at hanuman theatre

Located in Chivda Gully, Lalbaug, Hanuman theatre nurtured tamasha for the period of its existence. As a Marathi folk theatre style, it both in form and space, entertained the mill workers between shifts and on their day’s off. Nerale Mahukar owns the place. The text transcribes a conversation between him to a touring party. Narrative outlines in brief the culture of an era within the context to have created, established and transformed a neighbourhood institution.

At its peak the Mills of Girangaon hosted a population of about 3 lakhs and to entertain the populous approximately 19 theatres were operational. Together these places hosted about 20 to 22 folk art festivals and these became the nodes of relaxation for the workers in the annual calendar. Residences of the workers we cramped and housed a maximum of 20 individuals based on job allocation and shifts. As salaries were meagre workers used to stay on their own and send money to their families back home. Mills ran in scheduled shifts of three. Catering to the palates of those working were community food stalls. Ran by accompanying relatives the available variety mapped out the various people groups and the distinct parts of the state and neighbouring areas wherein people had been drawn to working in the textile industry in the city. The Mill Workers strike of 1982 brought a close to the buzz in this vibrant landscape. Datta Samat, who engineered the event received mixed reaction for his actions. While support was garnered at one end the other was forced to bear the brunt of the outcome of the strike. The abundance of things such as water [plenteous enough that it was used to clean the streets] suddenly became scarce. Several folk art and artists flourished in the chawls of the Mills. Pingle Joshi was an artist who acted as an early morning alarm to wake the sleeping workers with an instrument. Influx of the working class from different communities brought brings about a change in how the local population interacted with them. Sports flourished. Shopping in these areas were cheaper as the people living close to the mills weren’t well heeled. The resulting markets therefore worked for the moment providing items as per time and event. Writers, poets and artists would conduct various shows in Lalbaug [Falkland road became a place where the creative used to stay]. Popularity of these shows resulted in reservations being made for them in advance. Then came the films. Political tussles caused a rift in the image of the mill worker and this was one of the reasons to have resulted in the demise of the culture in the locality. To preserve to a degree the culture of this place is required. In essence to act as a reminder of the several stakes to have been laid for a period in time. The livelihood that entertainment for this people group needs to be preserved. Instead of mere preservation it has to be modified to adapt and flourish in the present clime. Funds should be allocated from the government to recognise the local culture, preserve the principles that lead to its formation and facilitate labs for its development. For those who have entertained what have they got back in return. Shouldn’t they be at least recognised? Culture is in essence an informal aspect to a society. This need to be considered when a place is to be transformed. Today Chinese food is the flavour of the present. To sustain to this shift in demands how does one sustain to the need of the hour? What must one do of all the learnings of yesterday? The atmosphere here has changed. Lalbaugh got its name as there was a lot of red flowering trees here. Street selling masala got formed sometime back. Various localities here got their names from the various trees that used to grow in certain areas. Pre 1946 the Muslim population here was high. Politics is to blame the migration of the population. And then there was Communism. Trams are long gone now. They used to be lit on Republic day on 26th January. The image of the neighbourhood was completely different then. Meena Menon’s book on mill lands captures the essence of the period and times. The theatre began as an open air enterprise with oxen strung together. Over time as profits grew it became a shed and then this structure was built for permanence. As a theatre we shut in ’94. Today it’s a marriage hall. Rippon Theatre a.k.a Play House a.k.a Pila House is the only other surviving theatre structure around.

And we parted ways. The group and him.