Tiladi, Ek Bisree Yad: a Garhwali Drama Theatre, Stage Play about People’s Movement, People’s Resistance, People’s Martyr, against Oppression of Tehri King
Bhishma Kukreti
Folk theatre or folk dramas had been is a good medium for awareness of human rights, educating people about social causes, and social change requirements. There are many folklores, folk songs are for social awareness and also tell the tale of people’s movement and people's sacrifice for their human rights. In many countries, political theaters or stage plays were used for promoting the underground activities of revolutionists, and the political theater activists used old historical events of people’s movements, and people’s resistance against oppression for public awareness. In many countries, Marxist theater personalities had been famous for using stage plays or dramas for public awareness about the principles of Carl Marx. Bertolt Brecht used a sophisticated way for Marxist movement awareness by the new tactic of using aesthetic-epic Theater. The Indian and African playwrights were greatly influenced by the tactics of Bertolt Brecht for political dramas or theatres. Peter Weiss wrote plays based on historical documents. Arthur Miller wrote two plays probing human behavior as political and social animals. Feminist authors took the help of the theatre mediums for raising the feminist issues as Elfriede Jelinek and Caryl Churchill. Judith Malina and her husband Julian Beck (The Brig drama); Jack Gelber (play and film – The Connection) ; Antonia Artaud (famous for absurd dramas); many regional theatre/drama groups and playwrights or street theatre personalities as Jackob Apple of America, Bhupnesh Kumar of Garhwal and Habeeb Tabveer in Indian scenes; David Hare (Stuff Happens-political drama) ; David Edgar; Mark Ravenhill; Howard Brenton; Dario Fo; Jean Janet; Jerzy Grotowski; Harold Pinter; Erwin Piscator, etc are a few famous International who took theatre for political and social awareness.
Pramod Rawat a famous Garhwali drama, and theatre activist wrote a Drama/theatre about raising the issue of nondevelopment of Ravain tribal region of Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand. Theatre activists and playwrights took the subject of ‘Tiladi Kand’ for political and social awareness about non-development in the region.
‘Tiladi Kand’ is an equally cruel and inhuman act of Tehri Riyasat against its subject as Jaliyan wala bag event by cruel British rule. When king Sudarshan took the regime of Tehri Riyasat as a diplomatic gift from the British he was a poor person. King Sudarshan had to run a small shop for his family living. Learning from the British government from the administration in British Garhwal (Pauri-Chamoli Garhwal and Kumaun), the kings of Tehri Riyasat paid attention to selling forest produce as an export business for Tehri Riyasat. The kings of Tehri Riyasat nationalize the village forests and there was no forest land available for the villagers. Garhwalis were dependent on forests and forest produce for their living for thousands of years. Villagers did not know how human beings could survive without forests. The people were deprived of grass, wood and other forest produce by the administration of Tehri Riyasat. On 20th May 1930, People’s representatives of Ravain went to Narendra Nagar to plead their pleas about the forest rights of villagers to the British Governor. The Tehri administration threw the people’s representatives into a cold water pond. When the people of Ravain came to know the cruel behavior of Teihri Riyasat they revolted against Tihri rule and came in masses to Tiladi Plato at the bank of Yamuna river for a mass protest on 30th May 1930. Chakradhar Juyal the prime minister of Tehri cruelly took orders to fire on people .197 men were killed by firing and 197 people were taken to custody. Other 294 people were taken from their houses by the Tehri administration. 9 people were killed in jail.
Tiladi Kand is the greatest sacrifice by the Garhwali people against oppression and is the best example of a political movement for human rights. Still, there is no development in the region. Pramod Rawat took the subject of Tiladi Kand for social awareness in the political drama ‘Tiladi- ek Bisree Yad’ as still; there are tens of folk songs in Ravain region sung by people against Tihri Riyasat.
Nav Rang Manch, Nauganv, and Uttarkashi presented the ‘Tiladi- Ek Bisree Yad’ a Garhwali Drama, Theatres, Stage Plays about Political Theatre People’s Movement, People’s Resistance, People’s Martyr, against Oppression of Tehri King written by playwright Pramod Rawat. The director Tilak Tamola and playwright Pramod Rawat used folk songs and folk dances in making the Garhwali Drama, Theatres, and Stage Plays about Political Theatre People’s Movement, People’s Resistance, and People’s Martyr, against Oppression of Tehri King vibrant and meaningful. Nirmala Aswal was music director of the ‘Tiladi- Ek Bisree Yad’ a Garhwali Drama, Theatres, Stage Plays about Political Theatre People’s Movement, People’s Resistance and People’s Martyr, against Oppression of Tehri King on the occasion of Uttarakhand Natya Mahotsav, Dehradun in 2007.
Asian theatre literature lovers will always remember Pramod Rawat as they remember the works of Bertolt Brecht; Elfriede Jelinek and Caryl Churchill. Judith Malina and her husband her husband Julian Beck (The Brig drama); Jack Gelber (play and film – The Connection) ; Antonia Ataud (famous for absurd dramas); many regional theatre/drama groups and playwrights or street theatre personalities as Jackob Apple of America, Bhupnesh Kumar of Garhwal and Habeeb Tabveer in Indian scenes; David Hare (Stuff Happens-political drama) ; David Edgar; Mark Ravenhill ; Howard Brenton ; Dario Fo; Jean Janet ; Jarzy Grotowsky; Harold Pinter; Erwin Piscator etc for taking theatre as medium for raising political and social issues.
Reference:
1-Dr Anil Dabral, Garhwali Gady Parampara (Garhwali Dramas from beginning till 1990)
2-Abodh Bandhu Bahuguna, Gad Myateki Ganga (Garhwali dramas from beginning till 1975)
3-Dr Sudharani, Garhwal ka Rangmanch (Garhwali Dramas from beginning till 1985)
4-Drama special issue of Chitthi Patri magazine (Garhwali Dramas and plays staged in Delhi, Karachi, Mumbai, Dehradun and other places)
5- Dr Hari Datt Bhatt Shailesh, Garhwali Natak evam Rangmanch: Ek Vihngam Avlokan (Garhwali Drams and theatres from beginning till 1985)
6-Dr Bhakt Darshan: Barrister Mukandi Lal Srmriti Granth (Garhwali dramatists or theatres playwrights till 1985
7-Dr Nand Kishor Dhoundiyal, Garhwal ki Divangat Vibhutiyan (pp108-116, about contribution of Bhagwati Prasad Panthri for developing Garhwali drama)
8- Souvenirs of Akhil Garhwal Sabha, Dehradun, Uttarakhand Naty samaroh (2005 and 2007)
9- Wikipedia,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_theatre10- Patterson, Michael, Strategy of Political Theatre, 2003
Copyright@ Bhishma Kukreti, 20/5/2012
Notes on Dramas, Theatres, Stage Plays about Political theatre, People’s Movement, People’s Resistance, People’s Martyr, against Oppression of King; Asian Dramas, Theatres, Stage Plays about Political theatre People’s Movement, People’s Resistance, People’s Martyr, against Oppression of King; South Asian Dramas, Theatres, Stage Plays about Political theatre People’s Movement, People’s Resistance, People’s Martyr, against Oppression of King; SAARC Countries Dramas, Theatres, Stage Plays about Political theatre People’s Movement, People’s Resistance, People’s Martyr, against Oppression of King; Indian Subcontinent Dramas, Theatres, Stage Plays about Political theatre People’s Movement, People’s Resistance, People’s Martyr, against Oppression of King; Indian Dramas, Theatres, Stage Plays about Political theatre People’s Movement, People’s Resistance, People’s Martyr, against Oppression of King; North Indian Dramas, Theatres, Stage Plays about Political theatre People’s Movement, People’s Resistance, People’s Martyr, against Oppression of King; Himalayan Dramas, Theatres, Stage Plays about Political theatre People’s Movement, People’s Resistance, People’s Martyr, against Oppression of King; Mid Himalayan Dramas, Theatres, Stage Plays about Political theatre People’s Movement, People’s Resistance, People’s Martyr, against Oppression of King; Uttarakhandi Dramas, Theatres, Stage Plays about Political theatre People’s Movement, People’s Resistance, People’s Martyr, against Oppression of King; Kumauni Dramas, Theatres, Stage Plays about Political theatre People’s Movement, People’s Resistance, People’s Martyr, against Oppression of King; Garhwali Dramas, Theatres, Stage Plays about Political theatre People’s Movement, People’s Resistance, People’s Martyr, against Oppression of King to be continued….
