By IANS
New Delhi : A string of events, including exhibitions, processions and plays, will commemorate 20 years of the death anniversary of theatre artist Safdar Hashmi April 12. It will be observed as the National Street Theatre Day.
Ram Rahman of the Safdar Hashmi Memorial Trust or SAHMAT, said the focus of the day will be the plight of the working class in the capital. “April 12 is Safdar’s birthday and has always been celebrated across the country with staging of plays and coming together of artists, actors and musicians from independent organisations.
“Since it’s the 20th year of Hashmi’s death anniversary, SAHMAT is planning to focus on the condition of the working class, something which Safdar felt very strongly about,” Rahman told IANS.
Hashmi, a veteran theatre artist, was killed by political goons while staging a play “Halla Bol” in Sahibabad, in the outskirts of Delhi in 1989.
“The day will begin with a street theatre performance by the Jan Natya Manch (JANAM), founded by Safdar. The play will focus on the plight of the poor and the working class in the city, what with the price rise and everything.
“A procession from Safdar Hashmi Marg to SAHMAT headquarters will see artists, photographers and common man march with photographs showing the struggle of day-to-day life in the city,” Rahman said.
The photographs will be mounted at Rafi Marg for an exhibition.
“There will be other exhibitions as well; one on fine arts and on rural India. There will also be song-and-poetry presentations before screening of the movie Safdar made by Shashi Kumar,” he added.
The bouquet of events, including symposiums, exhibitions and plays, around the city and in some parts of the country, will continue till Jan 1, 2009.