Dhira’s romance with theatre continues
Bhubaneswar: The lockdown may have brought the curtain down on plays at least for the time being, but that has not deterred dramatist Dhira Mallick, 68, from engaging in the world of theatre. Currently, Mallick is pursuing his fellowship on the use of folk dance and music in Odia theatre granted to him by the Ministry of Culture.
Mallick, who is in the second phase of the four-part research, has been concentrating on writers after submitting his work on dramatists in December last. “I have discovered that blending folk art with theatre makes plays more lovable and interesting to watch,” says Mallick. He had experimented with Odisha’s popular folk form, “Pala”, in his drama “Dasavatar”. The former secretary of Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi and general secretary of Satabdira Kalakar goes on to add that such fusions have taken place in Odisha as early as 1877.
“Since I am at home now full-time, I can call up writers and other personalities associated with theatre for my research,” smiles Mallick. With so much time at his disposal, Mallick has also dusted and arranged nearly 6,000 books owned by him and read up a few of them. “I am currently reading the Hindi translations of two plays, “The Miser” and “The Gentleman” written by French writer Moliere, the biography of Bengali dramatist Mohit Chattopadhyay and the Bengali plays written by Manoj Mitra,” says Mallick, who is also reading “Odia Natakara Udbhava ‘O’ Bikash” by Ratnakar Chayani for his research. Though the studies meant for research keep him occupied, it is teaching and playing with his eight-year-old grandchild that he enjoys the most. “My wife, my son and I have distributed the subjects among ourselves. I teach my granddaughter science and general knowledge after I receive the lessons on WhatsApp from school. The study sessions usually span four to five hours a day ending in a game of ludo,” says the indulgent grandfather. This apart, he spends his time watching epics like The Ramayana and The Mahabharata on TV..
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