Drama club: 104 not out!

The Gujarati natak performed by the Calcutta Parsi Amateur Dramatic Club (CPADC) for Parsi New Year in August this year, Mamavaji Not Out (Grandfather is still alive), was so well received by the 600 odd Parsis residing there that the troupe has been invited to perform it in Delhi come December. In the past they had performed for the Madras Parsis during the centenary celebrations of the CPADC in 2007.

The 104-year-old Club has the enviable record of having staged a Gujarati play every year without a break since it was founded in 1907. The Limca Book of World Records, 2005 has listed the CPADC as the longest serving active Parsi theater group in the world. During the first five decades only male actors took part, also playing the female roles in the play. Since the play is put on the boards in August each year for Parsi New Year, it is invariably a comedy. Every community member is invited to see it, free of cost. Often, a second show is performed later for Gujarati speaking audiences of Calcutta, Sarosh Vatcha, who played the protagonist this year, informed Parsiana in a write-up.

(from l, standing): Tashya Madan, Cyrus Madan, Mehernosh Anklesaria, Daraius Panthaki, Ratan Postwalla, Noshir Wadia, Delna Wadia; (sitting, from l): Parvez Kaikobad, Sarosh Vatcha, Khushnum Master; (above): scene from the play

Since it is mandatory for every member of the cast to be a Parsi Zoroastrian, the CPADC is facing challenges in assembling a good cast. The players, being amateurs, are engaged in different professions. Preparations begin in early June with rehearsals commencing at 7 p.m. and often continuing until 10 p.m. As the opening night approaches, rehearsals are held even over the weekends. An average cast comprises between six and 12 players with an additional eight to 10 persons handling backstage activities.

Mamavaji Not Out is a comedy in two acts by Dorab Mehta, directed by Noshir Wadia and Cyrus Madan. For the first time in 20 years there were Gujarati songs sung live on stage and dances, all composed and choreographed by CPADC members, lending the performance a special touch. The Club had earlier discontinued this practice for lack of cast members who could sing, the write-up mentions.