‘The Maharashtrian Arab’ who defined Indian theatre

Collegian Ebrahim Alkazi accompanies a fellow passenger on a BEST bus to Gowalia Tank where he is inspired by Mahatma Gandhirsquos historic lsquoQuit Indiarsquo movement callAt Kala Ghodarsquos Chetna restaurant the hub for intellectual dialogue Alkazi Nissim Ezekiel and FN Souza engage in an intense debate about the direction that Bombay theatre is headed towardsIn a tense city post Gandhirsquos assassination Prithviraj Raj and Shammi Kapoor Balraj Sahni Chetan and Dev Anand spread harmony on an IPTA truck Urdu writers like Kaifi Azmi Sahir Ludhianvi Majrooh Sultanpuri and Ali Sardar Jafri join the procession for peaceEbrahim Alkazi and Amal Allana at Cop Shivarsquos show My Life Is My Message Art Heritage 2013 Pic CourtesyRama Veeresh Babu These few mentions from 1940s50s Bombay appear in the first half of Ebrahim Alkazi Holding Time Captive Penguin authored by Amal Allana It shines a revelatory light on the cityrsquos culturallyrich tolerant and cosmopolitan ecosystem which nourished the late theatre veteranrsquos mind craft and process he could express himself freely and develop a pathbreaking school of thought supported by guardians who appreciated the literary and performing arts in Bombay It became the ideal launchpad for his phenomenal rise as one of the founding fathers of the performing arts in independent IndiaEdited excerpts from the interviewBombay was an exhilarating place for young Ebrahim where he was immersed in idealism and nationalism How did it influence him and hold him in good stead for laterBombay was fundamental to the shaping of Alkazirsquos work and personality He was a young energetic adventurer in search of a new world exciting people artists and booksmdashall of which he found in Bombay In fact I have emphasised its cosmopolitanism in the earlier part of the book showing the city as welcoming not only of foreign artists and intellectuals from Europe and the USA but also of Urdu and Hindi writers and poets from north Indiamdash whose ideas fed into the shaping of a new Indian modernity in the arts that youngsters like Nissim Souza Husain Sultan Bobby Padamsee and Alkazi were grappling to come to terms withThe idea of building and contributing to a new cultural environment was further ignited by a sense of idealism fostered by men like Gandhi who provided a humanitarian alternative of resistance in their fight for Independence in a world that was torn apart by two senseless World WarsIn the early 1960s Alkazi relocated to Delhi that he describes as ldquoa cultural desertrdquo compared to Bombay Delhi excited him too as it challenged him to culturally build up this barren city into a cultural hub Alkazi was always alert and sensitive to a cityrsquos cultural needs and responded by evolving projects that contributed to their growth and evolution Alkazi was a creative but also a concerned citizenIt was the love for art that held Roshen and Alkazirsquos relationship together This photo shows the couple with Nissim Ezekiel right and HA Gade at the opening of Akbar Padamseersquos solo exhibition Jehangir Art Gallery Bombay 1954 Pic CourtesyThe Alkazi Collection of Art Bobby Padamsee impacted Alkazirsquos development as a theatre maker and vice versa such that he chose Alkazi to take his Theatre Group TG forward WhyBobby was Alkazirsquos mentor in every sense He awakened Alkazi to the interrelationship of the arts to artistic innovation a love for poetry to defining Eastern from Western aesthetics to the relevance of theatre to society In Elk Alkazi Bobby found an enthusiastic and discerning young man whose innate interest in world theatre and literature was impressive as were his acting abilities Also the fact that despite being from an Arab business family Elk had taken the bold step of committing himself to marrying RoshenmdashBobbyrsquos sister and right hand in all matters of running a group This probably led Bobby to believe they would make a strong team Although Bobby never mentioned it publicly all TG members veered towards Elk and Roshen taking over TG after Bobbyrsquos passingAlkazi bonded with and engaged in constant dialogue with the intellectuals of his time like Nissim Ezekiel and FN SouzahellipBoth Nissim and Souza had differing personalities Nissim was quiet and introspective a loner and thinker With him Alkazi could share the quieter more meditative aspects of art and literature Nissim was not given to voicing his opinions in public stridently Souza on the other hand was volatile and full of himself undaunted by the impact his words would have on anyone This did not make Souza insensitive but outspoken Alkazi admired this aspect as he probably didnrsquot have the ability to confront society in that kind of unrestrained manner What Souza and Nissim had in common was their unerring honesty Alkazi regarded Souza as Indiarsquos greatest living modern artistMF Husain thanked Elkazi for inviting him to work on the set design for Murder in the Cathedral that he directed Theatre Group Bombay 1953 Pic CourtesyAlkazi Theatre archivesAlkazi was in constant search of his identity He wrote Central theme to all great drama is concerned with one question Who am I What was the reason for thisIn not moving to Pakistan with his family in returning to India after his studies in England Alkazi was consciously or unconsciously identifying with India Culture identity and the question of lsquohomersquo became deeply disturbing he felt uneasy as a secondgeneration migrant whose father had travelled from Saudi Arabia to settle in Bombay Alkazirsquos entire artistic journey could be described as his lsquodiscovery of Indiarsquo The closest he ever got to identifying himself was when he called himself a ldquoMaharashtrian Arabrdquo Dr Shreeram Lagoo while awarding Alkazi in Pune quipped ldquoIt took an Arab to become the Father of Indian TheatrerdquoWhy did Alkazi believe that theatre education was necessary in IndiaEnglish theatre in Bombay in the 1940s and 1950s was a drawing room activity The professional Urdu Gujarati and Marathi language theatres had moved out of their commercial rut in Natak companies and were becoming more experimental in nature Group theatre was in the making Finding a lack of direction in theatre activities as a whole Alkazi felt the need to train himself professionally in England Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in the theatre arts and equip himself to return and teach Within the first two years of his return he had devised three courses in theatre education for Theatre Group members By 1955 he had set up The School of Dramatic Arts for the Theatre Unit offering a oneyear integrated course in theatre studies His students include Satyadev Dubey Vijaya Mehta Alaknanda Samarth and Kusum Behl among others