Shiv Kumar’s ‘Marta Kya Na Karta’
This story is about a poor yet kind-hearted priest, Vishnu Potti, and his wife, Lakshmi. Vishnu Potti would feed every guest who came to their home, whether they had food in the house or not. Lakshmi did not like this habit, but she never opposed her husband. One day, there was absolutely no grain left in the house, and just then, some guests arrived. Lakshmi was troubled, but she came up with a clever idea. She began worshipping the ‘musal’ (a wooden pestle). When the guests asked about it, she replied, “After my husband feeds the guests, he beats them with this musal.” Hearing this, the guests became frightened and ran away. The news spread through the village that Vishnu Potti beats the guests who come to his house. The story teaches us that sometimes, in difficult situations, wisdom and clever thinking can help us escape trouble.
Asghar Wajahat’s Three Stories
Asghar Wajahat is a storyteller of subtle satire and deep human truths. His language carries the simplicity of everyday folk life, but within it resides a rich world of satire, symbolism, and human compassion. He reveals complex social questions not through preaching, but through natural dialogues and delicate metaphors. All his three short stories ‘Sher’, ‘Char Hath’, and ‘Sajha’ – explore the relationship between individuals and the systems they live within, through different symbolic frames. Sher examines the psychology of power and fear; Char Hath speaks of creation, labor, and invisible exploitation; while Sajha sensitively touches upon trust, ambition, and disillusionment. In this theatrical adaptation, all these stories presented on a shared emotional landscape, where symbols, visuals, and music intermingle to bring the core ideas of the stories.
Amarkant’s ‘Bahadur’
Taken from the class 10 Hindi textbook ‘Godhuli’, the story ‘Bahadur’ is based on the harsh and uncivil behaviour often shown by middle-class families. Through the life journey of a Nepali boy named Bahadur, the story brings forth themes such as child labour, class discrimination, honesty, and moral conflict, and also reveals the feudal mind-set that persists under the pressures of a middle-class social environment. Bahadur is innocent, hardworking, sincere, and obedient-yet he is frequently scolded and beaten even when he has done nothing wrong, though he soon returns to his cheerful self. One day, when he is falsely accused of theft, Bahadur makes a firm decision and leaves the home, stepping into a world filled with hope and freedom. Thus, the story highlights how unjust treatment of domestic workers breaks their dignity and emotional strength.
The story reveals the inner psychological world of a young child laborer.
Guide
Prof. Devendra Raj Ankur
A post-graduate in Hindi Literature from Delhi University, and trained in Direction at the National School of Drama, Devendra Raj Ankur has directed plays with numerous professional and amateur theatre troupes across the country. A founder member of the theatre group Sambhav and a pioneer of “Kahani Ka Rangmanch”, Prof. Ankur has conducted workshops throughout India as a teacher, camp director, and theatre director. He has translated several plays from English and other languages, and writes regularly on theatre-related subjects for newspapers and magazines. More than seven of his books on theatre criticism have been published. He also received the Tagore Fellowship from the Ministry of Culture. Prof. Ankur is the former Director of the National School of Drama, and has been bestowed with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for his outstanding contribution to the field of theatre.
Guide
After almost twenty years, I have once again returned to prepare theatre of stories with the Theatre in Education (TIE) company. At that time, we had prepared seven stories by a single author, Premchand. The presentation was titled ‘Premchand ke Saat Rang, Toli Walon ke Sang’ (Seven Shades of Premchand with the Toli). I remember that the production was performed continuously in various schools across Delhi. Later, one of the stories from that production, ‘Boodhi Kaki’, was performed in China as well, and the actress Aruna Shetty, who played the role of the old woman, was honored with the Best Actress award for her performance.
This time, we thought of selecting stories from children’s school textbooks for our presentation. In this process, each member of TIE read and narrated one story. Finally, through a selection process, we decided on the stories: ‘Marta Kya Na Karta’ by K. Shivkumar; three short stories (Sher, Chaar Haath, and Saajha) by Asghar Wajahat, and ‘Bahadur’ by Amarkant. The intention is that our presentation may truly reinforce the concept of Theatre in Education.
The entire process has been very motivating and energizing for me. Each time, the actors would come with a prepared interpretation of their story. We would all sit together and watch it, and then I would ask them to return with a fresh reworked version. In this way, they underwent the process three to four times, refining their performances again and again.
The version will come before you today is the outcome of where we have reached so far. It is entirely possible that the performance will continue to evolve in the upcoming shows. Our primary audience will be the very children who have read these stories as part of their studies. So we would like them, too, to participate in this creative process.