Family promotes Shankar Shesh's works

Hindi playwright Shankar Shesh's sons have established a foundation in the famous playwright's name as a tribute to his works, and to foster original creative writing in Hindi, as well as to provide a platform to amateur artists.

Shankar Shesh was a prolific playwright, who wrote 22 original Hindi plays in a short span of 12 years between 1969 and 1981. His plays are marked by the ease with which they can be performed.

"The foundation was established to promote and reward original and creative play writing in Hindi and to provide a platform to amateur artists," Sanjay Shesh, the Managing Trustee of the foundation, told IANS.

"Our father passed away at a very young age of 48, he created so much in such a short span. It was about time we took his work forward," he said.

The foundation is staging two of his most performed plays -- Komal Gandhar and Raktbeej -- on October 2 at the NCPA Experimental Theatre in Mumbai to commemorate him.

"Our father believed that plays are not meant to be just literary works, which adorn libraries and book shelves, but are a medium to express," Shesh said.

"While his plays touched upon complex subjects ranging from the Mahabharata to more contemporary themes like exploitation of rural poor," Shesh said, adding: "His writing was simple and easy to comprehend, giving enough leeway to performing actors and directors to leave an impression on the audience."

His plays have been performed on stage, television, streets, in colleges, by professionals and amateurs. Some have even been adapted as screenplays for films.

Shankar Shesh Foundation is a non-profit organisation which will encourage and reward, besides producing creative and original Hindi plays.

"We plan to organise competitions and workshops in a hackathon format to revive older Hindi plays and to bring newer context and experimentation into performance. They will also be translated in English and other foreign languages," Sanjay said.

--IANS

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