Yatrik: A Journey Into Theatrical Art (used, good condition)
So that is what theatre is about success and disappointemnt, frustation and renewed hope. What seems impossible, slowly but surely shows rays of light, human strengths and frailties, enduring warm friendships.
I would go on feet from Bengali Market to Pragati Maidan, the Venue of rehearsal and staging because those were the days of hardship for theatre artistes. But it did not dampen our spirit and we were determined to do nothing but theatre.
Going backstage to wish the cast 'break a leg' before the show of The Queen and the Rebels, I found Bhaskar Ghose bewaiting the fact that some of the actors for the important crowed scnes had not turned up. Naturally, he dragooned me into giving up my seat in the audience and going on to stage, Equally naturally, I agreed!
Mriccbakatika was an innovative experiment. The stage was bare, the actors wore half masks and colourful make up and the costumes were ultra modern. We girls wore mini ghagras and the briefest of cholis for which we were pelted with tomatoes and onions at a performance in Aligarh.
A group of travellers, yatris with a passion for theatre, registered themselves as Yantrik in 1964 as blingual repertory company. The objective was to project the arts as a one of the longest existing theatre groups. Hundreds of performers have walked the stage under the Yatrik banner, and shall continue to do so, this is the story of the journey in the words of the yatris.
