Dhoop Chaoon does it again!

by Akila Giridhran

The renowned Hindi theatre group, Dhoop Chaoon of Atlanta, recently put up its annual show on 8th August, 2021 amidst the anxiety of the pandemic. This was held in Impact Conference Center , Global Mall in Norcross, GA.

It was a series of tough decisions by the Dhoop Chaoon team right from the practice protocols to the venue arrangements so as to take full and complete precautions during these trying times.

The call of the stage was too hard to ignore and for many of us, we were absolutely excited to take on the challenges and perform to our heart’s content. We were even ready to face an empty hall if the circumstances were too grim!

There were 3 different acts presented at this show. Based on the literary works of Mohan Rakesh, the team presented 2 One-Act Plays – “Pyaliyaan toottaii hain” (A poignant story about the rich/ poor divide set against the backdrop of the India-Pakistan partition) and “Ande ke chilke” (a lighthearted take on some cultural and societal pressures). The third and very unusual acts was “Dastangoi”. This was an attempt to revive this ancient and unique Urdu art of storytelling where the storyteller’s voice modulation and tone is enough to capture the attention of the audiences and keep them enthralled.

Needless to say, this was a huge effort and made exponentially significant due to the extra precautions and safety protocols that had to be looked after while still putting up an extraordinary show such as this. Kudos to a whole slew of people starting from the Founder/director, Sandhya Saxena Bhagat, who showed immense leadership and support in bringing this successful event to fruition. Of course, the cast and crew showed a lot of dedication and creativity in practicing their parts either in person or through Zoom and really coming through to present this brilliant performance. Last, but surely not the least, was the immense support of the backstage team that made perfect arrangements and oversaw the strict adherence to the CDC guidelines.

Following were the Cast and crew of the show –
Artists-Moiz Husain,Rita Kapahi,Ritambhara Mittal
Shabana Sayeed,Aashish Kapoor,Akila Giridhran,Chandra Oad,Premanand Goswami,Veena Katdare,Madhav Katdare,Manjusha Srivatsav Verma,Muhammed Assani,
Mohammad Shouaib.
Back stage crew-Anil Bhagat ,Swayam Sarkar,Vijay Gaur,Chaitali De,Paresh Jain ,Shuchi Khanna,Talat Alvi, Swati Mistri,Chandra Odh
Tanuj Puri,Anjali Chhabria,Pawandeep Singh ,Gandharv Bhagat ,Kartikay Bhagat,Sudhir Agarwal.

The Master of the ceremony was Aslam Pervez. Special thanks to Inam M. Inamullah and Shiv Agarwal. A shoutout to Anjali Chhabria from TV Asia team for the coverage of the event. As always, none of this is meaningful without an audience. Hearty thanks to our audience for having come out to support us and trusting us to make special arrangements during this tough situation.

It was certainly an exhilarating experience for all us artists to be back on the stage and entertain again! Hoping that this is just the beginning of more such happy moments to cherish! Until next time - “ Be dramatic and keep acting”. From all of us at Dhoop Chaoon, stay safe and live life!