I miss the tonga rides in Doon

A trip to the hills makes me nostalgic. In the 1960s, my theatre group would often come here to perform. The tonga rides in Dehradun and Mussoorie are dearly missed," says actress Sushma Seth, who was recently in the city. Having performed here in "the daur when actors would do their own make-up, costumes, and even lighting," Seth thinks that the theatre culture in the hills has evolved.Performing in cities like Dehradun, Mussoorie, and Shimla has made her "familiar with all kinds of audience," she says and looks forward to working with Doon students. Tidbits from our chat with the actess:
Even without cultural centres, smaller cities improvise
In smaller cities, theatre thrives in every gali. Recently, I visited Shimla and I was astonished to see that neighbouring towns had prepared plays and staged them where I was invited. Har gali mein tamasha hota hain. And by tamasha, I mean good theatre. Here, theatre artistes do not wait for a cultural centre to be built, they keep working and I respect that.
Swear by yoga in haridwar and rishikesh
One can get the best yoga experience in Rishikesh or on the ghats of River Ganga. I would try it on my trips to Haridwar and Rishikesh. I still practice yoga every morning at my Delhi house - It is the best workout ever.
Current comedy shows are also good
Dekh Bhai Dekh might be unparalleled but some of the current comedy shows are also good. My current favourite is, however, is Ashoka (a period drama) - I like the language and the grand costumes. Scripts with polished Hindi have always attracted me - that's probably why I chose to do Hum Log.
Main pichle 40 saalon se daadi ka role kar rahi hu!
The irony of my life is that I have played daadi to Rishi Kapoor, Akshay Kumar, Shah Rukh Khan, and Preity Zinta. Pichle 40 saalon se main daadi ka hi role play karti aa rahi hu. It does not bother me, though. Playing an experienced person helps me connect with my audience better. I have even received letters from saas-bahu asking me for tips to keep their lives peaceful!