On the centrestage, unfazed

HER FIANCE is a Kayasth from Lucknow, now a Delhi-based Hindustani musician. Her grandparents are from Banares, her father who settled in Hardwar as government servant, found his bride in Allahabad. But B.Gauri, with a B.A in Hindi and a post graduate diploma from the National School of Drama (NSD) is Tamilborn. "Koncham koncham Tamizh teriyum," she giggles and adds, "When I visited Madras it was exciting to understand everything spoken around me. I love my mookkutthi and I'm going to have an Iyer-style wedding."

Though her stint with the NSD repertory was short-lived and ill fated ("I got thrown out for protesting and plainspeaking") Gauri has landed on both feet. She plays lead roles in two major productions - "Navlakha" and "Aur Kitne Tukde" - featured in the annual summer festival of the NSD this year.

In addition, she has written the script for the latter. This is a dramatisation of "The Other Side of Silence" by Urvashi Butalia and "The Exile" by Jamila Hashmi, the first non-fictional account of the Partition by victims, the second, a short story on the same theme.

No mean achievement at age 24! "It was a shock then, but now I'm glad the NSD repertory kicked me out," she says. What followed was a wholly new enriching experience in working for Anuradha Kapur's "Navlakha", a Hindi adaptation of a Chinese play by the Singaporean Kuo Pao Kun for a tribute to the playwright at the Asian Art Festival in Tokyo last year. "We learnt so much from the Black Tent Theatre who organised the festival," recalls Gauri. "There was tremendous co-operation, they took over all the backstage work. The word impossible was not in their vocabulary."

Though an alumnus of the NSD, Gauri had not worked with faculty member Kapur before. "Every director has her own way of working. Anuradha ma'am starts with improvisations, exploring one's own psychology, before moving to the text. When you come to the text you have already realised the unrealised qualities in it. She sweats us out in exercises. Every part of the body has to be alert and fit. The play comes alive in the blend of body and text."

The properties play a vital role in "Vivadi " which collaborates with a community of artists. The visual design by Nilima Sheikh and music by Vidya Rao are powerful dimensions in "Navlakha". "In the first scene where I bathe my son, the text would simply not go with the action," explains Gauri. "It took me long to learn to handle the cake of soap just right!"

Anyone who has seen Gauri on the stage will know how vibrant her presence can be. But how did this talented actress turn script writer? Once, when she went to theatre director and NSD faculty member Kirti Jain and asked if there was anything exciting that she could do, Jain gave her Urvashi Butalia's document, recording the oral experiences of Partition victims and asked her to script it. Her friends finished the book before slow reading Gauri got started on it. But the tortoise won the race.

Came the day when she had a few pages to read aloud. Jain and Anuradha Kapur gave her useful guidance, the daunting task finished, and approved by Butalia. More growth came with criticism and suggestion in the rehearsals. Of Jain, a grateful Gauri says, "She gave me so much trust that I was afraid of disillusioning her and myself."

It was a proud moment when the programme notes bore Gauri's name not only as a lead actor, but as the script writer too. The play "Aur Kitne Tukde" was premiered at the NSD festival on March 29.

Gauri's strength comes from family bonds, fostered through struggles. "Life was hard, money was scarce. My Periathai (eldest aunt) did not marry because she thought it was her duty to help the family as a school teacher. Parents were always understanding. It is for them that my brother, sister and I, want to excel in everything we do."

GOWRI RAMNARAYAN

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