Relentless Rani

Nonika Singh

Waqt Ne Kiya Kya Haseen Sitam is not just the name of thespian Rani Balbir Kaur’s play on indomitable poet Kaifi Azmi, in a way, her life story runs along the same course.

Much has happened since she first enrolled with renowned Balwant Gargi’s class as student of theatre. From a girl who would demurely cover her head with a dupatta and lower her gaze to one for whom the world of arts opened under the tutelage of Gargi, much has changed. Not always for the better though. Life has been an uphill journey, but as she stands honoured by the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, she is more than gratified.

Honours mean a lot, especially as these are her way of silencing her critics and family, who questioned her judgment of choosing theatre as a muse. She explains, “When all theatre can bring you is a hand-to-mouth existence, those close to you wonder aloud and complain as to why you are stuck to it.” Her mother would literally bash her up thinking she was committing hara-kiri by choosing what she called a dishonourable vocation.

But theatre, she insists, has brought her unparalleled joy and put her on a pedestal higher than mortal beings and exposed her to a realm of realisation and enlightenment. However, when she started out as an actor, she did not fully comprehend that theatre was a sublime world. When Gargi cast her in The Monk and Courtesan, she thought it was a very shallow drama meant to elicit a few laughs. Many years later, when she directed the same in the 1980s, she woke up to the fact that the writer had conveyed the sanest possible message. How it’s your spiritual being and not the physical one that matters is a thought that has stayed with her and shaped much of her life.

Over the years, her directorial signature has been writ over many kinds of plays and in many languages — from folk tales to ritualistic to musical. One of her earlier rather the very first play in 1977 was Heer Ranjha. The response to which was so tumultuous that even Parkash Singh Badal (the then chief minister too) and his wife couldn’t enter the auditorium and had to sneak in from a side window. Recently, Badal asked her to revisit the play. She would be recreating the love legend, but, in a new avatar. She would bring together Shakespeare and Waris Shah, both of whom she considers Sufis.

Each director has his or her strengths and Rani’s forte lies in creating choreographed moments. The singer in her can see music, not only in every movement and rhythmic formations, but also in costumes. Not surprising, she was drawn to plays such as Ghasiram Kotwal, notable for its tamasha style. A performance that wouldn’t have been possible without the knowledge of music and dance, she deems it her most challenging production till date. Having learnt theatre from one of its most accomplished directors, Gargi, whom she hails as the greatest mentor ever, she can go on and on about his unstructured ways of teaching, his immense knowledge of arts and more. However, today she is shocked by the lack of application and dedication among the young generation of theatre workers around her. But she wouldn’t say that theatre in the region is lagging behind. “Bad theatre happens everywhere, even in places like Mumbai.”

Personally, she prefers ensemble productions and loves to create a spectacle. However, right now it’s solo plays Kasturba and Rani Jinda on her mind. Theatre, she believes, must elevate audiences and transport them to a higher level of consciousness. It has helped her transcend personal suffering. Bad marriage, single parenthood... pain didn’t shackle, rather it enriched her.

“Birha birha aakhiye, birha tu sultan; Jis tan birha na upaje, so tan jaan masaan (Let us sing of separation, separation is king. A body that does not know separation, is but a corpse),” Rani quotes from gurbani, which she recites daily and seeks spiritual sustenance from. Mentored by the late Gargi and with gurus’ words as her constant philosopher and guide, Rani of the arclights has learnt to take life head on, both on and off the stage.