An Evening to Remember!💫

Me and the Theatre!

Yashwant Natya Mandir, Matunga

As the sun was setting, the stars were coming, no not in the sky in the theatre! This was my first time attending a 'Book Launch'. The program was set to begin by 5:45pm, people were let inside the theatre in a queue and were welcomed with the very fragrant yellow Chafa (Plumeria) and a cute little box of Pedha (Sweet), which was quite surprising for me, but my father said in earlier times they used to welcome audience for a play with flowers. The Yashwant Natya Mandir was a beautiful theatre, with huge portraits of the legendary Marathi actors on its side walls and cleanliness everywhere. Within minutes the theatre was full and fragrant with the aroma of the chafa, most of the girls decorated it in their hair while I was happy to see some boys also put it behind their ears.

Welcome by Chafa and Pedha!

The Chafa flower decorated in hair by girl , while the boy had put it behind his ears!

The Chafa flower decorated in hair by girl ,
while the boy had put it behind his ears!

Once everything and everyone was settled the program started without much delay. The first speech was by the organiser, followed by Sankarshan Karhade taking over as a host. Then came  the editor of the book, Karuna Gokhle ji from Rajhans Prakashan, her speech was like an open invitation for writers to write more, dreamers to dream more and achievers to achieve more. She said only those who do not read claim that no one reads these days, and she is right, as once you start reading you automatically find more and more people who read. After her speech the book was reviewed first by Actor/Writer Deepak Karanjikar who was all praises about the book and introduced to the core of what one should take away from it. Post that Writer/Director/Lyricist Kshitij Patwardhan read out his review which was a very nuanced analysis of the book and ended his speech with a pinch of salt where he gave some suggestions to be added to the 3rd edition of the book. Listening to his review I realized what it means to review something! 

The launch of 2nd edition of the book.

Then the 2nd edition of the book 'Chandrakant Kulkarni Sadar karit aahe…' was presented and the author himself read a chapter from the book. It's crazy how dots of the present are connected with the past and it forms an entire portrait! Then the female actor Pratiksha Lonkar read one of the most emotional chapters of the book which made the entire theatre silent. This was majorly the first half of the program which satisfied the Book fanatic in me and made me curious about the book. In the interval as soon as I came out of the theatre, the air was filled with the smell of samosa and tea and the audience devoured it. I also met my favourite RJ Dnyaneshwari who hosts 'Gappanchi Misal' on Red FM.

The second half of the program was like a platter of acts from 5 of his directorial plays performed by all maestros! The first performance was an act from the play 'Dhyanimani' performed by Neena Kulkarni who nailed every minute of her performance! Followed by an energetic act by Aashutosh Gokhale and Sankarshan Karhade of the play 'Yalkot'. Then Chandrakant Kulkarni himself and Rohini Hattangady performed an act from the play 'Gandhi virudh Gandhi', which stunned the audience. Followed by an act from 'Magna Talyakathi' by Chinmay Mandlekar and Purva Pawar, that was a beautiful performance by both of them, with the captivating background music and their acting. And last but not the least, in fact the most awaited act of the play 'Hamlet' by Sumeet Raghvan was spectacular, his reverse walk entry on the stage, his act and his reverse walk exit from the stage was just a treat to watch! The drama fanatic in me was more than satisfied!

Then all the performers came on the stage along with their director and the show ended, well actually it began for the booklovers, as the writer himself sat at the centre of the stage and signed all the copies, so I went and grabbed mine too and came to the stage and got my name and his signature on it, followed by the signature of the writer Prashant Dalvi who wrote most of the plays he directed and this was a special copy as it was my first author signed copy of a book! Post which I met so many other artists, and literally my World Television Day (21st November 2024) came live! It was one of those soul satisfying evenings of my life where the booklover in me and the drama fanatic both were equally pleased. By the end of the program the chafa flower withered in my hands but it left its fragrance, just like the program ended but it left its fragrance in my memory where it will stay forever!

PS: Thanks to my dear Pappa for taking me along!

Happy Reading,

Siddhi Bhosale.

Me while getting my Author Signed Copy!!

My World Television day came live!