“Dehra Dun Needs to Get a Cultural Life Again”: Hammad Farooqui By Jaskiran Chopra Meeting an old resident of the Doon valley can be quite an enriching experience ,especially if that resident has been emotionally linked to the character and spirit of the place and holds the town dear to his heart despite all the changes it has undergone in recent years. Soft-spoken , dignified and unassuming are three words that describe this revered teacher the best . And once he begins to talk about theatre, the depth and vastness of his knowledge can keep the listener mesmerized for hours. For the past two and half decades, Hammad Farooqui has been carrying forward the rich tradition of theatre, especially Hindi plays, which he strengthened in the school in the early nineties.He is the incharge of Dramatics at the school.His has been a long journey and an extremely eventful one . Talking to Hammad Farooqi,well-known theatre person and academician , on a rainy morning at his residence at The Doon School (where he teaches Hindi and Dramatics) turned out to be a great learning experience for me as he spoke on his favourite subjects-teaching, theatre, reading,writing and Dehradun.The conversation follows: Q) Why do you feel that cultural life in Doon is at a low ebb? A) I really regret the way in which the “spirit of the city” has withered . Doon has lost its real culture which was an inclusive one and gave it a unique liveliness. I remember the many “addas” in the Doon valley which were the “pulse of the town” when I was a student .“That culture of addebaazi enriched the cultural life and provided a platform for healthy interaction of views on art,politics and literature.Tip Top on Chakrata Road ,El Fiesta near Ghantaghar and Delite on Gandhi Road were some of these addas.The juke box music lent a pleasant air to the heated discussions. Cultural events were held on a regular basis and they had a standard which is missing now. Talks, discussions , debates, literary meets and poetry readings were what we thrived upon! This is the town where famous actor Prithviraj Kapoor came and performed plays like “Pathan” and “Paisa” at the skating hall which was near New Empire cinema. Ram Leelas of Dehra Dun were quite famous- one was done by the Bengali Library of Karanpur , another(Garhwali Ramleela ) in Chukku Mohalla and yet another near Sharanpur Chowk at Shivaji Dharamshala. Theatre needs to be revived in the Doon valley which was well-known for its many theatre groups at one time. Literary magazines also need to be brought out.However, too much dependence on the government for everything is not advisable. Q) Tell us about the prominent theatre groups of Doon. A) Ashok Chakravarty (known fondly as Dada) who worked in Survey Of India, had a group by the name “Drishti” with which I also worked in the seventies. He also did a lot of street theatre and was influenced by Badal Sircar .Avi Nanda’s “Jagriti” was another group .Then there was Kala Manch, Vatayayan and Abhirang.in the 80s ,the culture of theatre took a special turn when eminent theatre and art film director Bansi Kaul came to Dehra Dun and held a theatre workshop and involved a large number of actors and writers from here and we had performances of “Lehron Ke Rajhans” , “Sooraj ka Satwan Ghoda” and Kalidasa plays.It was the first time that theatre emerged as an art in the valley.Similarly, in the early 90s, Dinesh Khanna of National School of Drama held a workshop in which were prepared “Kapadghar” and “Kale Kauve”. But sadly, this was the last genuine effort to project theatre seriously .REACH and SPIC MACAY have been holding shows but they always invite professional actors from outside the state. Q) What do you think are the reasons for this inconsistency? A) There is a lack of professionalism .Most people are amateurs and remain so. They use theatre as a stepping stone to the film industry .people take things very lightly. Then there is a lack of funds .Most groups have to dish out money from their own pockets leave alone think of earning from theatre.The audiences are not much interested . The cultural department of the government makes no effort to promote cultural activity .In places like Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Chhatisgarh, the government as well as theatre and culture activists work to sustain theatre. Q) Theatre is thriving at The Doon School. A) Yes, I must say that Woodstock School in Mussoorie and The Doon School in Dehra Dun are doing all they can to keep the tradition alive and also introduce innovations . Around eight plays are put up by our school every year .We have one-act play competitions among the various houses and students writer the scripts for many of these plays.Sometimes I go through fifty or sixty scripts before selecting a play for my students to perform.We have also promoted creative writing in the school in a big way.”Srijan Prayas “ and “Yuva Arpan” are Hindi journals brought out by the Doscos.I learn a lot from the talent and spontaneity of the boys and also from their simplicity and dedication. It was in 1996 during the diamond jubilee celebrations of the Doon School when we put up “Jis Lahore Nai Dekhya” of Asghar Wajahat and this was the first Hindi play from the school that was so well-received.Our boys performed it at the Shriram Centre in Delhi too. Other plays include “Taj Mahal ka Tender”, “Charandas Chor”, “ Hazaar Chaurasi ki Maa”, “Draupadi” ,“9, Jakhu Hill” , “Hamaare Samay Mein” and “Court Martial.’ Theatre and teaching go hand in hand for me. Theatre, as it is, is the mother of all arts and my students’ experience of theatre helps them go far beyond the confines of any syllabus. I must mention here that there is an inertia prevailing as far as Hindi plays are concerned. It becomes quite a challenge sometimes to look for a Hindi play to direct and perform. Q) How has Hindi teaching changed over the years, in your view? A huge problem is that the ICSE/ISC syllabus of Hindi is an extremely bad one. Stories and plays by unknown writers have been included in it. It is actually the worst possible syllabus, in my opinion.The IB and CBSE syllabus is good. There has been no effort to improve and contemporize the ISC Hindi syllabus. The new sensibilities of the young generation must be taken into account .Even the Garhwal and Kumaon universities have not modernized their BA and MA syllabi .There is no new vision evident in them.We find no stories on human rights or women empowerment .The courses still glorify the subjugation of women and other old , dead values. The syllabus should be progressive.There are so many new genres like travel writing, copywriting etc. These should eb taught at the school level.But unfortunately, even at the college level, they are being taught in elementary form. A plural society needs to be addressed through a multidisciplinary approach. Hindi has a very wide market in the form of films and media today. So contemporize it we must! I would also like to say that Hindi departments in educational institutions should not be caste-ridden .They should not be narrow-minded . Your views on Hindi journalism? Unfortunately, I cannot talk well about it. It is concentrating more on marketing. We often see wrong headlines. Most of the reports are based on press releases. There is hardly anything original. Even in the channels, there is no purity in the languages they speak . There is no quality . I may sound very critical but then that is what I feel. Q) We would like to know about your writing. A) I have been writing since the 70s .One of my first Urdu stories “Eid Ka Paigham” was published in 1969. My stories were later published in Saptahik Hindustan ,Kadambari and Hindi Tribune. Many of my articles on Sanskrit and Muslim studies have also been published in journals.I also did a series on Urdu poets . My articles on Iqbal and “Hindi in Public Schools” was very well-received. Q) Do you feel that Dehra Dun has changed for the worse? A) Definitely, it is more polluted and crowded. Its tasteful old buildings are fast vanishing..But somehow,it still fascinates me.It is now somewhere in between the sleepy town it once was and a big city.it is neither now. But I would like to say again that what is missing here conspicuously is culture.Dedicated professionals need to get together and make an effort to bring about a change in this regard. Scattered attempts cannot achieve much. Q) Your better half is also a teacher of Hindi and dramatics. A) My wife Kanwaljeet teaches Hindi at Kendriya Vidyalaya and looks after the dramatics there .She and I have common interests in literature (Punjabi, Hindi and Urdu) and theatre. She is into Hindi poetry and has done a lot of translation work. When rehearsals of our plays go on, our house resembles a stage with green room and all! My son Adnan is teaching at Jamia Milia Islamia and is consultant editor of “The Book Review”. His wife Sucharita is also teaching at Jamia . My son Naved is with The Times of India in Mumbai. Q) Since when has your family been in Dehra Dun? A) My parents shifted here from Allahabad before the partition. I was around two years old when we settled here .For fifty years, my father ,Mohammad Akbar, was the incharge of Unani Medicine in the government. Last year, Riyadh and Kuwait universities called him there and honoured him for his knowledge of Islamic monographs .Imams interacted with him . He has tremendous knowledge about Hadith. He is 95 years old. Hammad Farooqui loves to translate classic works , send in articles on culture,philosophy and history to various journals and also to organize literary meets in the school, especially during the vacations. His home is almost like a study and arts centre where his rich and vast collection of books of culture, history, literature and drama sit easy on their shelves, wearing a much-read look .The atmosphere is casual and conducive for students to walk in any time and interact with their “Guru”. As I leave the picturesque cottage at The Doon School campus with its garden, full of birds and flowers, I am overtaken by wonder at the many amazing facets that make Farooqui an institution in himself . A constant source of knowledge and inspiration for his students and all art and literature lovers.A true intellectual,indeed. ……………….
Posted on: Sun, 21 Jul 2013 07:19:40 +0000
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