Only one week in Bangalore changes my view of my own country. Stepping out of the air plane in Germany, taking the train early Saturday morning, I am stunned how quiet and slow live seems to be here, birds singing, fresh air. But the few people that I meet on the street on my way home don’t seem to be happy about this, they don’t recognize me and look somehow worried, nobody would answer my good morning smile. I am tired not only because of the long flight, but because of so many impressions that I take home with me.
In our so called "think tank", Arundhati Nag, Sophia Stepf, Gayathri Krishna, Christian Thurm and me had been working on the shape of our co-production that would be the third step of the entire project “Do I know you”. The first idea that we all agreed to explore was the staging of the Friedrich Schiller’s play “Intrigue and Love” with a mixed Indian-German cast. The reading of the play evoked an interesting discussion: the theme of impossible love between people of different castes or religion seems to be a very contemporary question in Indian
society, such a hot topic that it is the topic of nearly every second Bollywood movie. What can a two hundred year old German play add to this current discussion, is it able to open a new point of view? Is there any need to also look at the political implications of the play dealing with the emancipation of the German bourgeoisie of the 18th century? The next day we listenend to the reading of a very important Indian play form1972, Girish Karnad's “Hayavadana”, a post-colonial interpretation of the old folk tale “The transposed heads”, which is known also in Germany because of the Thomas Mann’s novel that is also based on it. A great play with an interesting epical structure that suits the aesthetics of nowadays theatre for young people in Europe. It’s a very challenging play, full of references to problems of modern Indian society torn between cultural roots and the western culture that has been transposed on them. It took us Germans some time to understand the abstract philosophical metaphors of the play, which we gratefully got to know. Some days and a trip to Mysore and meetings with many artist later we all agreed, that we should not end the discussion about the topic too early. We all want a play that really exites our young audience in Bangalore as well as in Mannheim. We agreed on a political topic and a form that can also entertain und startle our audiences. The idea to ask a contemporary Indian playwright to create something very special for our co-production, in a good cooperation with the German directing staff, maybe based on a tale or a novel seems to be a good way to approach this goal.
I leave Bangalore with the impression that we have made a big step. All the discussions and meetings, but also the experience of life in Bangalore, food, smells, sounds, smiles, the wonderful hospitality of Arundhati Nag, Gayathri Krishna and the the excitement and passion about theatre form all the young volunteers that guided and supported us helped me make a big step towards knowing my partners better.
Andrea Gronemeyer
In our so called "think tank", Arundhati Nag, Sophia Stepf, Gayathri Krishna, Christian Thurm and me had been working on the shape of our co-production that would be the third step of the entire project “Do I know you”. The first idea that we all agreed to explore was the staging of the Friedrich Schiller’s play “Intrigue and Love” with a mixed Indian-German cast. The reading of the play evoked an interesting discussion: the theme of impossible love between people of different castes or religion seems to be a very contemporary question in Indian society, such a hot topic that it is the topic of nearly every second Bollywood movie. What can a two hundred year old German play add to this current discussion, is it able to open a new point of view? Is there any need to also look at the political implications of the play dealing with the emancipation of the German bourgeoisie of the 18th century? The next day we listenend to the reading of a very important Indian play form1972, Girish Karnad's “Hayavadana”, a post-colonial interpretation of the old folk tale “The transposed heads”, which is known also in Germany because of the Thomas Mann’s novel that is also based on it. A great play with an interesting epical structure that suits the aesthetics of nowadays theatre for young people in Europe. It’s a very challenging play, full of references to problems of modern Indian society torn between cultural roots and the western culture that has been transposed on them. It took us Germans some time to understand the abstract philosophical metaphors of the play, which we gratefully got to know. Some days and a trip to Mysore and meetings with many artist later we all agreed, that we should not end the discussion about the topic too early. We all want a play that really exites our young audience in Bangalore as well as in Mannheim. We agreed on a political topic and a form that can also entertain und startle our audiences. The idea to ask a contemporary Indian playwright to create something very special for our co-production, in a good cooperation with the German directing staff, maybe based on a tale or a novel seems to be a good way to approach this goal.
I leave Bangalore with the impression that we have made a big step. All the discussions and meetings, but also the experience of life in Bangalore, food, smells, sounds, smiles, the wonderful hospitality of Arundhati Nag, Gayathri Krishna and the the excitement and passion about theatre form all the young volunteers that guided and supported us helped me make a big step towards knowing my partners better.
Andrea Gronemeyer
Nice post - Arundathi Nag ..Keep Posting
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