tremendous job and have immense potential to excel. Mr Kumar said that the centre has been getting positive and encouraging response from the locals.
Responding to media queries, he added that the centre has been working in collaboration with the state government which has been extending full support to the centre in its every endeavor. This is the first training centre of the NSD in India, he further added.

Sikkim Theatre Training Centre artists present ‘Hum Hi Apna Aap’ play in Nepali

GANGTOK, 14 Mar: Local artists of the National School of Drama’s Sikkim Theatre Training Centre presented a play ‘Hum Hi Apna Aap’ in Nepali here at Defence auditorium this evening. The play will again be staged on Thursday evening at 5:30 PM.
The play is inspired by Padma Sachdeva’s Hindi novel, ‘Ab Na Banegi Dehari’, scripted by Asif Ali Haider Khan and was translated in Nepali by Jagdish Sharma. The play is designed and directed by Bipin Kumar. Padma Sachdeva also writes in the Dongri language.
The play is about a widow Rewati and the saint Giri Baba who fall in love with each other. Rewati is willing to give up everything and settle down with Giri Baba, but the fear of the society gets the better of him. The initiators of religion are afraid of the consequences of this romance. They believe that the society is bound to lose their faith in God if they found out about such a love story between a widow and a saint. They convince Giri Baba to take up Samadhi. The play thus opens with the festive scene going on in the premises of the village mandir. The play also tries to highlight the struggle faced by a widow in the society.
The play was staged beautifully by local artists of the state trained by the Sikkim Theatre Training Centre of the NSD. The first day of the play had Prof Sudeep Kulkarni of the NSD as the chief guest, who was accompanied by writer, Biru Bangdel. The play was also attended by the NSD faculty members from New Delhi.
NSD Sikkim Theatre Training Centre started on 01 May last year with 19 students.

NSD conducts theatre workshop for Gangtok students

GANGTOK, 05 Aug: Thirty-five students from schools in and around Gangtok are presently undergoing a Children Theatre Workshop at Burtuk Junior High School. The workshop began on 01 August.
The workshop is been organized by the National School of Drama [NSD] in association with Kaala Multimedia Centre [KMC], Gangtok and will continue till 30 August. The workshop has students from 8 to 15 years age group.

NSD conducts workshop for students

GYALSHING, 03 August: A month-long theater workshop for children organized by the National School of Drama and Srijana Sewa Samiti of Sakyong concluded yesterday at the Pelling Senior Secondary School auditorium.
The main theme of the workshop, which had begun on 03 July at Upper Baluthang Primary School, was to spread awareness on sanitation and environmental issues.

Yuksam school celebrates National Science Day

GANGTOK, 01 March: Government Secondary School, Yuksam observed the National Science Day 2011 with an exhibition on Popular Science (Hobby Electronics, Optics and Mechanics), Inter-House Science Quiz Competition and Complex-level Inter-School Painting Competition on the theme ‘Science & Technology in Human Welfare’ for the students of classes IV and V, informs a press release.

Speaking on the occasion, Headmaster Sanjoy Acharyya stressed on the need of PPP (Public Private Partnership) between remote and under-privileged schools and private academic bodies like Vinayaka Missions Sikkim University [VMSU].