Satish Alekar's 12 years in our campus

It has been a delight to read about Satish Alekar during the last two/three days. First it was about a documentary being produced on him, which is a rare honour that he rightfully deserves as a playwright, actor and director. Now Sakal carries a feature today on completion of twelve years as Professor and Head, Centre for Performing Arts, in our University. A trained biochemist, theatre person, a teacher, and a good administrator: he is all rolled in one. For me, he is a good neighbour in Patrakar Nagar.

He says he has a sense of satisfaction working as the Head as he could see boys and girls trained at the Centre blossoming into theatre persons in the competitive world outside. I know as a peer how he is instrumental in setting up of the Bhimsen Joshi Chair, roping in Ratan Tata Trust and a host of activities he carried out at the Centre housed in an old structure close to the main building. I also know how difficult it is to work one's way in the bureaucratic set up of a university.

I was a journalist working as a professor (part time) at the Department of Communication and Journalism (DoCJ) in 1996 when the then Vice Chancellor Vasant Gowarikar inducted professionals as teachers in the University system. Alekar was one; veteran journalist and author Arun Sadhu (Professor and Head, DoCJ) and television film director Vinay Dhumale (Director, Educational Media Research Centre) were others who were expected to bring professionalism into academia. While Vinay returned to his profession, Alekar and Sadhu brought in dynamism and freshness into the departments they served. At around the same time, another creative soul, Mohan Agashe, was inducted as Director of the Film and Television Institute of India.

I am not a theatre buff to evaluate the performance of Alekar as an artiste, but I am happy that as a Professor, he brought more recognition and laurels to the Centre of our dear University. Like his fans, fellow artistes and students, I am anxious to watch the documentary Atul Pethe is making. I am confident that Alekar will bring in more laurels to the Centre during the remaining period of his association with the University.

Just for the record, here is what our website says about Satish (http://www.unipune.ernet.in/dept/lalitkala/sa2.htm)

Satish Alekar author of Marathi plays like Mahanirvan (1974), Micky ani Memsahib (1973), Mahapoor-(The deluge-1975), Doosra Samana (1989), Begum Barve (1979), and Shaniwar - Raviwar (1980), etc. is practicing theatre in Maharashtra since 1971. He is one of the founder members of India's best-known theatre group THEATER ACADEMY, PUNE that he administered from 1973 to 1992. Many of his plays have been translated and produced in several regional languages all over India.

With his plays like MAHANIRVAN (1974) and BEGUM BARVE (1979) he created new idiom in Marathi theatre by his unique use of black humour, language, and absurdity to convey the oblique sense of reality. He also authored several short plays that are extensively staged by the experimental theatre groups all over Maharashtra for past thirty years.

He recently completed his new full-length play "PIDHIJAT" (DYNASTS) which was staged in Bengali in Calcutta (April 2003) and in Marathi in Pune, (May 2003.)

Satish Alekar conceived and successfully implemented programmes like Playwrights Development Scheme and Regional Theatre Group Development, which were supported by the Ford Foundation for Theatre Academy, Pune since 1985 to 1994.

He has extensively travelled abroad and during January-May 2003 he was adjunct professor at Performance Studies, Tisch School of Arts, New York University as a Fulbright Scholar. He also was at the Duke University, N.C., U.S.A. on adjunct teaching assignment during spring 1995 semester. He lectured on CONTEMPORARY INDIAN THEATRE at the several universities in U.S.

Satish Alekar is the recipient of several National and State awards since 1973 for his contribution to the field of Theatre and Literature. He received Nandikar Sanman at Calcutta in 1992 and fellowships from the Asian Cultural Council, New York in 1983 to study Theatre in U. S. and from the Ford Foundation to study Theatre of South Asia in 1988. He received National Award for the playwriting in 1994-95 from Sangeet Natak Akademi, Delhi.

He scripted the national award winning Marathi feature film Jait Re Jait in 1977 and directed a Hindi T.V. Serial in 13 parts Dekho Magar Pyarse for Doordarshan in 1985. He also scripted the dialogues for Marathi feature film Katha Don Ganpatravanchi produced by N.F.D.C. in 1995-96. He was invited to participate in ODIN THEATRE week by Eugenio Barba at Odin Teatret, Holstebro, Denmark in August 2002.

He participated in the 12th ISTA's International Theatre workshop conducted by Eugenio Barba in Germany in September 2001 and in Eugene O'Neill Theatre Centre's Playwrights Conference in Connecticut (U.S.) in 1992. He participated in the World Theatre Congress of I.T.I. (UNESCO, Paris) held in Berlin in 1983 and Athens (Greece) in 2002 where he is nominated as a board member of the International Playwrights Forum.

His published plays are available with Neelkanth Prakashan, Pune (in Marathi) and Seagull Book, Calcutta (in English). Many of his plays have been translated, produced and published in several Indian regional languages like: Hindi, Tamil, Dogri, Kannada, Gujarathi, Rajasthani, Punjabi, and Konkni. His plays also included in the National Anthologies published by the National School of Drama and Sahitya Akademi, Delhi published in 2000-1.

Satish Alekar has also collaborated in several international translation projects. He freely translated and directed short plays by German Playwright Tänkred Dörst (for Goethe Institute, Pune) in 1980; play "The Flood" by Günter Grass in 1980 (for Goethe Institute, Pune), Two short plays by Egyptian playwright Dr. Alfred Farag, Cairo (in association with American University in Cairo) in 2001.

Prof. Alekar served many cultural organizations, institutes and universities like Bharat Bhavan, Sangeet Natak Akademi, Delhi, National School of Drama, University Grants Commission, Delhi, S.N.D.T. University, Shivaji University as advisor member of the committees. He is Govt. of India nominee on the society for the National School of Drama, Delhi and also nominated as the Vice Chairman, NSD. (2001-5). He is also a member of the Theatre Advisory committee of Sangeet Natak Akademi, Delhi since 2001.

Satish Alekar is working as Professor and Head of the Centre for Performing Arts (Lalit Kala Kendra) at University of Pune since July 1996. He also worked as Research Officer at B.J. Medical College, Pune being a trained Biochemist. Satish Alekar M.Sc. (Biochemistry), University of Pune (1972).