Deepa Gahlot Column: The lady, remembered

Around this time last year celebrations for Begum Qudsia Zaidirsquos birth centenary commenced with productions of her plays an exhibition of photographs a seminar and talks in Delhi and Mumbai The year wound down with a warm tribute by admirers and friends of the family at Chaupaal Begum Zaidirsquos daughter is Shama Zaidi her soninlaw is MS Sathyu one of her granddaughters Shaili is a theatre practitioner specialising in plays for children the other Seema is an artist mdash both worked on researching and gathering material for a wonderful tribute to their remarkable grandmotherTom Alter plays the eponymous protagonist in Chacha Chakkan ke Karname the rebooted version of a popular childrenrsquos play by Begum Qudsia ZaidiBegum Qudsia Zaidi was a theatre pioneer and established a group called Hindustani Theatre in Delhi in 1955 Some of the finest theatre productions in India have been from her writings mdash classic plays that she adapted into Hindustani so beautifully that they often surpassed the originals The list is enviable mdash Mitti Ki Gaadi Shakuntala Aazra Ka Khwab Pygmalion Anarkali Amrapali Mudrarakshas Khalid Ki Khala Charliersquos Aunt Vasantsena Sufaid Kundali The Caucasian Chalk Circle Mera Naam Trufaldin Servant of Two Masters Gudiya Ghar Dollrsquos HouseAccording to information collected for the centenary celebrations Begum Zaidi wrote and translated a number of books for children and was actively involved in Shankarrsquos Weekly Childrenrsquos Art Competitions and Book Trust Chacha Chakkan ke Draamae is one of her most popular series of plays for childrenTo quote from the text ldquoWhen she moved to Delhi Qudsia also developed a keen interest in theatre through her close association with Kamladevi Chattopadhyay one of Indiarsquos cultural doyens Qudsia began to build an artistic and intellectual circle around her her charm and wit regularly attracting poets writers and painters to the Zaidi home in Jamia She became a member of numerous cultural bodies contributing to the cultural foundations of postIndependence Delhi and India In 1954 she met Habib Tanvir who is today remembered as the founder of Naya Theatre Together they established the Hindustani Theatrerdquo Interestingly Tanvir met his wife Monica while working with Hindustani Theatre MS Sathyu and Shama Zaidi also met there ldquoThere were other romances toordquo says Shaili Sathyu ldquobut they have been forgottenrdquoTanvirrsquos classic Agra Bazaar was produced then after which he went to study at RADA While waiting for him to return Begum Zaidi wrote several plays so that the group would have a ready repertoire and also raised money from her wellconnected sources mdash Begum Pataudi was one of the trustees mdash including Pandit Nehru who granted an annual fundldquoThe Hindustani Theatrerdquo says a note on the company ldquobegan as a concerted effort to produce and sustain a regular serious art theatre that was at once professional and wedded to the roots of traditional Indian art forms A visionary committed to the theatre traditions of India yet intensely contemporary Begum Zaidi imagined a theatre that stood upon classical national heritage while also consistently considering its own relevance Think of England without Marlowe and Shakespeare France without Moliere Spain without Lope de Vegas and Calderon For Begum Zaidi it was imperative that the rich wealth of Sanskrit classical plays be laid bare to the contemporary audience in popular yet literary idiom in operatic and dance forms that were the aesthetic foundations of traditional playsrdquoldquoThe Hindustani Theatre with this theatrical daring would eventually become Delhirsquos first postIndependence professional theatre troupe The movement began to grow in 1957 two years after the Hindustani Theatre was established with an active group of talented artists and seasoned directors The theatre itself took on an organic form directing and producing a few plays until it incrementally created a composite form of theatre that reconfigured Indiarsquos cultural traditions For the first time urban thespians began working with folk actors to produce poetic forms of theatre for contemporary audiences Begum Zaidi in her characteristic boldness became convinced that theatre to be a living force must be manned by fulltime artists Instead of loans grants and donations Begum Zaidi wanted the theatre to become independent and selfsupporting On August 1 1960 the Hindustani Theatre was made a fullfledged fulltime theatrerdquo the note addsOn November 14 mdash Childrenrsquos Day mdash Shakuntala opened to a huge audience in Bhilai as part of a tour of steel plants During this tour actors earned their salaries by their own work as performers During this triumphant tour Begum Zaidi passed away on December 27 1960 when she was just 46As it usually happens when an organisation has a strong visionary driving force it tends to crumble and collapse when the leader passes away After a few years of trying to keep Hindustani Theatre alive as a cooperative the members scatteredHowever when three actresses mdash Salima Raza Preeta Mathur and Lubna Salim mdash perform extracts from Aazar Ka Khwab as the sharptongued spitfire Hajjo who is transformed into a lady it is clear just how valuable Begum Qudsia Zaidirsquos legacy is and that there are people who admired her work and will keep the flame burningDeepa Gahlot is an awardwinning film and theatre critic and an arts administrator She tweets at deepagahlot