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| Dhoop Chaoon displays its traditional excellence
by Anil Bhagat In keeping with its known standards of excellence, Dhoop Chaoon fully lived up to its reputation in their 2012 program held on 11th February at the Berkmar High School Hall from 6.30 pm to 10 pm. Unsurprisingly, the auditorium was packed to full capacity. Over 325 attendees had gathered in a bid to regale themselves.  Dhoop Chaoon Hindi theater organization, now seven years young, is a group of passionate stage addicts, in the Atlanta region. Its avowed aim is to provide pure entertainment. This organization is independent and not affiliated to any other group or body. Dhoop Chaoon primarily focuses on preserving the languages and south Asian culture active and vibrant. This culture is the quintessence of a blend of many hoary values that have evolved over many centuries. Dhoop Chaoon is receptive to all languages, but it has selected Hindi (Spoken Urdu) language as its medium of expression. Its slogan--“Wake up and save your languages and culture from becoming extinct” conveys a lot more than mere words. In a village where happiness and sadness co-exist, where sometimes it is sunlight and sometimes it is shadow. Bearing in mind the continuously changing vicissitudes, Dhoop Chooan Hindi Theater group is constantly reinventing itself. Showcasing the multifarious emotions of human life in a plethora of ways - play, shadow dance, dance play, mime, poetry, glimpses of Bollywood songs etc - this group presents its annual programs. This program brings forth a totally new theme each year.  This year's program commenced with a slide-show, compiled by Gandharv Bhagat, to introduce the members and clips from previous years' programs. Interestingly, Brittany Trawick (who is of US origin and learning Hindi), welcomed the audience and invited the MCs Prasad Shetty and Fazleen Sohani to take over the proceedings.  The first play "Ek Bantwara Eisa Bhee" (A partition like this) brought out in a reminiscent manner a combination of powerful emotions. Suffice it to say,it moved the audience to tears. This was a unique story of friendship between Champa and Bano, two childhood neighbors who got separated at the time of Partition of India in 1947. But the bonds of friendship were far too formidable to be snapped. As the tensions between the two countries mounts, so does the exchange of emotions via mail takes the audience for a wild ride. These two friends finally meet after 50 years of separation. Even though they have grown grey hair and sport false teeth (dentures), their love for each other remains as impeccable as it was half a century ago. Sadaf Farooqui and Rita Kapahi tellingly brought out the emotions of the two friends while reading the letters alternatively. They were supported with small acts by Maha Farooqui, Hana Dalwai, Aayesha Rahman, Shaveta Jain, Navin Tyagi , Nafees Bano, Umair Farooqui, Veena Katdare were the actors . Aslam Pervez and Sandhya Bhagat lent their voices for the narration. Kartikay Bhagat compiled the music clips which further spiced up this poignant drama.  The next item was a small comedy skit, aptly named as "Yeh Kaisa Aayaa Zamana". This skit was based on clips from various Bollywood songs, pinpointing how the system of arranged marriage in India and South Asian region still prevails in this sophisticated age of Internet and computers. The best part of the skit was the departure of the bridegroom instead of the bride from their home after the marriage - with classic Shehnai music in the background. Sandhya Bhagat had conceived this musical skit and the participants were Venkat Redy, Latha Reddy, Prasad Shetty, Vandana Amin, Shweta Shetty, Lakshmi Kant Pandya, Bharti Ben Pandya and Vijay Tandon. Anil Bhagat had compiled the music collection. After an intermission of about 20 minutes, the show continued with a very powerful comedy play "Baap re Baap", written by the famous Hindi writer K.P.Saxena. This play was replete with humor as expected. This is a story of the head of a family who goes missing and all the family members and friends frantically search for him, console one another and prepare for the final rites. The whole situation suddenly changes, with the announcement on the radio by the son of the lost declaring a hefty prize for the finder of lost father. Driven by monetary greed, several people, including an aunt comes up with fake persons to pose as the lost father. They are all exposed when the real Father returns home. He is understandably shocked to see the scene in his house. He tackles the situation remarkably well. The servant of the house, Noor Baksh, the favorite of the daughter in law took the center stage providing strong punches throughout the play. The actors were Aslam Parvez, Sunny Sachdeva, Fazleen Sohani, Renu Thapliyal, Lakshmikant Pandya, Chinti Bali, Gurupdesh Bedi, Vijay Tandon and the real father Navin Tyagi.  The last item of the show was a small valentine dance aptly named "Risky Love". It depicted the risks involved in love-making but suggested that the lover should not be disheartened - even if his/her first love mate deserts. If you have an open mind and a light heart, you will soon find a new love. This dance skit was directed by Rahim Hussain with Shweta Shetty, Brittny Trawick, Prasad Shetty, Laxmi Kant Pandya and Bharti Ben Pandya.
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