Imbued with a bohemian eccentricity and a sense of wild freedom, Dr Dolgovind Rath is a rare theatre genius, who has performed like a mighty colossus actor leaving behind his footprints on the sands of time. Art is neither moral nor immoral; it’s amoral. Dr Rath believes art is not a means to an end but an end in itself. Writing poems, short stories, plays, directing plays and acting in plays is his cup of tea since childhood apart from general academic studies. He learnt the intricacies of design and architecture (stagecraft) from the National School of Drama in 1977. He had his basic education in filmmaking and television production from the Film & Television Institute of India under NSD Exchange Programme. He was nominated as a fellow scholar of the Central Sangeet Natak Akademi in 1980-81. He has designed and directed over 100 plays in universities, amateur theatre groups and repertoires. His name has become synonymous with Odisha’s theatre movement. He was also a national expert in national theatre festivals. Now, he works as a founder-director of the Rangdhaaraa Academy and repertoire of theatre-art teaching students of theatre with a conviction that “theatre is a medium of education and no mere entertainment; rather a way towards enlightenment’, enriching realisations of finer understanding of life that could pave ways for the making of a civilised world”. In an interview to The Pioneer for a second time, Dr Rath spoke to Sugyan Choudhury revealing untold stories connected with the theatre world behind the screen.
Would you recollect some of your early childhood memories that brought you close to art and theatreIJ
Most shocking and terrifying moments of my childhood memory were when my father could notice that I was writing poems in my study hours for which I was beaten mercilessly. Very often, my grandfather used to come forward to my rescue despite bitter exchanges between them. My father used to react badly shouting at me, ‘You cheat. Nothing you would achieve out of it. Would you like to starve eating poems all through your lifeIJ In fact, my father wanted to see me in IAS or IFS garb since I was doing well in the school. He had a firm belief that ‘art in any form can never be a way of life but a hobby’ in spite of his own involvement in theatre and other cultural activities in my village as an actor and a patron.
When I was getting ready to move to the Sakhigopal railway station to reach Delhi for my admission in the National School of Drama, he shouted, ‘Don’t show me your face again… and remember ‘Not a foot length of land you can get from my property… not a coin from my chest… I forsake you … go as you like’. I could come out of that panic due to the moral courage extended to me by my mother and uncle who was a man of theatre.
My father although harsh to me very often was also quite easy at times. He used to narrate me the hardship he has gone through. He had to sacrifice his choice and likes to safeguard the riches of his ancestors since he realised that riches could make you whatever you would like to be and that was why he was firm on that ‘art and literature could never be a way of life’. He used to cite examples and reasons behind his convictions based on contemporary political, administrative and socio-cultural approach to art and literature. But I was never convinced. Today when I look back, I find me quite romantic and a bohemian, and that I am today.
When and how did you open your innings at the field of theatreIJ
I completed diploma in theatre arts from the NSD along with a bit of knowledge in filmmaking and television production from the FTII and thereafter started working with my first theatre group Samabesha at Puri with a stage presentation of Dr laxmi Narayan lal’s Ek Satya Harischandra. From Ek Satya Harischandra to Ninguli based on the short story Tattva of Gopinath Mohanty in 2014, I experienced designing and directing more than 100 plays in different platforms of Odisha and the country as well. Good many plays were culmination shows of theatre workshops organised and sponsored by the Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi, various socio-cultural organisations, Central Sangeet Natak Akademi, and NSD.
In between, I had the opportunity to teach students of the Drama Department of the Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalay and MTAC (Post-Graduate Department of Theatre Arts) of Sambad School of Media and Culture, Bhubaneswar as a lecturer and Head of the Department for a few years.
What were the stumbling blocks on the path of your progressIJ
Since I could not be a ‘yes man’ to high chairs, this phase of my life as a lecturer at the Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalay was a time of trauma and distress. Of course, I was fortunate enough to win the hearts and minds of my students since I devoted my fulltime to teaching and production process when my colleagues had least time for teaching due to their involvement in Odia movies. Student unrest was a usual feature, for which I was blamed for no just reasons. Ultimately, I was placed under suspension based on the charge of raping a whore. I fought a legal battle and won but lost my interest to continue in the Drama Department. I concentrate on my Rangdhaaraa and work as a freelancer in theatre till this day. I never thought of a token of recognition from the State or nation since I was only concerned to my gallery of a handful of spectators who received my art.
Would you throw light on the alleged sordid drama behind the screen concerning awards and accolades of the Odisha Sangeet Natak AkademiIJ
Contemplating on my state of existence, Dhirendra Nath Pattnayak, the then Secretary/President of Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi, tried time and again to instil in me the significance of the Akademi Award so that I would submit to dirty unfair and unfounded process of selection of awardees to which I refused to go through many a time. In fact, I did not find a reason for what one should approach to awarded members, Executive Body and General Council of the Akademi with own bio-data to ask for their favour to select him or her without complete knowledge of his or her work except the bio-data of the aspirant so that the State would recognise his or her talent and project his or her greatness in the school he or she belongs to. I came out of the President’s chamber repeating my unwillingness to be in the run. Compassionate Akademi staffs surrounded me expecting that I have done it. One of them was quite enthusiastic to suggest me to meet and request so and so of the selection committee. I escaped with a approving smile and never turned to the Akademi for a long time. In recent past, I had a funny experience again when some well-wishers and awardees as well asked for my resume since they wanted to recommend my name for Akademi Award. They also urged that I should collect a good number of recommendations from other awardees and send it to the Akademi and see that it should exceed the number of other aspirants’ recommendations so that I could be in a deserving position. My well-wishers are disappointed since I did not participate in the game, which is so bright an example of decadence!