{"id":187,"date":"2012-06-02T06:45:26","date_gmt":"2012-06-02T06:45:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ajmerrode.com\/?page_id=187"},"modified":"2017-09-26T10:24:40","modified_gmt":"2017-09-26T17:24:40","slug":"dramas","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ajmerrode.com\/?page_id=187","title":{"rendered":"Drama"},"content":{"rendered":"

PLAYS WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY AJMER RODE<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Background<\/strong>
\nMy first involvement in theater goes back to 1956-57 when we formed Young Farmers Club at our village, Rode in Punjab. Then a\u00a0grade 11 student, I and\u00a0brother Navtej Bharati along with other kids of the village got together to organize cultural activities in the village. We were inspired by the then Peace Movement in which our maternal uncle Sadhu Singh Talib\u00a0was much involved along\u00a0with his team; they staged peace plays in the villages of the area. Navtej acted, in some of these plays, as a young girl whose brother was killed in war. I just helped the actors with\u00a0water or tea.\u00a0<\/span>The first play Navtej and I jointly\u00a0wrote and work-shopped with other actors\u00a0was “Chacha Sharha kyon Riha (Why Uncle Remained a Bachelor) -It was because the uncle lost his leg in\u00a0war. Read more<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

https:\/\/bcbooklook.com\/2017\/09\/11\/canadas-founder-of-punjabi-theatre\/<\/p>\n

Rebirth of Gandhi<\/strong><\/span><\/a>\u00a0(English; time: 90 minutes; characters: 9).<\/span>
\n<\/span>This full length play in English deals with the complexties of India’s caste system that still has a strong hold on South Asian societies and their diasporas. <\/span>Mahatma Gandhi once prayed: <\/span>“<\/span>Lord, in my nest life let me take birth into a family of untouchables so I can feel their pains and lead them into liberation.<\/span>”\u00a0<\/span><\/span> In the play\u00a0the Mahatma does take birth in an outcaste family and\u00a0<\/span>goes through experiences he had never imagined. seriousness <\/span>and humor go hand in hand in the play.
\n<\/span>The play was premiered jointly by explore<\/em>ASIAN organizaton and the Chetna Association of Canada to a full house at Surrey Arts Center in May 2004. <\/span>The first act of the play was also staged at a program organized by the World Peace Forum at the University of British Columbia\u00a0<\/span>in June 2006, and then\u00a0at the international conference, “Literature For Our Times”, at the University of British Columbia in August 2007. \u00a0The play received good publicity and reviews in the media. Read more<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Dooja Paasa<\/strong> <\/span><\/a><\/span>(Punjabi<\/span>; time: 45 minutes;\u00a0 Characters: 6)<\/span>
\n<\/span>The play is about a\u00a0Sikh gentleman who find it hard to decide whether to\u00a0keep or not keep wearing the turban after arriving in\u00a0Canada. It is the first Canadian Punjabi play written and staged in Canada (Vancouver, 1977). “This is an exemplary play because of\u00a0its theme, tight structure, and natural dialogue” \u2013 <\/strong>Dr. Mohanjit<\/span>, <\/strong>poet & critic, in Tribune<\/em>, India, 1981). <\/span>Read More<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Komagata Maru<\/strong> <\/span><\/a><\/span>(Punjabi; 140 minutes; Main characters: 11)
\n<\/span><\/span>Based on the historical incident of Komagata Maru (Vancouver, 1914) the play exposes the British “justice system” and Canadian racism in the early decades of the 20th century. Komagata Maru was the first\u00a0full length Punjabi play written and directed by Canadian artists. “From its theme and performance point of view, I consider this a very successful play” \u2013 Dr. Kulbir S. Kang<\/strong><\/span>, critic & essayist, in The Tribune, India, 1983. Read More<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Nirlajj <\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span>(Punjabi; time: 120 minutes;\u00a0 Characters: 10)
\n<\/span><\/span>Nirlajj deals with the issues of sex selection and family violence in the Indo-Canadian community. The play in its various versions was staged in several cities of Canada. Its sixth performance was done in Victoria in March 1997.\u00a0 “Ajmer is among the top names in modern Punjabi poetry, Nirlajj establishes him firmly as a playwright too.” \u2013 Dr. M.S. Randhawa<\/span><\/strong>, editor<\/em>, Punjab<\/em> Times;<\/em> Vancouver, 1996. Read More<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

One Girl One Dream<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/span>\u00a0 (Punjabi; time: 50 minutes; Characters: 6)
\n<\/span><\/span>A young woman in Punjab dreams of\u00a0beautiful life in Canada but faces harsh family violence on her arrival in the Canadian city of Vancouver. The play portrays mental deterioration of the woman as she endures violence.\u00a0\u00a0One Girl One Dream\u00a0<\/em>has been staged several times in Vancouver\u00a0 and in the United States. “Our top directors and actors should try their artistic skills on this play.” \u2013 Ajmer<\/strong> Aulakh<\/strong><\/span>, a leading playwright and director, Punjab. Read More<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Teesari Akh<\/a><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0 <\/span><\/span>(Punjabi; time: 75 minutes; Characters: 5)
\n<\/span><\/span>The\u00a0play is\u00a0based on violence and break-ups prevalent in Indo-Canadian families. It tells the story of ten year old Shelley torn between her mother and father who are separating. The play had its first performance in Vancouver, 1985. Later it was extensively revised and Published in its entirety in the monthly Watan<\/em> under a new name Suche Hath.<\/em> The original play was again\u00a0performed by Gurdip Arts Academy <\/em>in a program organized jointly by Mosaic and RedFM radio on 26 March 2010 in North Delta Senior Secondry School Auditorium, BC. See More<\/a><\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Visa<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0 <\/span><\/a>(Punjabi; time: 45 minutes; Characters: 8)
\n<\/span><\/span>The protagonist of this satirical play loses all his clothes and receives stacks of forms as he goes from office to office to obtain a Canadian visa (in India). Visa<\/em> has been staged in Canada and dozens of times in Punjab, India. “Rode has shown us a realistic picture of corruption in this field” \u2013 Ajmer Aulakh<\/span><\/strong>, in Sirjana<\/em>, 1981. Read more<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Chetna<\/a><\/strong> <\/span>(co-authored,\u00a0Punjabi; \u00a0time: 50 minutes; Characters: 8)
\n<\/span><\/span>Chetna consists of six short plays on violence against women. The plays were created in workshops by Ajmer Rode, Surjeet Kalsey and several other participating actors. Chetna<\/em> has been performed several times at different places including Vancouver and Abbotsford in British Columbia. Read more<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Village of Men<\/span> <\/strong><\/a>(English and Punjabi, 12 TV PSAs, Characters:8<\/span><\/span><\/span>)
\nThe play portrays domestic violence involving a young couple Paul and Rani and\u00a0consists of 6 TV scenes each in English and Punjabi. The play was done under a project initiated by the Abbotsford Community Services Society of British Columbia, Canada, and produced by upNext\u00a0Media a professional movie company based in metro Vancouver<\/span><\/span>. The scripts of the 12 scenes were written\u00a0and directed by Ajmer Rode.\u00a0\u00a0A DVD of the play was also produced.\u00a0 “This DVD represents hundreds of hours of work that you all put in to make this production a success it has become.” – Jon Strocel, upNext Media director. <\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

BILL NINETEEN<\/a> <\/span><\/b><\/span>(a radio play)
\n<\/strong>Produced on the Co-op radio Vancouver, June 1987; published in the Canada Darpan in June 1987. Read more<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Fragrant Grass\u00a0<\/a><\/span><\/span>
\n<\/strong> (Time: 120 minutes;\u00a0 Characters:10)
\n<\/span>Full length play in Punjabi and English dealing with youth and drugs. Readings done at several places\u00a0but hasn’t been staged yet (2006). Read more<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Stair to Nowhere<\/span><\/a><\/span>
\n<\/strong> (Time: 120 minutes; Characters: 11)<\/span><\/p>\n

This Punjabi play looks at human existence at the lowest stratum, shows how a family reduces from labor to begging to garbage eating. The play can be performed as a full-length play or as three one-act plays separately. Stair to nowhere <\/em>was written in mid eighties, was read\u00a0in several sittings but not\u00a0produced.\u00a0Read more<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Raja Harish Chander<\/strong><\/span><\/a>
\n A monologue\u00a0in Hindi written specially for Vancouver’s veteran actor Gurcharn Dua. The play is based on the classical story of satyavadi Raja Harish Chandar. Hasn’t been produced yet.
\n<\/span>Read more<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Plays by Other Writers<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Toori wala Kotha <\/span><\/a>(The hay barn)
\n<\/strong> <\/span>written by Ajmer Aulakh,\u00a0directed by Ajmer Rode
\n<\/span><\/span>This is one of\u00a0the top Punjabi plays . Its Canadian production by Bharati Nat Kendar in late eighties was directed by Ajmer Rode in Carpennters\u2019 Hall, Westminister, British Columbia. He also wrote\u00a0an introductory scene\u00a0to connect the play to\u00a0life of Indo-Canadians.\u00a0\u201cThis performance surpasses even the one I saw in Punjab.\u201d \u2013Gursharn Singh<\/span>, <\/strong>Punjabi dramatist. Read more<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Sharbati:
\n<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/a> Written by Ranajang Bahadur (first scene written by Ajmer Rode)
\nThis Punjabi\u00a0play\u00a0<\/span>is based on Spanish writer Lorca\u2019s famous play Yerma<\/em>. It was performed several times in Greater Vancouver in late eighties. Ajmer Rode wrote and\u00a0directed its first scene and also acted in the play. Read more<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Ratta Salu<\/span><\/a>
\n<\/strong>by Dr. Harcharn Singh
\nThe play was\u00a0produced in Vancouver\u2019s prestigious Queen Elizebeth Play House in the Seventies by the Watno Dur Art Foundation (Vancouver). Yog Raj Sedha directed the plays. Ajmer Rode prepared\u00a0its\u00a0music and acted as a production advisor. Read more<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Loha Kutt
\n<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/a>Written by Balwant Gargi
\nThe play was\u00a0also performed\u00a0in the Queen Elizebeth Play House in the Seventies by the Watno Dur Art Foundation (Vancouver). Yog Raj Sedha directed the plays. Ajmer Rode prepared\u00a0its\u00a0music and acted as a production advisor. Read more<\/a><\/span><\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PLAYS WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY AJMER RODE Background My first involvement in theater goes back to 1956-57 when we formed Young Farmers Club at our village, Rode in Punjab. Then a\u00a0grade 11 student, I and\u00a0brother Navtej Bharati along with other kids of the village got together to organize cultural activities in the village. We were […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"full-width-page.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-187","page","type-page","status-publish","h-entry","hentry","h-as-page"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajmerrode.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajmerrode.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajmerrode.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajmerrode.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajmerrode.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=187"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/ajmerrode.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/187\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2293,"href":"https:\/\/ajmerrode.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/187\/revisions\/2293"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajmerrode.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}