The third guest of Living Legend Series, Sahitya Akademi Awardee, Dr. Indira ParathaSarathy graced 18th Bharat Rang Mahostav. Author of 17 prestigious novels and volumes of anthologies on short stories, Dr. ParthaSarathy is a noted Tamil playwright and receiver of Padma Shri and Saraswati Samman aswell. 

Enlightening the audience through his journey as a playwright, Dr. Parathasarathy stated, “The magic of theatre is so strong that a playwright is of more importance than a novelist.” He shared that he started writing a novel and in between realised that it has shaped into a play. “Once you start writing a play, you start writing your life.” added Dr. Parathasarathy. 

Dr. Parathasarathy discussed in depth the speculations behind his masterpieces such as “Aurangzeb, Katha Nandan Ki, River of Blood, Pajeb & Ramanujar. Relating the inspirations of his work and the revolutionary aspects by himself, he mentioned, “Theatre is a social act and it has to be contemporary. The mythological characters are indeed our contemporary heroes.” 

Discussing an incident of his playwright’s production at Madras he told the audience that the play was an intellectual and cynical thought highlighting the problems and disparities prevailing in society. After the curtains rolled down, the chief minister of state congratulated him and said “You should write more comedies like this.” 

Upraising the constant tautness between the playwright’s and director’s dominance over a literature’s production, he stated, “Both have importance of equal state. It is necessary to rightfully convert the literature work into a drama production to make it a success.”

In “Meet the Director”, directors of Armen Pather, Aranyagatha, Boma and Stories I want to tell you in person graced the audience by having an open discussion regarding the aesthetics and technicalities of productions. 

Director of Armen Pather, Mr. Ravi Kemmu discussed the status of theatre in state of Jammu & Kashmir, highlighted the negligence of theatre by our own people and their attraction towards the western culture. 

Emphasising on the importance of Indian cultures and its essence in our theatre, the director Kanhaiyalal Kaithwas mentioned “The tribal culture of India is often misread; one should witness it internally to understand it.” 

“Strip all the things away so that you are raw, true and honest in front of the audience. It is important to be inside the moment, that way, it is acting.” added Australian director Anne-Louise Sarks.