MANTHAN ’10
Manthan’09 had laid down the foundation of the building of change.
But the situation was even worse. Our indifference and ignorance had propelled its results. Honour killing, road rage, corruption, and activities of the Naxalites gained momentum. The whole situation worked in a kind of inevitable rotary way - in what would be called a vicious circle.
And then we joined our hands again and shouted out aloud to come out of that vicious circle, to work for the refinement of society, TO BE THE CHANGE WE WISHED TO SEE.
Hence, Manthan’10 was born.
Through Manthan, we wished to make everyone realize the immense power each one of us possess- the power to raise our voice against injustice, the power to go against the conventions which weigh us down, the power to fuel the process of change.
We joined our hands with street play societies of 15 more colleges from Delhi University and IP University. The support and enthusiasm instigated us to deliver the best we could.
Orientation of the event was held in the college premises on 23rd January 2010 wherein representatives of each performing team were invited. Our guest of honor was Mr. Ashok Tiwari (Director-actor, Jan Natya Manch)
The orientation was followed by first public performance by CBS in West Gate Mall, Rajouri Garden addressing the issue of Indifference.
Then the days following, from 24th January-5th February, 2010, witnessed more performances in various public places which included Jantar Mantar, Faculty of arts, North Camous, Dilli Haat, Pitampura and several schools including 4 Government schools in Ambedkar Nagar and Jor Bagh, Mira Model School, Janakpuri, Montfort Senior Secondary school, Ashok Vihar, St. Columba’s school, Ashok Place and many more.
Manthan’10 was a huge success and it wouldn’t have been possible without the support of the performing teams, SRCC, Kamla Nehru College, IP College, Hindu, Khalsa, Shivaji and the like who addressed several issues of concern such as resource management, corruption, plight of the street children, discrimination and many more.
Goonj and Manthan’10
In Manthan’10, we partnered with GOONJ, an NGO spearheading a nationwide program "Clothes for Work", under which urban 'waste' clothes are processed and made useful for the rural poor. These clothes are given to the needy in exchange for developmental activities in villages such as building of schools, wells and cleaning of drains.
We collected clothes, old toys, discarded cassettes, newspapers, tiffins and water bottles at every school where we took Manthan. In addition, the participating teams were requested to bring in their share from their colleges, friends and neighbours.
We collected clothes, old toys, discarded cassettes, newspapers, tiffins and water bottles at every school where we took Manthan. In addition, the participating teams were requested to bring in their share from their colleges, friends and neighbours.
We aimed at a minimum 1000 kgs of clothes and due to the support of so many people, we got so much more than it.
The feedback and response we got from the common people was overwhelming. We were more than elated when the masses applauded our efforts and more importantly, we could see our ambition reaching its destination.
The audience’s enthusiastic responses at all our performance venues reinforced our belief that change will come. All it takes is a desire to kindle the spark
Though Manthan’10 ended on 5th February, 2010, but it left us with a spark in our hearts and dreams in our eyes, of a changed India, a new India, which is a better place to live in.
Manthan is not just lip service, but promises of never throwing anything on the road, of exercising the right to vote, of having informed opinions about politics, of standing for justice and most importantly rising above ourselves to see us as an entity of an educated India who shoulders the responsibility of taking India to the horizon.
2009
Manthan ‘09 came at a time when it was needed the most. Our country was and is plagued by internal and external crisis, and we had seen it all during 2008- terrorist attacks, communal riots, regional rifts, crime against women and complete political paralysis in a democracy as proud as ours.
Street theatre has proven its reach and effectiveness at spreading the message of hope, revival and change across time and hence, Manthan, the street play movement, aimed to serve the cause.
Verve, street play society has a strong sense of mission and commitment towards the betterment of society. We undertook the task of reaching out to people using our skills 0f putting grave issues in a lighter, satirical but a hard hitting manner. Manthan was an attempt to bring together many such like minded groups representing several colleges in Delhi, thereby, creating a force of young people coming together to usher in the winds of change.
The Journey
We started our journey by mobilizing street play teams from various colleges, who would perform at different locations through a time-span of about 20 days. We were elated to realize that our peers were as enthusiastic to delve into this movement as we were.
20 colleges pledged their participation in Manthan’09 and a 400 student strong group, raging with the desire to bring change, was formed.
Orientation and Performances
Representatives of participating street play societies were invited for an orientation within the college premises, to apprise the teams with the objective and the format of Manthan. The conference was graced by the presence of senior street play personalities, Mr. Arvind Gaur (Founder, Asmita) and Mr. Ashok Tiwari (Director-actor, Jan Natya Manch). They gave important insights to the students about the nuances of doing plays in real scenarios and techniques which could make our performances more appealing to the common people. We got astounding support from media who covered this orientation and applauded the great effort that we were going to undertake.
The ball was set rolling at City Square Mall, Rajouri Garden where SSCBS and Hindu College performed in front of a 1000 strong audience, addressing the issues of Societal Indifference and Waste Management respectively.
Further performances were held at Faculty of Arts, North Campus, Mira Model School, Janakpuri, Jantar Mantar, PVR Priya Complex, Hamsadhwani Theatre, Pragati Maidan and Sarvodaya Bal Vidyalaya among others, where plays took on the issues of mob mentality, women empowerment, communalism, time management, sex education and the plight of street children.
Achievements
20 colleges of Delhi University like Indraprastha College for Women, Lady Sri Ram, Hindu, Kirori Mal, Kamla Nehru, Venkatashwara College, PGDAV, Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies and the like performed towards this initiative across Delhi. Plays addressed issues like indifference of people towards evil in society, waste management, women empowerment, mob mentality, youth in politics, etc.
Manthan ’09 did not just aim at spreading awareness but it also aspired to bring about a wave of change in the outlook of people cutting across generations. Besides places like malls, gardens, campuses etc; street plays were performed in schools (both govt. and private) to inspire the young minds to take a step forward and strive for a positive change. We reached about 4000 people in the process.
In addition to this, Manthan also managed to get media support which further assisted in strengthening the impact. Broadcast media such as Aaj Tak and Sahara Samay lent their support to the event. National dailies like Indian Express, Mid Day Hindustan, Dainik Bhaskar, Amar Ujala and more covered the movement. Also radio shows on Fever FM, 102.6 FM helped in drawing attention of the people to the cause.
Manthan Continues
Our event may have come to an end in principle but the spirit of Manthan continues to stay alive in our hearts. Manthan is a commitment to believe in the democratic foundation of our country, to think sensitively for the common good and to act in way that shapes a glorious future for our country.
The new hope in the eyes of the audience, their feedback and in some cases, their blatant desire to join our street play, infused us with fresh optimism, and the feeling that things can only get better from here.
Manthan 2009 may have been a little drop in the ocean of transformation, but we feel proud to have undertaken this task to voice out the aspirations of the youth of the country and infuse a thousand others with the same energy!
