The Nandikar National Theatre Festival by Nandikar has been a winter tradition in Kolkata since 1984. The festival, held at the Academy of Fine Arts and Rabindra Sadan from December 16 to 25 this year, marked a milestone year for Nandikar as it completed 40 years of uniting thespians from across India and occasionally from abroad, too.
Apart from Nandikar, several other renowned theatre groups from across India performed at the 10-day-long festival, including Naye Natua, Angik, Anya Theatre, Backstage, Chakdaha Natyajan, Chetana, Shyambazar Mukhomukhi, Iccheymoto and Ujaagar Dramatic Association. There was also an exhibition on theatre stalwart Rudraprasad Sengupta, one of the most prominent members of Nandikar and someone who is credited with initiating the idea of the festival four decades ago.
How Nandikar’s National Theatre Festival resembles Durga Puja
The biggest challenge in executing the theatre festival is acquiring sufficient funds, shared Sohini Sengupta
Saptarshi Maulik, actor and director of Nandikar’s Bengali play, Ek Theke Baro, staged at the Academy of Fine Arts on December 24, said: “The moment the festival gets over, the planning and the vision for the upcoming year already start forming in our minds. I sometimes feel it’s like Durga Puja. When it ends, the organising club already starts to think about funds and ideas for next year.”
Nandikar’s secretary Sohini Sengupta, who directed Manush and Panchajanya, said: “My father (Rudraprasad Sengupta) didn’t start this festival to get praise, but to showcase the theatre talent spread across India.”She shared that the biggest challenge for successfully executing the festival is acquiring sufficient funds, since renting space for multiple shows, paying all the participants their fair share, logistical as well as technical necessities and other production costs require steady funding.
Nandikar to set up an institute for aspiring performers and artistes in 2024
Keeping aside the festival, another feat that is soon going to come to fruition for the Nandikar family is the establishment of Nandikar’s institute for aspiring performers and theatre artistes. It will be inaugurated sometime in 2024, suggested Sohini Sengupta. “It’s a big open space in Salt Lake, made solely with the intention that practising art is for everyone. It won’t be restricted to theatre, but will incorporate all kinds of performing as well as fine arts,” added Sengupta.
“Theatre needs care and long-term planning,” observed Rudraprasad Sengupta, indirectly reiterating his daughter’s point of having a centre for the practice of honing one’s art. “Liking something is okay, but being able to sustain it is the main point, which shows the amount of devotion and loyalty attached to the art form,” summed up Sengupta, who, as is his habit, watched every single play at the festival. “This is where happiness and duty come together,” concluded Sengupta.
