The 9th edition of Bal Sangam, the popular children’s theatre festival held annually at the charming campus of National School of Drama in New Delhi, will begin on November 21. The five-day festival will see performances between 4 pm and 8 pm daily at the Mandi House campus of the premiere drama school. Entry to the festival, as always, will be free.At a press meet held recently, Abdul Latif Khatana, chief of the NSD’s Theatre-in-Education Co. or the Sanskaar Rang Toli (also known as the TIE Co.) said, “Bal Sangam is an effort to bring folk and urban face-to-face. When children today are lost in the world of internet and technology, TIE festival brings the open and varied folk theatre to the children, amalgamating the past and the future in the present.”The upcoming festival will bring rarest folk performances, highlighting the rich traditional and folk theatre through performances from 13 states of India, presented by 18 groups. To add to the festivities, clowns, dhol drummers, tight-rope walkers, jugaad band performers, acrobats, jugglers, behrupiyas, magicians, kacchi-ghodi performers, kathputli exponents (puppeteers), and many more will converge on the NSD campus, to present the cultural heritage of the country to the young urban Indians, who are fast getting separated from their roots.Some highlights of the upcoming Bal Sangam are regional folk performances such as the Chhau from West Bengal, Yakshagana from Karnataka, Bhand Pather from Jammu & Kashmir and Rass Leela from Manipur. Besides, five workshops on Paper Puppet-making, Origami, Madhubani painting, Mask-making and Pottery will be held for the children to participate. Prof. Waman Kendre, Director, National School of Drama, who was also present at the press meet, said, “This Bal Sangam is an unique effort to expose the children and young citizens to the real strength of Indian folk and traditional performing arts. It is also an effort to understand the roots of our heritage and cultural treasure. Understanding of Indian value system and way of leading life only will help us mark our presence on the global platform. Bal Sangam is about sharing, learning, teaching, enriching and gaining confidence for showing our indigenous cultural identity while facing the globe.”During the festival, the NSD will also make special arrangements through various NGOs working with underprivileged children to invite children from the not-so-privileged class to the festivities, in order to expose them to the rich offering of the festival. TIE Co., or the Sanskaar Rang Toli is the only theatre education resource center in the country and has worked with over 10,000 children through various workshops. It consists of a group of actor-teachers working with and performing for children. The major focus of the TIE Co. is to perform creative, curriculum-based and participatory plays in schools, specially designed and prepared for children. The major thrust of the plays is to create an atmosphere that encourages children to raise questions, take decisions and make choices with an awareness of themselves within the larger social context. The TIE Company has done more than 1400 performances of 32 plays in various parts of the country. Bal Sangam, on the other hand, has staged more than 650 performances through its eight festivals so far, in which 85 groups from India and abroad have participated.— The 9th Bal Sangam will be held at the National School of Drama, Bahawalpur House, Bhagwandass Road, New Delhi, from November 21 through 25. For detailed itinerary, visit www.nsd.gov.inFollow@ARTINFOIndia
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