As a class X student in Amritsar, Rajinder Singh started Dastak, a theatre group, in 1996 because he could not access theatre training due to lack of resources. We speak to him about his fascinating storytelling journey.
Rajinder Singh: I was always very interested in art, stories and entertainment. I was in class X when a nearby private school organised a theatre workshop. I was really excited. But I could not afford the entry fee for this workshop, which was Rs 500.
Though I was very young at the time, I could not stomach this incident. My lack of means deprived me from learning. As a response to this incident, my friends and I started Dastak. Its first meeting was held in Khalsa Senior Secondary School on 19 April 1996.
We called it Dastak Bal Sabha when we started it, which in 2006 became Dastak Theatre.
Our motive and purpose were clear – use theatre as a tool to improve children’s confidence, train children in the ‘five senses’ through art and theatre which is age appropriate. We also wanted to make songs, art, poetry and stories accessible.
As Dastak Bal Sabha, we raised our first fund of about Rs 25,000 through relatives, nearby shops and hospitals. We used that money to organise our first theatre workshop.
I soon got selected for the National School of Drama (NSD) too.
Then we started to build a library which has books beyond the classroom textbooks. Now the library has over 7,000 books.
Rajinder Singh: After getting back from NSD, I shifted my focus to youth to connect them to Punjab’s rich culture. The idea was to represent Punjab’s literature in performance and theatre. Of course my training at NSD also made me more equipped to teach theatre.
I organised many theatre camps in and around Amritsar. From 2006-2010, in just four years, many young people from our group and Amritsar started getting selected for NSD.
I also shifted my attention to the folk theatre forms of Punjab. One of them being Bhand Marasi, interest in which has been dwindling unfortunately. We started to introduce many methodologies, training in acting and learning literature of Shiv Kumar Batalvi and Saadat Hasan Manto.
In the last eight years, we have collaborated with UNESCO, NSD and the Ministry of Culture, among others, to research these art forms.
Rajinder Singh: The first subject we covered after I got back from NSD was the innocence of India’s villagers and how it gets lost during migration. It was a Bengali play. We adapted and made into a Punjabi folk lore play.
We also re-adapted the legend of Heer-Ranjha, where we imagined Ranjha as a theatre artist-turned-IAS officer and Heer as a software engineer. This was selected for screening at the prestigious Bharat Rang Mahotsav in 2009.
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We also worked on bringing Shakespeare to Punjab. We made an adaptation of Shakespeare’s comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dreams and called it Agadh Akhara. It was set in modern-day Punjab. For me Shakespeare and his writing will remain relevant forever.
Soon we felt that we had not focused on Punjabi literature. We started with Shiv Kumar Batalvi, a known poet and writer from Punjab. We met various people across Punjab so as to write a musical on his life.
Through extensive research and field work we were able to bring his lesser known works and poetry into the public domain. We were invited to open Sangeet Natak Academy’s Young Theatre Festival in Patiala with this play.
We also did similar work on the lives of Ismat Chughtai and Suryakant Tripathi Nirala. People did not know about their incredible life. In a way our plays were able to bring them to life.
Rajinder Singh: Their love is the only reason why I have been able to continue to do this for over 25 years. They just lifted us.
Recently we organised 2nd Aaina National Theatre Festival, which is a seven-day theatre festival. The kind of response I got while organising it was overwhelming. I realised that I am not alone on this journey. People of Punjab are standing with us.
Rajinder Singh: The Government of Punjab reached out to us during the COVID pandemic to address vaccine hesitancy. It was a major issue in many parts of Punjab.
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We came up with a street play called Corona Swaha and performed it a thousand-plus times for a year in the Malwa region of southern Punjab.
Theatre is a composite art with unlimited potential. It is a direct and powerful medium which can help you connect with people.
The lead image at the top shows lighting equipment on a stage (Photo by Rajinder Singh)
