On 11 October the students of grade 10 and 11 of MGIS performed an installation performance titled ‘The Last parable of the Post Office’ based on the travel writings of Rabindranath Tagore, under the direction of Parnab Mukherjee at Natarani. They repeated the performace for the MGIS community in the school premises on 13 October.
This performance is part of the students academics. It comes within the purview of the activities of the Theatre Arts classes with Anju Musafir.
Read below the play reviews published in DNA and TOI on 12 and 14 October respectively.
Tagore brought to life by school children
DNA : Daily News & Analysis; Mumbai, Oct 12, 2010 | by Chaturvedi, Devika
It has been 150 years since Rabindranath Tagore was born and there have been very few people who have had as much an impact on the culture of India as him. The country has been celebrating the great man’s works throughout the year. Mahatma Gandhi International School (MGIS) presented a play on October 11 at Natrani theatre.
Based on Rabindranath Tagore’s travelogues titled ‘Parable of the Last Post Office’, the play was a homage to the great poet and his life. The English language play is directed by Parnab Mukherjee who explores Tagore’s Persian and Iraqi diaries; he also relates them with the current social world scenario.
The play is a reflection on Tagore’s journey of life. He travelled around the world throughout his life. From 1878 to 1932, he visited more than 30 countries. Many of these trips helped in educating the non-Indian audiences about his works and making them aware them about his political ideas.
When asked about the kind of historical research involved in understanding somebody’s life?, Parnab said, “I believe in people oriented research where I go and ask people about their knowledge because people’s history does not match with the text book history.” In 1912, Tagore started touring countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom, where during his tour, he stayed in Butterton, Staffordshire.
From 1916 till 1917, he conducted lectures in Japan and the US. In 1926, Tagore reached Naples, Italy, where he met Benito Mussolini in Rome. They fell out when Tagore attacked the Italian dictator on his views on nationalism.
In 1927, Tagore began his four-month tour of Southeast Asia, where he visited Bali, Java, Kuala Lumpur, Malacca, Penang, Siam, and Singapore. In early 1930, he left Bengal for a yearlong tour to Europe and the US.
He toured Denmark, Switzerland, and Germany. In 1932, Tagore was invited by Reza Shah Pahlavi of Iran. Tagore’s last travels abroad included his visits to Persia, Iraq and Ceylon, which reinforced his strong opinions on nationalism.
Source: Click here
Innocence trapped in barbed wire
Santana Pathak, TOI, Oct 14, 2010
“Behind the books, there are barbed wires. Have you seen them?” the students of Mahatma Gandhi International School (MGIS) in the city asked this question to a world preoccupied with violence through their performance of “Parable of the Last Post Office” – a play based on the travelogues of Rabindranath Tagore and directed by leading alternative theatre activist from Kolkata Parnab Mukherjee.
The students’ performance in the well created experimental drama format captivated the audience. Tagore’s selected travelogues from Persia, Iraq and Italy were juxtaposed against images of violence on people, races, and communities presented in a multimedia format. This was sprinkled with repetitive rendition of poetry, depicting the mind and the emotions of the child.
The play raises relevant questions about innocence in a world where violence is the order of the day. “It is important to ask questions, and to ensure that students are exposed to violence in a structured, guided way so that they understand hell and empathize with the victims in solidarity”, says the director, who also pays a tribute to the Nobel Laureate in his 150 birth anniversary year.
The students, studying in standard X and XI responded to the play’s challenging performing techniques with élan, and showed an ownership of the concept through captivating body language that was helped by minimal props like paper boats, ribbons, and a few chairs.
“The form of theatre is also the message that you want to give”, said Anju Musafir, founder and director of MGIS, describing the performance format as “poor man’s theatre”, where the proximity to the audience is the key to delivery.
Source: Click here