Tribute / Shyamanand Jalan (1934-2010)
On Monday night, the curtains came down on an era of Hindi theatre with the sad demise of Shyamanand Jalan, the famous director, actor and activist. He was 76 and battling cancer.
Jalan is credited for creating a special space for modern Hindi theatre in Bengal, where rich theatre tradition existed, but relied mostly on Bangla as its medium. His contribution to theatre remains priceless.
A lawyer by profession, Jalan started his creative journey during his school days and continued working on stage while pursuing B.Com at the Scottish Church College. During college, he also dabbled in politics as a member of the Burabazar Students’ Congress membership.
Jalan’s professional acting career started with a one-act play, Naya Samaj, in 1949 under the direction of Tarun Roy, an eminent director trained at the British Drama League. He kept acting alongside working as the secretary for Roy’s Theatre Centre. Jalan’s acting skills were applauded in plays such as Vivah ke Bandhan (1950), Samasya (1951) and Alag Alag Raste (1952). His directorial career started in 1953 with the production of Ek thi Rajkumari, a children-play written by Roy. It was soon followed by Jagdish Chandra Mathur’s Konark in 1954, and Seth Govind Das’ Chandragupta in 1995.
His style involved bringing out the subtext and unleashing the layers of emotions hidden in it. His correspondence with legendary writer Mohan Rakesh, during production of Lahron Ke Rajhans in 1967, reveals his desire to dive deep into the subject. In one of the letters, some of which are available with the published copy of the play, he asked Rakesh to explain the metaphorical importance of the “rajhans’’ (royal swan), and the “leher’’ (wave), and the emotions they depicted. Rakesh stayed in Kolkata with him for three weeks before the show and rewrote the third act of the classic play. Jalan also directed Rakesh’s other classics — Ashadh ka ik Din and Adhe Adhure. He believed in providing creative space to his actors and planned only limited instructions for rehearsals. His creative freedom made his actors develop unique synergy with the characters they were playing.
Memories of his legendary productions, Evam Indrajit and Pagla Ghoda written by Badal Sircar, are still alive with the theatre fraternity of Kolkata. Eminent theatre personality Rudra Prasad Sen Gupta recalls how Eavam Indrajit established Jalan as a superb performer with extremely refined sensibility: “Shyam was like a blank cheque. Any event, festival or production, he would be the first one to offer logistic help. He was always ready to be a part of theatre activities of the city.’’ Gupta, who misses his tea sessions with Jalan, does not forget to mention his warm hospitality as a wonderful host. “At his home in Metropolitan Building near Light House cinema hall, Shyam would always offer delicacies and warmth,’’ said Gupta.
Famous theatre director Usha Ganguli recollects her innumerable encounters with Jalan. “His energy was unmatchable. When I saw Lahron Ke Rajhans after 30 years of its first production, it was in a new avatar all together — relevant, contemporary and evolved,’’ says Ganguli.
She recalls how Jalan supported her during a rough patch of life: “He asked me to give up all my worries and devote myself to theatre. To me, he remained a father figure, and mentored me since I started my career. He was an ego-less person and always welcomed the younger generation.’’
On December 22 in 1955, Jalan established Anamika, a group which consistently escalated the standard of Hindi theatre in Bengal, and staged Hum Hindustani Hain in 1956. Under Anamika’s banner, he assorted the best of the Hindi-theatre world for his audiences. He also founded, Padatik, an academy for theatre and dance, in 1972.
Novelty in his ideas and freshness in his productions were remarkable. Variety in his work was evident from the text and the writers he chose to feature on stage. Plays, such as Kalidas’ Shakuntala, Mihail Sebastian’s Stop Press’ adaptation, Chapte Chapte, Gyandev Agnihotri’s Shuturmurg, Vijay Tendulkar’s Khamosh Aadalt Jari Hai and Gidhade, G.P. Despandey’s Udhwast Dharamshala, boasted of the wide-range of variety he offered. He also created and worked in Bengali versions of Tughlaq, Tagore’s Ghare-Baire, Mahasweta Devi’s Hazaar Chaurasi ki Maa and plays by Henrik Ibsen and Bertolt Brecht.
His performance in Roland Joffé’s City of Joy and other films of reputed directors, such as Mrinal Sen, Shyam Benegal, M.S. Sathyu and Utpalendu Chakrabarty, spread unforgettable magic on the silver screen.
His administrative skills complimented his creative expression. He worked as the vice-chairman of the Sangeet Natak Akademi, the chairman of the Kathak Kendra, Science City, and the Birla Industrial and Technological Museum, Kolkata. He had also been a member of the National Council of Science Museum’s governing body.
Legends like Jalan live life with a mission. They achieve in one lifetime what is worth many. While the man has left for heavenly abode, his flame keeps burning in the hearts of many he touched, and shared his light with.
However, the world of Hindi theatre has been left with a vacuum. Generations to come will miss the source of inspiration that Jalan was.