Theatre's fiery grand ol' man still spews fire

<div class="section0"><div class="Normal"><span style="" font-size:="">The frail stature is deceptive. For it hides a will of iron, a speech backed by knowledge, and the strength of understanding. Padma Bhushan Habib Tanveer doesn''t believe in mincing words, his bluntness comes from the courage to call a spade a spade. In a meeting with the 81-year-old thespian, Chandigarh Times gets some fiery answers that stem from a passion still not subdued by age.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="">The doyen of folk-theatre, Habib Tanveer has been working with tribals and untrained folk-actors for more than fifty years."Folk theatre is a give-andtake process. Unless you live with these people and understand and respect what their way of life is, the process will never start. For if you go as a do-gooder, you will only feel contempt for their poverty," he explains.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="">His fundamental belief still holds strong. "Art is always anti-establishment. Like the hilsa fish that flourishes against the current. They day theatre becomes part of the norm, it loses its purpose," a vehement Tanveer states. It''s an anger directed against political parties that have condemned his efforts in a play called Ponga Pandit.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="">Dealing with untouchables, it shows Brahmins as corrupt and has an untouchable girl performing some religious ceremony. "The RSS disliked the play because it speaks the truth, and not the lies they have become proficient at," he lashes out. Despite everything, he is thankful to them for having popularised Ponga Pandit like no other production. "Their disapproval has been inspiring, and it has ensured that people of all age groups have watched it," he smiles and lights his pipe with a flourish.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="">Admitting that it is theatre that inspires him to do more, Tanveer believes that institutions like the NSD are not doing enough. "They are inept and don''t have any good teachers left. The only solution is that they should close shop," his heated declaration is disconcerting.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="">As is his apparent displeasure at English theatre. "It doesn''t suit us. What is the point of performing for just two percent of the country''s population? Why can''t we stick to our own culture and do good theatre?" Tanveer questions. Yet, he feels that there is hope in the younger generation. "We need to tap their spontaneity, for that becomes blunt with age and maturity," Tanveer reasons.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="">Finding time to read between his busy schedules, "after lunch and before dinner", Habib Tanveer is nearing the completion of his autobiography, Matmaili Chadariya.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="">He was in the city to kick-start the National Theatre Festival with his famous production Charandas Chor on Monday.</span></div> </div>