He hones skills under a tree

Passersby are taken by surprise when they find young boys and girls performing a play on a platform under the shade of a big tree. The youngsters dance, sing and deliver dialogues. Welcome to “Chabutara Theatre Pathshala”  (platform theatre school). The theatre is so known as it is on the “chabutaras” (platforms) and youngsters are taught the art of acting and other related things

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And the person, who trains these young boys and girls from poor families and live in various slums across the city of Lucknow, himself is a young artist, whose only passion is to popularise the theatre among the poor children and provide them a platform.

“I want to nurture and polish the hidden talent of these poor boys and girls. They seldom get an opportunity to showcase their talent,” says Mahesh Chandra Deva, the architect behind the CTP.

Speaking to Deccan Herald, Deva said that the thought of giving training to poor children emerged following his mother Kamini Devi's advice that he should do something for them. “You are an artist. You should do something to bring out the talent of poor children. No one cares for them,” she told Deva. That was two years ago.

“Since there was no place for me to teach these boys and girls the art of acting and other performances, I selected a big chabutara at Rajajipuram locality,” he said.

Scores of children from the nearby slums, who otherwise whiled away their time or occasionally lent a helping hand to their parents, were instantly attracted to the idea. “Soon I had several budding artists and the school started,” he remarked.

“We not only train children in acting but also give them classes in dancing, singing, painting, modelling, creative writing and self-defence. The idea is to equip them to become self dependent and also utilise their hidden talent,” Deva said.

“We also teach them about the life history of great people like Bhagat Singh, Maharana Pratap, Vivekananda and others to inspire them’’, he said.

He said that at present there were 90 boys and girls associated with the CPT. “Currently we are running the CPT at two places--Valmiki Basti and the other at Ravidas Park. The locations were chosen close to the slums as children need not have to walk long distance to attend the classes,” he said.

Deva said that children, who learn the art of acting, were also given an opportunity to showcase their talent at public platforms. “Since the CPT started, our boys and girls have performed at several programmes and earned appreciation,” he pointed out.

“Our students had performed at last year’s Lucknow Mahotsav (a yearly festival in which the different cultural and other facets of Lucknow are shown),” he said.

Deva, as a professional artist, himself takes part in the plays and he always tries to ensure that the students of the CPT are also given some roles. “That keeps them motivated. Their enthusiasm only increases when their performances are praised by experts watching the plays’’, Deva remarked.

Some students of the CPT have been selected for programmes of the national television. “Two students-Akash Valmiki and Priya Valmiki-have performed in Doordarshan serials,” he said.

Deva organises painting exhibitions at regular intervals to exhibit works of children from the CPT. “You will be surprised to see the quality of the paintings.  They often reflect the feelings of children and their experiences in life,” he said.

Training at the CPT is absolutely free. “There is no fee for attending classes,” he pointed out.

Deva said that initially there was some degree of reluctance on the part of the parents of the boys and girls in sending them for the classes but gradually they agreed. “They realised that we were only training them to become self-confident,” he added.

He said since children attending classes did not get formal schooling, they are provided with books and other materials to help them learn.

He said : “There is a piggy bank in which the children contribute as little as Rs five. The money so collected is distributed among the needy ones to enable them to buy books, pencils, erasers and similar articles,” he said.

Deva wants to further expand the CPT. “It is my dream that such classes start in other parts of the country as well. It is the best way to unearth the hidden talent and give proper direction to children, who have no one to guide,” he said.