Long tranquil walks on the banks of the Brahmaputra is what the theatre veteran remembers most from his days of youth

Even a brief conversation with the sexagenarian theatre and film personality Dulal Roy is enough to indicate that in his heart lies an “activist” hidden behind the “artiste”. And the activist within Roy has many a complaint to make, as his “Guwahati of solitude and beauty” is lost forever.

“I am not a cynic to start my conversation on Guwahati with a lot of negativities. But where is the hope? Over the years, Guwahati has turned into a dump, a big junkyard, full of filth and garbage,” rues the acclaimed theatre veteran. “The city was not always like this. The truth is that a beautiful, sombre Guwahati, which was once a heaven, is now a hell and all because of our faults,” he adds.

As a kid in nursery, clad in his usual favourite brown half-pant, little Roy had immersed himself in playful activities at the then green abode of Jubilee Park at Panbazar. Now a big water supply tank stands at the place.

As a young man with romance in his heart, Roy had lost count of the number of times he had walked down the banks of the Brahmaputra, silently puffing his cigarette.

“The past cannot be wiped out from our memory bank. Yesterday or days gone by were beautiful learning experiences. The sweetness of those days is lost forever. At times, I wonder how the small township of Guwahati with almost all known faces has become the melting point of hordes and hordes of people across the region as well as the country,” recollects the assistant editor of yesteryear’s hit Bollywood films like Anand and Safar.

“Now the once spacious Guwahati does not even provide space for pedestrians to walk freely on its footpaths. I, too, am scared of getting knocked down by speeding vehicles. Life in Guwahati has simply turned difficult,” adds Roy, known for infusing a whiff of modernity to age-old Assamese theatre. He learnt his skill at the National School of Drama, New Delhi.

For Roy, the saddest part is that the administrators of the city are blind, deaf and dumb towards its problems. They are unfazed by the various problems plaguing the city — be it waterlogging, traffic snarls, scarcity of drinking water or deplorable roads.

“The managers of the city do not honour the needs and wishes of the people. In the name of pseudo development, they are causing great ecological damage. Take for example Deepor Beel. It is a beautiful lake, almost gobbled up by the greed of politicians and bureaucrats,” says Roy. “But instead of being disappointed, I can hope against all odds that one day we will revive all that has been lost,” he adds.

Till date, Roy has directed more than 70 plays and has also acted, directed, adapted and written countless plays for the stage, radio and television.

Preyosi, an adaptation of George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion, catapulted him to success. The play won awards for best production, best direction and best actress in the All India full-length drama competition held in New Delhi in 1973. It heralded the entry of a new talented director on the national theatre scene.

Roy’s adaptation of the Russian satire The Revisor by Nikolai Gogol was given the best production and direction awards at the All India full- length drama competition in New Delhi in 1977.

Some of Roy’s other critically acclaimed plays are Dragon, Moi Tuniye Tuntunalo and Swarthapar Daitya.

Roy, who acquired a diploma in editing cinema from the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), has worked with Bollywood veterans like Tarun Dutta, Asit Sen, Rajinder Singh Bedi and Hrishikesh Mukherjee. Besides Anand and Safar, he also worked as assistant editor in Hindi films like Buddha Mil Gaya and Dastak.

At present, his school Rangapeeth, to which he is fully devoted, is actively engaged in grooming new talents. Formed in 1993, the drama institute is trying to promote and preserve performing art forms. Some of its acclaimed productions are Yerma, House of Bernarda Alba, Jaiwant Dalvi’s Sandhya Chhaya and Vijay Tendulkar’s Khamosh Adalat.

Rangapeeth has also organised workshops on theatre for children and seminars.

Roy has an ambitious plan of staging a powerful play on the city but due to lack of technical expertise he has been unable to fulfil his dreams. “I aspire to give a grand tribute to the city of my joys and sorrows,” he smiles.

A staff reporter