JOIN USPeep inside the counter displaying masks and headgears to find a middle-aged man, his head and neck bent throughout as his deft fingers firmly cover a paper face mask with wet mud. “It takes two to three days to complete one such mask and yet, when I demand Rs 1,200 for it people ask me why it is so expensive,” says Sushim Kumar Sahu who hails from Seraikella, Jharkhand.
A look at his craftsmanship that decks up the faces of chhau dancers and one is bound to feel sorry for the artist. “I will never teach this art to my son. I don’t want him to starve,” he says adamantly inside the stall set up at Theatre Bazaar.
A new addition to the profile of National School of Drama’s annual festival – 17th Bharat Rang Mahotsav; the crafts section is a platform for all backstage support to showcase all it takes to put together a theatre production.
From the bright lights and sound system (required on stage) to musical instruments, costumes, aroma oils and even a hair extension salon, are on exhibition and sale in this tented area. More like a flea market, the stalls mostly store items required and related
to theatre.
There are shadow puppets of Andhra Pradesh and kathputli of Rajasthan to hook visitors at BRM. But the same aren’t making many sales. “I have displayed bamboo handicrafts from Assam – table mat, jute bag and file cover are few among these,” says Jitu Ahmad from Kamroo Handicraft packing his artefacts. “There is hardly any sale. People are not buying either kathputli or bamboo articles.”
Contrarily, the german silver earrings on sale at Pari Jewels stall have been catching attention. “The Kashmiri triple jhumki is selling like hot cakes,” exclaims Ritick Jain showing Metrolife elegant “Pendant sets inspired from Tanjavore painting-style, priced between Rs 1,500 - Rs 2,000.”
Among this glitter and glimmer are few craftsmen whose work has been a crucial part of the performing arts since time immemorial. “We have all sorts of costumes from Mughal era to traditional and regional outfits,”
says Dalchand, owner of Costume Designers & Makers. Pulling out the best of his works he starts describing each. “The Mughal pagdi is worth Rs 3,500, Bahadur Shah Zafar ka mukut is for 5,000 and the most expensive is Devi ka mukut for Rs 7,000,” adds Dalchand who though only standard nine pass, has a creative imagination that lets him create costumes for mythological and historical figures.
A maximum area of the bazaar is occupied by various publishing houses that have on offer books on theatre personalities, theatre as an art form and various other topics. These stalls, however, are not garnering much interest of visitors either.