The contribution of Marathi theatre at the national level is a well-known fact . It has produced its share of Playwrights, Directors, Actors and Technicians and many of them have carved a niche for themselves at home and abroad. However, as it is often the case, theatre in prominent urban areas gets noticed while that in the lesser known rural belts goes largely unnoticed. Travelling to the interiors of rural Maharashtra, I had an opportunity to glimpse some good theatre. Seeing this work was an eye-opener in terms of the interesting systems that support these theatre practices. It was also a lesson in the survival and the sustenance of theatre.

To serve his people, Dr Rajendra Chavan came back to his native place Shirgaon on completion of his degree in Medicine. As is true of small towns and villages, this learned man was held in high esteem. While attending to his patients, Dr. Chavan developed a good rapport with the kids, who started being regular visitors to his house. Being socially conscious he started helping them with their studies in his spare time. Soon parents started dropping their children to the ''good doctor''s house'', for their school work. Realizing that this was becoming a routine and that he had spare time, Dr. Chavan started reading stories to the children and introduced them to the vast literature of which he was an ardent reader. Having a big house and ample space for the kids to play he started reading poems and plays to them, while giving them small roles to play and thus opened up a means of communication, hitherto unknown to them.

Dr. Chavan, a lover of theatre took this opportunity to inculcate in these youngsters, who had grown both in age and number to the nuances of Theatre. Soon enough this became a regular activity and the children began to showcase their performances to the locals and also began participating in theatre competitions, in which they started bagging the top prize. Today theatre is a passion for many children in Shirgaon and some of these children have also been chosen to act in children''s films and have receivedawards for their acting, bringing to light this simple, cost effective yet highly successful small town activity. In recognition of his unflinching contribution to children''s theatre, he was presented with the 2009 ''Tanvir'' award instituted in the memory of Dr Shreeram Lagoo''s son, who passed away in a tragic accident.

At an hour''s drive from Pune, is Talegaon Dabhade, an important cultural hub in Pune, which has been conferred with the Best Experimental Group award in 1998 and even today stands true to this honor. What started as a gathering of friends headed by Dr Paranjpe, a leading doctor there, to give vent to artistic inclinations, has now grown into a mature and highly efficient organization, ''Kalapini''. Entire families find place in this movement. Not just plays but dance, music, poetry, mime, literary readings, interactions with leading artistes, etc find stage here. Their productions have travelled across India and internationally too. The group has also created its own novel scheme to create an audience who faithfully watch their shows. It is probably one of the few groups in Maharashtra, striving to preserve the tradition of the Marathi Musical theatre by coming up with new productions. The seniors have also been wise to create a second line of command that is active in keeping the activities alive.

Theatre Academy, one of the prominent theatre groups of Maharashtra, who got international fame by the staging of their production of Vijay Tendulkar''s GHASHIRAM KOTWAL, received a grant from the Ford Foundation in the seventies. With the help of this grant, the group set up various theatre centers in the interiors of Maharashtra, prominent amongst them been the Vasantrao Acherekar Sanskritic Pratisthan at the picturesque location of Kankawli in the Konkan belt. This has bloomed beautifully and is today a prominent landmark in the theatre scenario of Maharashtra. Apart from holding regular workshops, talks, theatre competitions, writer''s workshops, children''s theatre and staging their productions, they hold the ''Nath Pai'' theatre competition, have their own library of books, have created a script bank and have given financial assistance for research on the folk arts like Dashavatar, Lalit, Chitrakathi, etc. Regular visits by the who''s who of theatre, musical concerts, art displays and other such activities are also on their agenda. All this along with having a die-hard audience for their programmes and an extremely dedicated group of youngsters to keep the show going. The last 24 years of its existence has seen this business town been transformed into a cultural center of repute. Of late they have saved up to have their very own open-air theatre, where all shows take place.

A 15 minute drive from Kankavli takes one to Kudal where this tradition and the love for theatre is imbibed in the group of enthusiasts who run various theatre activities there. For the past 5 years they have been staging a competition of professional plays and the response to it has been overwhelming. A space in the local school has been converted into a full-fledged theatre where professional plays are staged; a rarity in these parts.

Such and many other theatre activities can be seen in the interiors of Maharashtra. Places where theatre is successful in spite of various odds. Lack of equipment, technical expertise, absence of exposure to the theatre being done in the urban cities, difficulty {mainly monetary] to commute to the cities to do their shows, shortage of good artistes, recognition for their efforts etc, are some of the grievances that are voiced. In most of these places the audiences who come to see the shows are the locals. It is only late at night that they get time to see the plays and be a part of the other cultural activities. The recent fatwa by the government banning loudspeakers after 10 pm is posing a serious problem for them.

Getting people to come and watch performances in the afternoon is out of the question as many activities take place outdoor. One has to wait till it is dark enough to begin, which leaves little time before the dead line. The only alternative it appears is to close down such activities, which will not only be a setback to the theatre but which will also deprive the audience of their only source of good entertainment. Further it is well known that the Folk arts like the Dashavatar go on through the night and draw a sizeable viewer. It is the only source of income to the artistes performing it. Their sincerity is seen in their work, but the pressure is growing with increased exposure to urban lifestyles. It is high time they get their due because they surely are not the children of a lesser God.

*Dr Ajay Joshi is a practicing dentist with an M.A. in Journalism and Mass Communication. He holds a Ph.D. on the role of Critics and Criticism in Marathi theatre. Ajay is also a translator and writes on varied topics ranging from theatre to travel for newspapers like Indian Express, Maharashtra Times, Sakal, Mid-Day, etc. He is based in Pune.