‘Laziness is a vice, not virtue’

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‘Laziness is a vice, not virtue’

Thursday, 11 July 2019 | Team Viva

‘Laziness is a vice, not virtue’

Director Rashmi Agarwal tells Team Viva how a play with kids is changing perspectives

In a conservative society, women are the ones doing all the chores, be it household or in agricultural fields. Director Rashmi Agarwal, through her debut play Aalas Buri Bala, tries to change this traditional mindset. She says, “It’s always better if the responsibilities are shared equally.”

The play is about a lazy man, who is fully dependent on his wife to carry out all household tasks, not due to any physical infirmity but merely out of his indolence.

The director believes that laziness is not a virtue, it’s a vice. “One needs to work hard throughout their lives if one wants to achieve some peace of mind. This is the only mantra. As they say there is no short cut to success.”

Since the actors in the play are children of community workers such as drivers and maids, the play is an interesting way of making them aware of gender biases and overcoming them.

She says, “The play is trying to encourage them to explore their own skills as it will help in their overall development. The idea is to spread a message across the society that people must uplift these kids. If they get a chance they might prove their worth. They just need the right platform. There should be more such initiatives.”

Mistakes and setbacks are simply a form of practice. Rashmi says, “If the road is free of bumps, you might be going the wrong way. The bumps teach you what you need to know to cross down a path. To never struggle is to never grow. Hard work is to come out of your comfort zone.” She describes it as when a person is not postponing things, s/he is giving their 100 per cent to it.

So what does it take to transform a written play into a stage performance? She says, “I have been a writing poems and stories since a few years now but it’s my debut as a director. Writing is something very different than presenting it in a visual form. Transitioning the thought into a visual world is not an easy task. One has to be dependent on others for it. Here, it depends on the children and how they enact.” She believes that even if the setup is not fancy and creative, the acting could easily takeover the whole environment.

Rashmi admits the fact that there is a shift in preferences today and that this generation is more inclined towards watching plays or shows on their phones instead of going out to see a performance. “Plays are a traditional way of entertainment. The privilege in theatre is that all the six senses are involved but on the screen, only our eyes and ears are open so people don’t enjoy it to the fullest. I think that theatres provide a particular refreshing atmosphere where it’s not 2D like in the movies.”

 (The play is at 5 pm on July 21 at Akshara Theatre.)

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