Munshi Premchand, undoubtedly one of the greatest writers the country has produced, was also a glorious translator. He translated a selection of 23 short stories by Leo Tolstoy as well as George Eliot's Silas Marner into Hindi. In 1919, he worked on a translation of Belgian playwright Maurice Maeterlinck's The Sightless in Urdu. Premchand's portfolio of translations only goes to show his interest in and acceptance of literature from around the world — a quality that the country seems to be lacking today. Maeterlinck played a fundamental role in the Symbolist movement, a French literary movement where symbols are used to depict ideas and emotions.

Tomorrow, the city will see the staging of Premchand's version of The Sightless, at a newly-launched acting school CLAY School for Actors. Launched by actor Om Prakash in September last year, the school's name is derived from the founder's desire to mould aspirants into discovering their true worth as artistes. It currently offers certificate courses but plans to introduce diploma courses in the furture. A National School of Drama (NSD) graduate who has played roles in films such as Talaash (2012) and Kaminey (2009), Prakash also taught at acting academies. "But I didn't find any satisfaction because I realised that such institutions were only teaching, not training. Learning diction and expression is good, but it's not the only thing required for acting," he says. And so, without any external funding, he decided to start his own venture as a proponent of method acting.