AAW #216

World Music Day and International Day of Yoga are being celebrated across the globe on June 21, so is Ahmedabad.

The 216th Ahmedabad Art Weekly that starts with an event for Music lovers of Ahmedabad. The World Music Day Festival 2019 promises an exciting line up of Indie bands.

The environment concerned citizens are gathering to watch ‘Before the Flood’, a documentary by Leonardo Dicaprio on the effects of climate change.

Bibliophiles can go on a book hunting spree at Lock The Box Sale as it returns with an array of literature at its book fair. A new realm of fantasy will open for readers to experience as Arya Rajam’s A Dual-Dragoned Throne book gets launched in the presence of Dr Falguni Vasavada Oza.

Mouthful of Stories will be held exclusively for children, where storyteller Vikram Sridhar will expressively narrate vivid heard and unheard tales.

While Manoj Joshi’s ‘Karl Marx in Kalbadevi’ drama will deliver a satirical take on the politics of communism and socialism in the society,  Rushi Dave’s Kalpna Mrutyu play, an adaptation from Zaverchand Meghani’s short story will feature a stirring performance by fresh theatre artists.

All creators are invited to be a part of the ARTiculate Meeting and discuss their creativity. Stand up comedian Amit Tandon has arrived to make you laugh live in the city. Witness the artworks of Simran Asrani, an emerging artist of Ahmedabad, as she opens her solo exhibition in the presence of Vinod Raval and Trupti Dave.

This week’s AAW we feature Ranchhodbhai Dave regarded as the father of modern Gujarati theatre and plays in Gujarati literature. Born in 1837 in Mahudha near Nadiad, Dave was a civil servant who turned into a Gujarati playwright, producer and translator out of his urge to create refreshing ‘performance oriented’ content for Gujarati audience. He was also influenced by essayist and thinker Mansukhram Tripathi, who supported him on his creative voyage. Jaykumari-Vijay, published in 1864 is considered as the first modern Gujarati love story that came out. Simplistic in its form, the theme of the play dealt with complex social issues of class discrimination as it depicted marriage between an educated girl and an illiterate boy. The tragedy was extremely well received and the audiences used to shed tears during its enactment. He also wrote play on mythological character called Harishchandra (1871) which was well appreciated by Mahatma Gandhi. He wrote many other plays like Taramatiswayamvar (1871), Premrai Ane Charumati (1876), Bhanasur Madmardan (1878), Nala-Damatanti (1893), Nindya Shringarnishedhak Roopak (1920), Vanthel Virhana Kunda Krutyo (1923) etc. He became president of Gujarat Sahitya Parishad in 1912. He had a strong dislike for the adult-comedies taking over the Gujarat performance art space, and so he developed his own sober style of story telling, but made it rich with social commentary and emotions. His poetry anthologies like Rannpingal, essay collection like Arogyasuchak, Shakespeare translations and other works like Santoshsurtaru are highly appreciated by Gujarati literature scholars even today.

Illustration : Chetan Mochi