Traditional torch bearer

With the dream of reviving the 125-year-old tradition, singer Rahul Deshpande is all set to fuse sangeet natak with live music to contemporise old plays and attract the younger generation.

He bears the tradition of his grandfather Late Vasant Rao Deshpande on his young shoulders and has shown the music world that he can indeed carry on the tradition started by his grandfather. Singer Rahul Deshpande has ventured into bringing back the tradition of sangeet natak to today's youth and create awareness by recreating the same with live music and sets.

I'm not am actor but a singer
"Marathi sangeet natak is a 125-year-old tradition, where it was started by old traditional and khandani tunes more than two to three hundred years old, usually performed in front of private audience. It was my idea to revive these tunes and bring it in front of today's audience. I am not an actor but I am a classical singer and I wanted to initiate interest in the concept of sangeet natak, thus bringing the traditional old plays to the younger audience," says Rahul.
Initially, Rahul started with the famous sangeet natak 'Katyar Kaljaat Ghusali', which received an encouraging response and made him take the second play sangeet 'Sanshay kallol', which is a comedy and relates to the modern living. Rahul is now working on a third sangeet natak 'Sangeet Manaapmaan. He has devoted his time and efforts to bring together a group of young drama enthusiasts and recreate the old magic.
"We have tried to minimize the faults that we did when we performed the first play. I chose this play only because of the challenging singing performances. It is necessary to put yourself in the character and relive that period to create the ambience. Although the story may deal with the differences between the rich and the poor, it will still appeal to today's youth and circumstances," he says.

Didn't have a target audience
"I did not have any target audience in mind but I have observed that lot of youngsters come to my concerts and that's when it struck me that I could present sangeet natak in its original language, style of presentation and conceptual forms. I am very much sure that this effort will create awareness not only towards the issues these plays represent but also towards this unique and hard working style of performance," asserts Rahul.
He also added that he is not working on these plays with the intention of commercial gains but he believes that this initiative will generate interest in present and old generation. This will be a common platform for generations to come together to archive and enjoy the concept traditional sangeet natak.

--Prachi Bari