Remembering Norah Richards

RK Prashar

DURING a visit to Andretta village in Himachal’s Kangra district back in 1995, a local resident directed me towards a small stretch of wooded land. The pathway ended where a mossy wall bore a line, ‘Rest weary heart, thy work is done’. As I ventured into the sprawling wooded area behind the boundary wall, I discovered that the slate-roofed mud house — Chameli Niwas — facing the miniature open-air theatre which used to be a hub of theatrical productions was being renovated. Before I enquired about it, Malti Chandyog, a frail sexagenarian woman who lived nearby in a kutcha house, ambled over to me.

We exchanged greetings and went to her house. Malti told me about Norah Richards, widely acclaimed as the ‘grandma’ of Punjabi theatre. She said, “It was her love for Punjab and Punjabi theatre that impelled her to return from her homeland — Ireland — in 1924 to eventually settle here. Norah remained my closest companion since 1955. She was sued in Ireland for libel and incarcerated for a month after she protested against the derisive portrayal of Indians in a documentary film, Through Romantic India, screened at Philharmonic Theatre in London. She was penniless when released from jail; she even worked as a domestic help to raise money for her return to India.”

Nostalgically recalling how Norah faced hardships — living in a tent, eating frugal meals, sleeping on a straw mattress — in her early days when she reached Andretta riding on horseback in 1924, Malti said it was her generous British friend, Mrs Parker, who gifted her 15 acres of land — the present-day theatrical legacy — where Punjabi theatre, in a new avatar, was born. Norah had earlier made a dazzling debut by staging Punjabi plays Dulhan and Deene di Baraat in Lahore in 1914.

Andretta witnessed a festive atmosphere in March every year when Norah would hold matinee performances with local artistes as characters of her dramaturgical compositions. Brilliant performances of Suhaag and Putt Ghar Ayah endeared her to the locals, Malti said, adding that realistic depiction of rural life in her works fascinated Prithviraj Kapoor, the doyen of Indian cinema, Balraj Sahni, Balwant Gargi and Freda Bedi so much that they became regular visitors to Andretta — the Gangotri of Punjabi drama.

As I rose to leave, Malti went to her bedroom, flipped through a diary and handed me a rare photograph — a parting gift — of Norah Richards, whose 146th birth anniversary falls today. This photo continues to be my prized possession.

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