{"id":1947,"date":"2015-12-18T11:21:44","date_gmt":"2015-12-18T19:21:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ajmerrode.com\/?page_id=1947"},"modified":"2016-09-20T18:08:27","modified_gmt":"2016-09-21T01:08:27","slug":"rebirth-of-gandhi","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ajmerrode.com\/?page_id=1947","title":{"rendered":"Rebirth of Gandhi"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Premier<\/p>\n

\"Rebirth<\/a>Rebirth of Gandhi<\/em> was first produced jointly by explore<\/em>ASIAN organizaton and the Chetna Association of Canada to a full house at Surrey Arts Center on 23 May 2004.\u00a0 The play was written and directed by Ajmer Rode and produced\u00a0 by Jai Birdy, president of Chetna Association. The performance was very successful. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The full length play in English deals with the complexities of the Indian caste system that still has a strong hold on South Asian societies and the South Asian diaspora. <\/span><\/span>Mahatma Gandhi once prayed: “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.”\u00a0<\/span> In the play\u00a0the Mahatma does take birth in an outcaste family and
\n<\/span>goes through experiences he had never imagined. Humor and seriousness go hand in hand in the play. Vishnu Datt Sharda, Mark Embacher, Darsh Preet Combow, Amrit Mann, Gurcharn Dua, Vinay Sharma, Ajmer Rode, Amrinder Mann acted in the play (in order of appearance on the stage). The play received good publicity and reviews in media (CBC, M chanel, Indo-Canadian Newspapers, TV and Radio stations)<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Second Performance<\/p>\n

The first act of the play was staged at the University of British Columbia\u00a0(UBC) under a program organized by the World Peace Forum\u00a0\u00a0on 24 June 2006. The play was staged in a UBC Chemistry Building room, and the limited space and the blackboard at the wall were skillfully used by the actors. The Gandhi role in this performance was played by\u00a0Gurcharn Dua while the Yamdoot was played by Mark Embacher who acted the role\u00a0in the Premier.\u00a0 The audience seemed to enjoy the play immensely.<\/span><\/p>\n

Third Performance<\/p>\n

The first act of the play was performed on 21 August 2007 at Literature For Our Times<\/span><\/i> an international conference organized by The Association for Commonwealth Literature and Language Studies (ACLALS) at their triannual conference held at UBC.\u00a0The performance was\u00a0part of a panel\u00a0consisting\u00a0(Arun Mukherjee, Jai Birdi, Kusma Satyanarayana and Ajmer Rode) on Dalit Awareness and Literature. The stage was a small platform in the room and the performance was adapted to suit it.\u00a0The\u00a0performance, to a full-room audience including scholars like Sivakami and\u00a0Nandi Bhatia, went very well. \u00a0Later, Kusma Satyanarayana remarked that this was perhaps the best session of the 5-day conference.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Selected dialogues from Rebirth of Gandhi<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

NEESHA:
\n<\/span>Men of high culture: They adore young women
\n<\/span>like colorful glass vases curving to the middle.
\n<\/span>They decorate their houses with the vases
\n<\/span>as they sprout little roses and lilies.
\n<\/span>They use them abuse them discard them at will.
\n<\/span>Glass pieces scatter, scratch, make holes,
\n<\/span>and men of high culture go on living
\n<\/span>with glass shards stuck deep in their souls\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

NATHOO:
\n<\/span>We want Bharat to shine like a golden star\u2026 like a centerpiece in the galaxy of nations\u2026twenty first century belongs to India, my sister\u2026imagine the collective intellect of a billion mind\u2026the opening of a million scriptures, the rise of thousand chants\u2026imagine our art our literature pulling the masses out of this decadent culture\u2026into an era of our own pure and rich sanskriti<\/em>\u2026imagine\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

KARMU:
\n<\/span>When I say India will never rise as long as its feet are shakled by its caste system, NATHOO doesn’t tolerate\u2026when I say India will never shine if its face is spattered with muck of untouchability, he doesn\u2019t tolerate? How can we preach high morals to others\u2026 when one fifth of our own people are treated worst than animals?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Caste aside<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Writer Ajmer Rode’s new play Rebirth of Gandhi will come to the Surrey Arts
\nCentre on May 23 as part of Asian Heritage Month celebrations.
\nBy Sheila Reynolds<\/span><\/strong>
\nStaff Reporter, The Surrey Leader, May 14, 2007<\/p>\n

New life is being breathed into the saying ‘be careful what you wish for’ in<\/span>
\n an upcoming original play entitled the Rebirth of Gandhi heading to the<\/span>
\n Surrey stage for its premiere next week.<\/span>
\n Written and directed by Burnaby-based author Ajmer Rode, the satirical drama<\/span>
\n shows Mahatma Gandhi’s next life, when the gods grant him his desire to be<\/span>
\n reborn into the lowest social class in Indian society so that he may feel<\/span>
\n their pain.\u00a0 While he attempts to convince those in his new life he is indeed Gandhi and\u00a0 knows all about the peaceful political leader, nobody wants anything to do with him because he’s a dalit (the contemporary, politically correct term<\/span>
\n for untouchable).<\/span>
\n “The tension in the play is that he says that he’s Gandhi and tries to<\/span>
\n convince people who he is so he can reform and do things he couldn’t do in<\/span>
\n his previous life,” explains Rode. “People just think he’s crazy … and he<\/span>
\n realizes it’s no joke. Who would want to follow a dalit?”<\/span>
\n There are four levels in the Hindu caste system: Brahmin, Kshatriya,<\/span>
\n Vaishya, and Shurdra. However, there is also a fifth, lower level, called<\/span>
\n Atishudra – otherwise known as untouchable.<\/span>
\n While Gandhi, who was murdered in 1948, believed in the caste system, he was<\/span>
\n dedicated to eradicating its unjust social and economic aspects. In the<\/span>
\n play, the new Gandhi – after experiencing life in the lowest echelons of<\/span>
\n society first-hand – wants to eliminate the caste system altogether.<\/span>
\n Although the play doesn’t vilify Gandhi, the director knows his portrayal<\/span>
\n might miff some people.<\/span>
\n “There’ll be people who are Gandhi devotees and they’re not going to like<\/span>
\n all the parts. Some of them may be offended … and that’s alright,” Rode<\/span>
\n says.<\/span>
\n Rode chose Gandhi’s statement about being reborn (in italics, above) to<\/span>
\n illustrate that only an oppressed person can genuinely understand what it’s<\/span>
\n like to be born into such a position.\u00a0 In his new life, the play’s Gandhi character is forced to face experiences even worse than he had imagined. He relates, for example, a memory from his childhood when his father was told to dispose of a dead animal and had to drag it through the village. For payment, he was offered the animal’s skin.<\/span>
\n “The caste system is the worst form of racism,” says Rode, who’s penned<\/span>
\n eight books of non-fiction and poetry in Punjabi and English, and won<\/span>
\n numerous awards.<\/span>
\n “In the eyes of the law, they (the untouchable) are equal. But socially,<\/span>
\n they’re at the bottom.”<\/span>
\n The play, which takes place May 23, 7 p.m. at the Surrey Arts Centre (13750<\/span>
\n 88 Ave.) coincides with the Asian Heritage Month Festival, an event<\/span>
\n celebrated across Canada annually. Presented by the Chetna (Creating Healthy<\/span>
\n Environments Through Networks and Associations) Association of Canada and<\/span>
\n the Asian Heritage Month Society, it’s hoped the Rebirth of Gandhi will<\/span>
\n stimulate discussion about the caste system, which still has a strong hold<\/span>
\n in Indian culture.<\/span>
\n “If you want to counter something, you have to totally understand what it<\/span>
\n is,” said Jai Birdi, a Surrey resident and Chetna president. “It (the play)<\/span>
\n will force people to face it.”<\/span>
\n “Half of the Lower Mainland is Asian, and I think it’s important to share<\/span>
\n our experiences,” added Imtiaz Popat, artistic program coordinator the Asian<\/span>
\n Heritage Month Festival.<\/span><\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

\"Rebirth<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0***<\/p>\n

\"Rebirth<\/a><\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Rehearsals\u00a0and Performance pictures<\/p>\n\n\t\t