THE RELIGIOUS THESPIAN
Remembring Damu Kenkre
- Ravindra Pathare.
"The stage is a collective of various art forms. Hence nobody gives anything to this Marathi stage as we know it. That anybody is able to give anything to the stage is a mistaken concept. The stage itself is so alive that whenever it needs anything, it takes that without a word. It does so mutely…" Who could contradict that thespian Damu Kenkre, who stated this fearlessly was not a self-contained man? But to conclude that he had any less 'passion' for the theatre would be unjustified. If that was true he would not have hit the roads to demand a rightful place for Marathi experimental theatre or would not even have enthusiastically accepted to direct SURYACHI PILLE for the students of the Academy Of Theatre Arts at Mumbai University. But once a play was made he had the ability to look at it distantly. In that sense he was a self-contained thespian.
Debuting as an actor in the musical SANGEET MUNICIPALITY in 1947, Damu Kenkre had been associated with the stage in different roles as an actor, director, set-designer, institutional head, thinker, philosopher and sometimes as the mouthpiece of theatre itself. He experimented with plays given his constant desire for novelty. One can get an idea about the variety in his work if only one concentrates on the names of the plays that he did. A farce like GHETALA SHINGAVAR, a melodrama like AKHERCHA SAWAAL, a Tamasha-based play like EK NAAR, CHAAR BEZAAR, a historical play like DUSRA PESHWA, socially relevant plays like SPARSH, KAALCHAKRA, experimental projects like WANDHA, TUGHLAQ, HAMLET, SAARI RAAT and a range of other plays like KAARTI PREMAAT PADLI, TU TAR CHAFEKALI, SURYACHI PILLE, VALLABHPURCHI DANTAKATHA, SABHYA GRUHASTHAHO, AATUN KEERTAN VARUN TAMASHA, VIDUSHAK, BAAYKAT PURUSH LAMBODA, etc.
Damu Kenkre believed in choosing his actors based on the characters in the play. "Half the battle is won there", he said. He was against the belief of a director being 'seen' in his work. However, he believed that a director should be able to visualize a play with the sets and lights in place. He also believed that every thespian should be equally interested in other art forms like painting, sculpture, dance, music and vocals if he has to think about theatre in a complete manner. His thoughts about theatre had sprung from a continuous process of reading, thinking, reflecting and through an undeterred process of interaction with thespians from all walks of life. Action and constant exploration followed these thoughts. He was a personification of a theatre university and that made him communicate seamlessly with thespians spread across four generations. He was a friend to everyone, even to his own son and daughter-in-law. He had the tolerance of a good listener.
However small a person be - in age or experience, he never looked down upon him. He believed in correcting mistakes in a cordial and friendly manner. But there was a limit to it. And once that was exceeded, his rage was unstoppable. He never went down on his principles. He wasn't an angry man and had a simple yet decent lifestyle. He used words economically but if the matter at hand demanded it, he was ever ready to pull up his sleeves and give it in the face as it were. He never understood business and hence was cheated many a times. But that didn't keep him from trusting or befriending people. He was a looser in money matters but was otherwise very disciplined. And here, he made it a point to present his point confidently. Being so, he never craved for credit as far as his work was concerned. His well-wishers think that he didn't get what he deserved but he was far removed from these things. From an art teacher to the head of Sir J. J. School Of Arts, he was a chair holder of many institutions like the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, The Goa Hindu Association, Mumbai Marathi Sahitya Sangh, Lalit Kala Kendra, Antarnatya and Samantar Rangmanch. All these institutions today have made a mark in Maharashtra's cultural scenario thanks to Damu Kenkre's knowledge and understanding of the fact that patience and vision are two important factors behind the development and maintenance of an institution.
For some time he was also the Cultural Secretary of the Maharashtra state. He fought for making the state-level competitions all-encompassing and also for the establishment of an Art Academy in Maharashtra. However owing to the negligence of politicians, the proposal remained only on paper for a long time. Meanwhile the same proposal was presented before Goa's then Chief Minister Bhausaheb Bandodkar and he supported the cause. The Goa Kala Academy would have been an impossible dream without him. But the moment he experienced clashes with politicians there, he stepped out. Recently Maharashtra saw the establishment of the 'P. L. Deshpande Maharashtra Kala Academy'. However owing to the lack of a knowledgeable leadership like Damu Kenkre, the building has a lot of flaws in its construction. Politicians and their well-wishers who had other interests than addressing the needs and problems of thespians obviously have no reason to lament on the faulty gift they have bestowed on the state.
A similar plight has been of the Yashwantrao Chavan Natya Sankul owned by the Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Natya Parishad. This building, which opened while it was still half-built had to be completed with a grant from the government. In spite of that, Damu Kenkre still had to protest for a different space in the same arena for experimental and children's theatre. Certain changes had to be made in the existing plan of the building for this cause. Damu Kenkre went ahead and designed the new plan himself and presented it to the architects of this building. But he was conveniently ignored and the construction continued. Once denied he didn't give up. He then approached the authorities with a plan in which a separate experimental space could have been made on the free space, which was available on the ground floor. But the Parishad denied the space.
Left with nothing, Damu kenkre stepped on to the road in an open agitation against the Parishad. The heartless chairpersons of the Parishad should have at least given a thought to an eighty year old man who had to stage an agitation for such a small demand. The same place that Damu Kenkre and other concerned theatre people fought for, has now been rented out to people who claim they are the so called care-takers of the Marathi Manus. Damu Kenkre's dream of building a separate theatre space for experimental theatre has remained a dream. It is up to the gen-next of theatre now to keep his memory alive by remembering that there was a man who maintained theatre to be more important than the thespian involved with it. He was without pride and his religion was the theatre.
*The writer is Assistant Editor, Loksatta and a theatre critic. He has a regular column on drama in Loksatta, which is a well-known Marathi newspaper. This article first appeared in the editorial section of Loksatta on 30th September 2008. It has been reproduced here with minor changes. The article has been translated by Asmit Pathare.
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