Mesmerizing verses on Tolly lawns

KOLKATA: Naseeruddin Shah, his wife Ratna Pathak and daughter Heeba were the stars of the evening at the Apeejay Kolkata Literary Fest’s session held at The Tollygunge Club on Thursday. They voice acted verses and texts from Vikram Seth and James Thurber’s ‘Beastly Tales’, a collection of fairy tales retold with a hard-hitting current context.
The Shah family was accompanied by noted actor Kenny Desai, who wowed the audience with his voice modulation and expressions.Shashi Tharoor took a front-row seat and was seemingly enthralled. “I’ve come just for you,” he told Shah while greeting him.
Taking the stage, Shah explained: “You must be wondering what kind of a play this is, with chairs, tables and visible mikes. This is not a play per se. It’s part narration and part enactment. The author and words take the centre stage.” When proceeded to voice-act a frog in ‘The frog and the nightingale’, it was moment unforgettable. Heeba played out ‘The eagle and the beetle’ while Ratna played out ‘The mouse and mosquito’, among others.
‘The little girl and the wolf’, performed by Heeba, drew cheers as it drew a parallel with ‘’little red riding hood’ but here, the girl understands the wolf looks nothing like her grandmom and shoots its head off. The moral of the story: it’s not easy to fool little girls any more.
Among the audience was actress Sayani Datta, who was thrilled to bits. “It was an honour to see Naseer-ji up close. I loved the performance as a whole.”
Tollygunge Club vice-president Kallol Datta said: “We are all extremely happy with the event. Our association with TOI has added value to this evening. It’s a proud moment for us.”
“I knew the text by heart. It was a perfectly crafted performance. The ambience and the setting made it a picture perfect,” gushed teacher Saswati Mukerji.