Sunday 15th November 2009 was Ninasam day at the Prithvi Festival 2009. The theatre reverberated to the sounds of drums and the rhythmic clapping of hands as the actors danced with a verve and energy that seemed unmatched. Ninasam has been in existence for five decades. It was initiated by a small group of theatre enthusiasts in the little hamlet of Heggodu in 1949. Heggodu lies in the picturesque Shimoga district of Karnataka. The highlight of this group was that it was an attempt of a small rural community to re-define its identity and relate itself meaningfully to the larger world outside.

Ninasam rose to become an alternative model of modern civilization and made accessible to the residents in and around Heggodu, the best of world art, literature, culture and knowledge. What started as a humble theatre troupe has now evolved into a multifaceted cultural organization that has a Theatre Institute, Film appreciation courses and theatre courses in various districts of Karnataka. It was only when KV Subbanna, Ninasam's founder was conferred with the Ramon Magsagay award that Ninasam became known not only nationally but also internationally. The organization so carefully nurtured by Subbanna has further grown under his son KV Akshara, a name to be reckoned with in Indian Theatre today.

To date, Ninasam has performed 27 Kannada plays, has trained 270 actors/technicians and has had 3700 shows in various parts of Karnataka. The troupe does invitee shows, takes minimum hospitality and and with minimum props stages its shows. "How else will theatre go to the villages"? asks the organization's director KV Akshara.

Out of the four plays that were put up by Ninasam and its repertory company Ninasam Tirugata at the Prithvi Festival 2009, I was able to see AAKAASHABHERI, VEENISSINA VYAPAR and VIDYUMATI KALYAANA. Tirugata as the name suggests is a itinerant theatre repertory. In between the plays was a Yakshagana performance - VIDYUMATI KALYAANA, presented by the locals of Heggodu with a few artistes from Ninasam. Well attended by theatre lovers, it was a mixed audience of local Kannadigas and others showing that theatre remains an effective medium of communication and that the Kannada language in which the plays were presented was no barrier.

The Yakshagana epitomises the folk stage of the coastal region of Karnataka. It is believed to have made an entry in the 12th or 13th century AD and has strictly a Vaisnavite tradition. The themes are characteristically mythological and selected from the Mahabharata , the Ramayana and the Bhagavata. The performances traditionally were all-night performances and strictly so! If the episode ended before sunrise, another episode would be taken up. If by chance the episode could not be finished it was the onus of the actors/dancers to abridge it! Many of the dialogues or monologues were improvised on the spot. The main character was the Bhagavata, - the Sutradhara, who was the director-producer. He introduced the play and the characters and sat with the musicians. VIDYUMATI KALYAANA was of course presented with the limitations of a two and a half hour performance and narrated the love story of Vidyumati the daughter of the Gandharva king Sulochana and Jayanta the son of Devendra as they meet in the celestial gardens.

The travails of the lovers , the battle of good versus evil and the final triumph of true love as depicted by the actors was a delightful experience. Traditional in its presentation, the actors danced in and out of the stage and verbalized their actions with colorful masks and make-up that is akin to Kathakali. The Bhagavata/Sutradhara of the show introduces the story and the characters as they appear on the stage. He interpolates the dialogues of the actors with the typical expressions like "Hmm", "Huhn", and such others that makes the monologue of the actor a dialogue. The colorful masks worn by the characters, the dialogues which were very often impromptu and the utter abandon with which the characters danced in and out of the stage was a sight for the eyes. It was not strictly a male artiste who portrayed male characters and vice versa. It just did not matter.

The audience appreciated each one of them and especially Vrittajwale, the demon sister of the demon Kalanhangha, which was played by the male actor A. R. Ganapati! Perhaps the Bhagavata could have been more effective since he is literally the soul of any Yakshagana. However, that does not take away the credit of putting up such a marvellous show.

Tirugata's AAKAASHABHERI was a Kannada adaptation of a Hindi play by Piyush Mishra. It has been translated by Siddalinga Pattanashetty. In a typical Indian potpourri, the direction was by a non-Kannadiga Sanjay Upadhyaya. Although largely played out in Kannada, the multilingual audience was able to follow the story of the indian revolutionary and freedom fighter Bhagat Singh. Staged as a musical, the play starts as with a flashback from 1965. Batukeshwara Dutta, a colleague of Bhagat Singh is reminiscing over the pre -independence period, the various struggles that were a part of the Independence movement, Gandhiji's movement of nonviolence, and reactions to situations of the erstwhile rulers - the British that led to revolutionary groups like that of Bhagat Singh.

Every freedom fighter had in his mind what Independence should really mean to the country. Batukeshwara Dutt is trying to understand whether the Independence we have today is what the earlier fighters had in mind. The change in the mindset of Bhagat Singh after the Jalianwala Baug incident, the formation of a rebel group HSRA, the death of Lala Lajpat Rai and a fitting reply to it by the killing of Sanders - the play depicts various situations in the life of Bhagat Singh and his fellow revolutionaries, Sukhdeo and Chadrashekhar Azad. As Batukeshwara Dutta remembers each episode, the stage is filled with characters from that era. The ambience of Punjab comes alive with music that is typically Punjabi. The songs are in Hindi and the vigorous Bhangra like dances characterise the region of Punjab.

The final trial, the uprising in the prison and the final hanging - are all interspersed with Bhagat Singh's personal life, the girl waiting for him and with chants of "Inquilab Zindabad". The idea behind bringing up this part of history that did not touch the southern parts of India needs to be commended. Though the music was lively and typically Punjabi, the choreography tended to be limited. With festivals like Holi and Basanti, one felt that the music could have been more innovative. The death scene with the corpse being carried away is a bit jarring.

VENNISINA VYAPARA is a translation of Shakespeare's The MERCHANT OF VENICE. The translation by KV Akshara truly overwhelmed me. To get the poetic ethos in the translation is a task that few can accomplish and I must say to Akshara's credit that he has done the translation in a manner that at times it does not seem like a translation! As Producer-Director he ensures that the play ends on a note that is truly and madly Shakesperean.

The actors in both the plays were from the Tirugata. It is difficult to name any single actor for each one of them was talented. The actors come from different parts of Karnataka, including residents of Heggodu. It is truly amazing and creditable how Ninasam has managed to tap local talent and hone it in a style that can be adapted to any type of play. This is a troupe that should be seen not only in Karnataka but all over the country. The word Tirugata literally means "roaming". This roaming should not only be national but also justifiably, international.

Were there any regrets at the end of the day? I must say that despite the stupendous performances, there was a tinge of regret. Alright, this was some of the best of Kannada Theatre. It was also representative of the Kannada stage, but where was Kannada drama? It made me sad that even such a talented group could not get even one original Kannada play. Does it mean there are no playwrights in Kannada that are worth being staged?

Karnataka has a rich tradition of playwrights who have been pioneers not only in Karnataka but also at the level of the National Theatre. All such thoughts were plaguing my mind and I brought them out in my discussion with Akshara. Having also personally known KV Subbanna for over two decades, I knew I could raise this pertinent question with Akshara.

But all said and done, this is a group that is taking theatre to rural audiences in Karnataka. For a small sum, the Tirugata goes to villages where they are invited and perform. What they expect is only hospitality and minimum expenses. How many troupes in India would do this? Kudos to Ninasam for promoting theatre in places that are not even accessible. Yet I wish that it would promote original Kannada plays. My discussion with Akshara and Ninasam will thus continue.

A Pediatrician by profession and a former head of the Medical Division of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Dr. Usha Desai is the daughter of Sriranga - Adya Rangacharya. For the past decade she has been involved in translating Sriranga's plays into English. To date, she has done almost 15 plays. KATTALE BELAKU (Shadows in the Dark) and SANJEEVANI have been successfuly staged in Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai. Two of her translations have been included in an anthology of Sriranga's plays published by the Sahitya Akademi. KELU JANMEJAYA ( Listen Janmejaya) has been published by the National School of Drama in Modern Indian Plays Vol I. Shadows in the Dark and other Plays have been published by Unisun, Bangalore. Dr. Desai lives in Mumbai where she has her Pediatric practice together with her husband, who is also a Pediatrician.