Kolkata celebrates Habib Tanvir with national theatre personalities

On the 100th birth anniversary of Habib Tanvir, one of the most influential playwrights and poets of post-independent India, Kolkata Centre for Creativity (KCC) has organized a three-day theatre festival, titled ‘Dekh Rahe Hain Nayan’, which will celebrate Habib Tanvir’s life, work, and immense contributions to Indian theatre, literature, and art.

Curated by M.K. Raina and Tausif Rahman, with research and consultation by Anjum Katyal, Dekh Rahe Hain Nayan is the first major initiative to take serious note of Tanvir's oeuvre, this initiative involves a diverse range of events including an exhibition, masterclasses, panel discussions, film screening, dramatic storytelling, musical performances, book launches, and other cultural events showcasing Habib Tanvir's work and his profound impact on Indian theatre and art.

Scheduled to take place between August 30 and September 1, 2024, Dekh Rahe Hain Nayan festival will have renowned theatre professionals well-versed in Tanvir’s work, conducting masterclasses and offering aspiring playwrights and actors unique learning opportunities. Panel discussions by eminent theatre scholars and experts will delve deeply into Tanvir’s philosophy, his relevance in the contemporary scenario, and examine his enduring legacy. The three-day festival has a never-seen-before line-up of luminaries and experts in the fields of theatre, music, and literature such as Naseeruddin Shah, Ratna Pathak Shah, Sudhir Mishra, Raghubir Yadav, MK Raina, Atul Tiwari, Danish Husain, Brahma Prakash, Samik Bandyopadhyay, Anjum Katyal, Ashok Vajpeyi, Suman Mukhopadhyay, Bibhas Chakraborty, Chandradasan, Anuradha Kapur, among many others.

There will be folk music performances by Poonam Tiwari and her troupe, and Raghubir Yadav with Subhadeep Guha; Habibnama directed by Danish Husain, Dastaan-E-Ashok-O-Akbar by Ratna Pathak Shah; songs from Habib Tanvir’s theatre by Nageen Tanvir (Daughter of Habib Tanvir); a screening of Gaon Ke Naon Theatre Mor Naon Habib directed by Sudhanva Deshpande & Sanjay Maharishi; and book launches. Richa Agarwal of Kolkata Centre for Creativity (KCC), expressed her enthusiasm for the event and said, "Habib Tanvir is one of the most exemplary theatre personalities that the entire country looks up to, and additionally for us in Bengal, he has always been referred to as Banglar jamai, owing to his Bengali wife – the theatre director and actor Moneeka Misra, with whom he founded Naya Theatre in 1959. ‘Dekh Rahe Hain Nayan’ is a one-of-a-kind tribute to the legendary Habib Tanir for the first time in Bengal, while providing a platform for insightful discourse and a cross-pollination of knowledge.”

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