The Patna based theatre group, Nirman Kala Manch was invited to the Prithvi Festival 2009 to perform 5 of its 59 productions, in celebration of the 20 years that this group has been in existence. Nirman Kala Manch was founded by Sanjay Upadhyay, Ashok Tiwari, Dhanajay Narayan and Dr B.N. Singh in 1988. The group has around 26 to 30 performances each year, mainly in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Delhi. That Nirman Kala Manch has survived and grown in the past 20 years speaks volumes about its success and audiences got a glimpse of the same at the festival. Nirman made a mark at the festival primarily because it showed us something different than what we usually see on the Mumbai stage. This Manch''s distinct performance style, packed with traditional folk music and elements of modern theatre, made its productions, joyful and entertaining to watch. The selection of plays by the group for the festival was fitting. The select productions provided a wonderful blend of biographical, farcical, spiritual and popular theatre. The plays were developed in such a way that music and poetry appeared as an integral part of the overall presentation.

Nirman''s journey at the festival began with the performance of NEELKANTH NIRALA, which narrated the life and times of eminent Hindi poet Suryakant Tripathi, also known as ''Nirala''. It spoke of the concerns and worries bugging the Hindi Literature stalwart. Like most great artistes, the poet went through harsh struggles in his life. After the death of his wife he withdrew from the society and became a recluse. The play focuses on the personality traits of the poet and gives an insight into his life. It doesn''t have a story or a specific narrative. Instead, the writer attempts to bring out the diverse aspects of the poet''s character through his relationships with his family and other people. We see an old friend, a rich couple, a business man and an admirer visiting the poet. The poet''s conversations with his friend bring out his deep love for his village and his house; in his interaction with the rich couple we see his contempt for blind westernization; his perfunctory exchange with the businessman shows his lack of interest in material benefits; and, his treatment of the poor beggar displays his benevolent nature.

The play provided a perfect introduction to Nirman Kala Manch''s style. Like its other plays, this too is well supported with good music and a wonderful poetry recitation. However, the script suffers from the usual drawbacks associated with biographical writing; for example, the over glorification and iconization of the protagonist, amongst others. As a result the other characters appear superfluous. However, what begins as a rickety ride gradually captures the audience''s attention. The play has some sensitive moments as the author brings out the lonesomeness of the poet. It arouses empathy towards the character. Hemant Mahore, who is in the role of Nirala, has his own unique approach to acting. Though unrestrained at times, he gives an amazingly flowing performance; especially, with his brilliant singing. To conclude, this play does provide us with some insight into the works and life of Suryakant Tripathi. This is where its success lies.

Up next was HARSINGAR, arguably the best play of this theatre group at the festival. HARSINGAR is the story of a naive Harbisna and his shrewd wife Harbisni. While Harbisna is exploited by this cunning world, Harbisni makes up for his weaknesses. Nevertheless, she isn''t quite happy with her husband''s naivety. Being beautiful and charming she has people wooing her. However, she is always there by her husband''s side whenever there is trouble. The play centers around an incident, where a merchant offers to buy jute baskets from Harbisna at a ridiculously low price. Though Harbisna tries to negotiate, he remains firm. Finally, Harbisna agrees and gives him the baskets. When Harbisni is informed about this she rushes home and refuses the exchange. But the merchant argues that the exchange had already taken place and takes the matter to the emperor for justice. At the court the emperor appears to be in favor of the merchant until he sees Harbisni.

The writer, through this play, gives us a hilarious portrayal of the shifty power play. He mocks at the system of justice and flippancy with which this country''s aristocracy dispenses with. At the same time he brings out the situation in which woman power can create or destroy. The play adopts a farcical style, breaking away many a times from the actual story and using the sutradhars to take it forward. Its style is Domkach, which is a folk performance form performed by women in rural Bihar. Written by Shrikant Kishore and directed by Sanjay Upadhyay, the play provides audience with ample entertainment, drama and fodder for thought. It is supported by excellent performances by Suman Kumar, as the king, and Lakshmi Mishra, as Harbisni. The rest of the cast also performs well and characters like those of Harbisna (Manoj Kumar), the daroga (Abhishek Sharma) leave a mark.

KAHA GAYE MERE UGNA is the life story of Vidyapati, a classical poet from Bihar. Ugna means Shiva and it is believed that Vidyapati was such a great bhakt that Shiva took form as Ugna in order to serve him. The play is centered around this myth and traces the journey of the poet and the queen after Raja Shiv Singh disappears from the battle. It captures the relationship of the poet with the queen while portraying Vidyapati''s journey in search of Ugna. Like NEELKANTH NIRALA, the focus of this play is also on acquainting the audience with the life and work of this poet. The play runs in three parallel tracks. One, which traces the poet''s journey with the queen in the jungles of Nepal; the other of Ugna''s relationship with the poet and the third is the social perspective of the poet and his life. All three culminate into a tragic end as the queen''s health deteriorates. Vidyapati never finds Ugna and he is disenchanted with the society''s interpretation of his relationship with the queen.

This play adopts a more classical form to tell its story. From the music to the acting, everything is rooted thoroughly in classical traditions. However, after a point the play becomes somewhat monotonous and so do the music and the acting. Dr. Usha Kiran Khan''s script is well researched and works in parts but there are times when the scenes drag and struggle to make a point. Suman Kumar as Vidyapati is poignant. Sharda Singh as the queen gives a consistent performance. However, unlike other Nirman plays, this one doesn''t make the impact. The group''s strength seems overplayed in this case.

The final frontier for Nirman with the public show of DHARTI ABA being cancelled, was BIDESIA, their most popular play in its 399th performance. Expectations were high and the audience, who had followed the group throughout the festival, was present in large numbers. BIDESIA is a story of love, separation, infidelity and betrayal-all of it expressed through light hearted banter. The play begins with the husband packing his bag to leave for Kolkata to find work. However, his wife does not allow him to do so as she cannot bear the prospect of living without him. Yet, he leaves. After his departure, the writer shows the pain and sorrow of separation that his wife feels. There are no letters or phone calls from her husband for a long time. This worries her. She tries to find out from other people, whether they have been in contact with him but in vain. Finally Bathohi comes to her help. He agrees to go to Kolkata to check on him. However, when he reaches Kolkata he finds the husband has married another woman. Bathohi tells him what his wife back home is going through and how desperate she is to meet him. On hearing this his love for her reignites but dilemma grips him as to how to handle the situation that he has got himself into. Finally he decides to go back and meet his wife. However, to his surprise his second wife follows him. This leads to chaos and confusion as he faces both of them.

The story of BIDESIA is a perfect foil for popular drama. It has all the ingredients such as song, dance, humour and melodrama aplenty. Nirman uses the full strength of its resources, skill and creativity in this production. It does well and hits the right notes in every department. Suman Kumar as always delivers a likeable performance and Shubro Bhattachraya, a regular in Nirman''s Plays, gives a scintillating performance in his small role as the sly Devar. BIDESIA successfully entertains without much ado or moral message. Bhikari Thakur''s script brings alive the Bhojpuri culture and captures the spirit of this society.

To conclude, Nirman Kala Manch influenced by folk music and traditional drama has evolved its own technique. Besides, its plays have contemporary relevance. One gets a glimpse of the group''s versatility through its productions. It was interesting to watch actors shift gears in short span of 24 hrs through the diverse roles they played. The group''s other very interesting aspect was its musicians, who play as vital a role as its actors. While the use of lights and sets are minimal, all the focus is on communicating the story through acting. It was also nice to see all the actors sing well. It is a commendable effort by Sanjay Upadhyay, the artistic director and music composer, to have kept Nirman Kala Manch active by creating a wide array of plays for a period as long as twenty years.

*Sudeep Modak is a young theatre person with interests in other media. He has worked with Ramu Ramanathan, Chandan Roy Sanyal and has done production work for THE PROPHET by Naseeruddin Shah''s theatre group Motley, amongst other things.