"It’s becoming more and more difficult each year to keep this tradition of the annual Calcutta Parsi Amateur Dramatic Club’s (CPADC) Gujarati nataks alive. Our numbers have come down dramatically and pressure of work is a huge hurdle that the actors have to overcome. A lot of sacrifice and hard work — and add to that the struggle of speaking in Gujarati which for most is a huge challenge,” stated Cyrus Madan, a veteran of the Calcutta Parsi theater scene when asked by Parsiana about this year’s production of the annual Parsi natak. Madan has been directing plays for the past 25 years but not acting in them.
The director went on stage for the first time for this year’s play Meheramai Ni Musibat (Meheramai’s difficulties) written by Jehangir Engineer. Explaining that his knowledge of Gujarati has "sadly been zilch,” he told Parsiana that "the question of ever getting on stage was a total non-starter… This year when I finally did, my lines were in English as I played an Anglo-Indian doctor.” Madan is an avid horse racing commentator (see "Madan’s merit,” Events and Personalities, Parsiana, April 7-20, 2024) and serves as a trustee of the city’s apex body, the Calcutta Zoroastrian Community’s Religious and Charity Fund (CZCRCF).
Performers in Calcutta Parsi Amateur Dramatic Club’s show (from l): Vahishta Dastoor,
Gaver Chatterjee, Tehnaz Punwani, Khursheed Ardeshir-Vatcha
Madan explained the efforts that go into the productions annually. "The Gujarati script has to first be transliterated into English... Then in the course of directing the play, the plot invariably changes and new characters are added by me… That’s written in English and is then translated into Gujarati.” He narrated that the late Viren Shah, ex-governor of West Bengal attended a few performances when he was in office and found it most amusing to learn that Madan hardly spoke Gujarati and yet directed a natak in the same language. "He would insist on speaking to me in Gujarati, but would cringe at my response which would invariably be devoid of gender and grammar. Eventually English prevailed!”
One-time Calcutta resident, now Bombay-based musician Kaizad Gherda attended the play, having performed under Madan’s direction when he was 18. "I thought it would be a good change to go back and get a warm and comforting dose of childhood nostalgia sitting in the audience… After moving to Bombay, I would help with the music and record a couple of songs now and again. For me, there really is a sense of connection to this day to the plays.”
He stated that Mehramai… was a "simple, wonderful setup, as in every natak with a strict parent, two bungling servants (who always have the best roles), the smitten or rebellious child chasing the supposed vixen, and topped off by the inquisitive neighbor poking her head into the mess… further peppered with hilarious entries and exits, mad doctors and nurses.” Gherda appreciated that Madan had "very cleverly given each of the smaller characters wonderful small sketches and dances to up the entertainment quotient while seeing our friends on stage.
"It was an absolute joy to watch (CPADC president and CZCRCF trustee) Tehnaz Punwani as Mehramai,” Gherda stated. The musician had acted with her in 2004. "It brought back memories of the thrill of being on stage as a kid… The biggest thrill of the evening though was a surprise performance by director Madan himself, which he has never done before.” Gherda appreciated seeing "the younger generation of Jahan Parak and Nikhil Punwani take the effort to join the natak productions and keep the spirit of the Club alive.”
Parsiana queried Madan and Tehnaz as to how long they see the natak tradition continuing. "We have kept this tradition alive for 117 years… with online performances during the pandemic…Each year we get the feeling that it’s not going to happen next year, but somehow it does. Why get into ‘how long it will sustain?’…and just take it the way we’ve been doing it — taking it one year at a time,” said Madan. Tehnaz stated, "This year we staged a play with 12 actors inclusive of two debuting… despite difficulties of language and time management for the cast and crew… We sincerely hope to continue as long as we can.”
"I don’t think any of us go to the natak in Calcutta to see good theater. The soul of the CPADC lies in the ‘amateur’ part of it. There are no professionals trying to put up commendable theater here. They are people with day jobs who set some time aside every year to put up some fun entertainment so their friends in the audience have a good laugh on Navroz. I feel this is the soul of the Navroz natak here. It is this soul that had made this theater Club put up its 117th production. That’s a big one!” Gherda concluded.