Operation Vijay 1971, a play about the 1971 Indo-Pak battle, was staged lately at Guru Nanak faculty in Velachery.
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
An skilled was as soon as a hobbyist — ask Maj. Gen. M. Indrabalan (retd). Towards the tail-end of his profession in the military, theatre started to fascinate him. This fascination was not a lot with the means of theatre as with its affect. The curiosity was not sparked watching a play, however by a grand nationwide occasion, one which performed out throughout the nation.
In 2021, the nation was celebrating 50 years of the 1971 Indo-Pak battle, with a victory torch going via arms wielding the scepter in all the states of India. The media saved the flame alive.
When Indrabalan noticed photos of the victory torch doing a parade of the nation, having been despatched throughout to governors and chief ministers, he instinctively sensed there might be extra to it. The flame of Indian satisfaction might inflame extra hearts, younger hearts, if solely it stayed alive past the information cycle. It was not lengthy earlier than he discovered theatre might try this trick. At that point, he was serving as Additional Director General of the National Cadet Corps in Bihar.
When the play was staged at Guru Nanak faculty.
| Photo Credit:
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
“I put together a 20-minute street play on the 1971 war with around 20 NCC cadets as actors. I trained them on how to enact the street play on streets. I asked them to go on a cycle tour of the districts of Bihar and in each district head quarters, they would have to stage the street play on the street. The street play became popular. That is when I realised that it had a potential to create awareness about the war among the masses,” observes Indrabalan, whose father, late Capt. Okay. Govindan (retd) from 17 Madras Regiment had taken half in the 1971 battle.
He continues: “I got hold of a theatre company , a research lasting one full year followed, and we came up with a Hindi script. While it took us one year to write the script, it took almost another one year to stage the play, titled ‘Operation Vijay 1971’ at Patna (in August, 2023).”
Art and theatre group Surangan and non-profit, girls’s empowerment organisation Gulmohar Maitri had been instrumental in the means of the play being made and staged.
The play started to journey to different elements of the nation, together with Chennai.
It was round the time Indrabalan retired from the military and settled down in the cantonment space on Flagstaff Road in Chennai.
The play now continues to be staged at venues drawing numerous audiences — on March 31, 2024, it was at Guru Nanak College in Velachery and on April 13, 2024 at Officers Training Academy in St. Thomas Mount.
An English adaptation of the unique Hindi play, titled “Birth of Bangladesh”, produced by produced by NCC UDAAN TN and directed by S.B.S. Raman, has come into being.
Indrabalan factors out work to stage the play in Tamil and Malayalam is below means. He provides that the Malayalam model is being produced with the assist of A.V. Anoop, managing director of AVA Group of Companies.
What started as a interest has now develop into a full-time engagement.
