Peashvar kand ka Veer Senani Chandra Singh Garhwali: A Didactic Historical, Garhwali Drama

(Review of a Didactic Historical, Garhwali Drama ‘Peashvar kand ka Veer Senani Chandra Singh Garhwali’ (1985) written and staged by Braj Mohan Kabtiyal)

Notes on Didactic Historical Dramas, Didactic Historical Theatres, Didactic Historical Plays; Asian Didactic Historical Dramas, Didactic Historical Theatres, Didactic Historical Plays; South Asian Didactic Historical Dramas, Didactic Historical Theatres, Didactic Historical Plays; SAARC Countries Didactic Historical Dramas, Didactic Historical Theatres, Didactic Historical Plays; Indian subcontinent Didactic Historical Dramas, Didactic Historical Theatres, Didactic Historical Plays; Indian Didactic Historical Dramas, Didactic Historical Theatres, Didactic Historical Plays; North Indian Didactic Historical Dramas, Didactic Historical Theatres, Didactic Historical Plays; Himalayan  Didactic Historical Dramas, Didactic Historical Theatres, Didactic Historical Plays; Mid Himalayan Didactic Historical Dramas, Didactic Historical Theatres, Didactic Historical Plays; Uttarakhandi   Didactic Historical Dramas, Didactic Historical Theatres, Didactic Historical Plays; Kumauni Didactic Historical Dramas, Didactic Historical Theatres, Didactic Historical Plays; Garhwali Didactic Historical Dramas, Didactic Historical Theatres, Didactic Historical Plays

                                                Bhishma Kukreti

                Dr Nand Kishor Dhoundiyal blames to Garhwali literature critic that they never provide due honor to the works of late Braj Mohan Kabtiyal about his contribution in writing, promoting, staging Garhwali theatres/dramas. Dr Dhoundiyal is right because, most of the critics were busy promoting the literature creative of Delhi but could not get details about works of Garhwali literature creative working for Garhwali language development in small towns and villages of Garhwal. For example, Braj Mohan Kabtiyal not only wrote Garhwali dramas but he encouraged, trained students and other  artists for playing stage plays for developing Garhwali theatre in Garhwal. Kabtiyal staged many didactic and historical plays in Kotdwara.

              He wrote Kishkindha Kand, Gangu Ramola, Jeetu Bagdwal, Peashvar kand ka Veer Senani Chandra Singh Garhwali, Beer bala tilu Rauteli, Ode ka jhagda and Anpadh Garhwali plays. Baring two Garhwali plays Ode ka jhagda and Anpadh , other five didactic  Garhwali plays are staged and published. Very few Garhwali creative are aware that Braj Mohan Kabtiyal was Samdhi of late Kanhaiya Lal Dandriyal.

               ‘Peashvar kand ka Veer Senani Chandra Singh Garhwali ‘a Garhwali didactic and historical drama is about the actions of a British army Subedar Chandra Singh Garhwali for disobeying the order of his British army officer for firing on innocent freedom fighter in Peshavar. British army did court marshal of Chandra Singh Garhwali and put him in jail. After freeing from Jail, Chandra Singh Garhwali joined freedom movement of India.

  The drama dialogues bring energy into youth and all age audience for dedicating their lives for the nation and social cause. The didactic and historical Garhwali drama ‘Peashvar kand ka Veer Senani Chandra Singh Garhwali ‘ could extract the finer points of life of Chandra Singh Garhwali too. Dr Dhoundiyal applauds the didactic and historical drama as very fine instrument of inspiring people.

             Truly, world drama critics, world theatre critics or world stage plays critics will remember Braj Mohan Kabtiyal always for his endurance for promoting local language dramas as Garhwali drama or theatres in small town as Kotdwara, Pauri Garhwal.

References:

1-Dr Anil Dabral, Garhwali Gady Parampara (Garhwali Dramas from beginning till 1990)

2-Abodh Bandhu Bahuguna, Gad Myateki Ganga (Garhwali dramas from beginning till 1975)

3-Dr Sudharani, Garhwal ka  Rangmanch (Garhwali Dramasfrom beginning till 1985)

4-Drama special issue of Chitthi Patri magazine (Garhwali Dramas and plays staged in Delhi, Karachi,Mumbai, Dehradun and other places)

5- Dr Hari Datt BhattShailesh, Garhwali Natak evam Rangmanch: Ek Vihngam Avlokan (Garhwali Drams andtheatres from beginning till 1985)

6-Dr Bhakt Darshan: BarristerMukandi Lal Srmriti Granth (Garhwali dramatists or theatre playwright till 1985

7-Dr Nand Kishor Dhoundiyal, Garhwal ki Divangat Vibhutiyan (pp108-116, about contribution of Bhagwati Prasad Panthri for developing Garhwali drama) and Garhwal ki Divangat Vibhutiyan part 6,  page 117-125

8- Manuscripts of various dramas (curtsey by Parashar Gaur)

9- Personal talks with playwrights/dramatists

10- Notes by D.D. Sundariyal from Chandigarh

11- Various inputs by Dr. D. R. Purohit from Shrinagar, Garhwal 

12- Bhishma Kukreti, LokNatya Visheshank of Chitthi Patri, Dehradun

Copyright@ Bhishma Kukreti, 27/5/2012

List of few notable didactic and historical dramas-

1-The dramas of Shakespeare are full of historical and didactic notes

2- Ibsen and Strindberg contributed for developing historical Scandinavian theatre. The both preferred realistic dramas than didactic or moral teaching dramas

3-Soviet dramatists were concerned about didactic use of Russian history in the theatres.

4- Wanger (1990) provides details of Chinese moral teaching, didactic and historical dramas in his book ‘The Contemporary Chinese Historical drama...’

5-Cavanaugh (2003) details about moral teaching, historical and didactic dramas in the book ‘Language and politics in sixteenth century plays’.

6- Potter (1975) discusses in details about English morality, didactic and historical English plays/dramas in the book ‘The English Morality Plays’.

7- Hermans (2009) provides many examples of didactic elements, morality and history in the dramas in the book ‘A literary History of low Countries’.

8-Griffin (2001) provides lists of historical, didactic and moral based dramas in the book ‘Playing the past: Approaches to English Historical Drama’.

9-Lombard (1996) and Shirane (2008) offer many examples of Japanese didactic, historical, moral base dramas.

10-Yu, Kim et all (2004) provide the aspects of didactic, history and morality in Korean dramas in ‘Korean dramas under Japanese occupation’.

11-Hussain, Jaaffar, and Ahmad (1992) give details of didacticism, history and morality in Malay Language dramas in ‘History of Modern Malay Literature’.

11- Conteh- Morgan,Olaniyan (2004) provides details of aspects of didacticism, history and morality in African drama in the book ‘African drama and performance’.

Notes on Didactic Historical Dramas, Didactic Historical Theatres, Didactic Historical Plays; Asian Didactic Historical Dramas, Didactic Historical Theatres, Didactic Historical Plays; South Asian Didactic Historical Dramas, Didactic Historical Theatres, Didactic Historical Plays; SAARC Countries Didactic Historical Dramas, Didactic Historical Theatres, Didactic Historical Plays; Indian subcontinent Didactic Historical Dramas, Didactic Historical Theatres, Didactic Historical Plays; Indian Didactic Historical Dramas, Didactic Historical Theatres, Didactic Historical Plays; North Indian Didactic Historical Dramas, Didactic Historical Theatres, Didactic Historical Plays; Himalayan  Didactic Historical Dramas, Didactic Historical Theatres, Didactic Historical Plays; Mid Himalayan Didactic Historical Dramas, Didactic Historical Theatres, Didactic Historical Plays; Uttarakhandi   Didactic Historical Dramas, Didactic Historical Theatres, Didactic Historical Plays; Kumauni Didactic Historical Dramas, Didactic Historical Theatres, Didactic Historical Plays; Garhwali Didactic Historical Dramas, Didactic Historical Theatres, Didactic Historical Plays to be continued….