The city holds a magical appeal for Baharul Islam. Be it a protest by students or people enjoying the view at Nehru Park, he finds it all colourful and glamorous. Picture by Eastern Projections

A place is largely made up of its people.” If this adage rings true, Islam strongly feels that the people of the city are a bit “theatrical”, which makes his hometown very colourful and glamorous and adds to its appeal. At least for him.

“As an artiste and a student of theatre, I find the people of the city very theatrical, which adds flamboyancy to the very ambience of the city. Others might disagree with me, but I find the people of the city to be made up of varied hues,” he chuckles.

“This very aspect of the people of the city attracts me towards them. The more they try to wrap themselves up in mystery, the more I feel curious about them. And that helps me in my theatre,” he added.

Recipient of the prestigious Manohar Singh Award given by the National Sch-ool of Drama (NSD), New Delhi, Islam has already achieved a cult status among his fraternity for his experiments and innovation in the world of theatre in the region.

Islam proudly says the people of the city have been his major source of inspiration in all his critically acclaimed productions. “The denizens of the city are the lifeline of Guwahati. The city will be merely a huge void without its people. I find them interesting and inspiring and love them a lot,” he said.

Born in the pristine locales of Rongjuli in Goalpara, Islam came to the city at the age of eight, as his father, a forest department employee, was posted in the city.

And from then onwards, he developed an enduring relationship with the city.

“I have lived in Guwahati from 1971, since Class II. Our residence was on the premises of Guwahati zoo. In a span of 35 years, the city has gone through a sea change. Many developments have taken place in the city, from roads to the number of cars in the city, the city has witnessed unbelievable changes.”

“Infrastructure and communication has developed a lot, adding pace to the city,” he adds.

Islam loves to call himself a true Guwahatian. No matter wherever he goes, he feels comfortable in the city. “The same comfort one feels while resting in one’s bed, after a tiresome day,” he smiled, sitting on a divan, sipping a cup of tea at his residence.

Perhaps, that is why he chose to make Guwahati his workplace, after he graduated from NSD.

“If there is any place where I want to live and work, it is Guwahati. There is no second thought about this. I love everything about Guwahati, even its increasing rate of pollution,” he laughs.

It is here that Islam, along with his wife Bhagirathi, formed Seagull Theatre Academy in 1990, with Bhagirathi as principal of the academy. Seagull also has a children’s acting school.

Today Seagull has pioneered the spread of the message of experimental theatre in every part of the state and has emerged as one of the prominent theatre troupes in the Northeast.

Some of the highly acclaimed productions of Seagull were staged at the Bharat Rang Mahotsav, organised by National School of Drama, New Delhi, the Prithvi Festival in Mumbai, Sangeet Natak Academy’s Festivals in Guwahati, Delhi and Hyderabad.

“Be it the chaos in the city or dust and drains, the city has a magical appeal. The city and its people are quite composite and that attracts me a lot. But that does not mean that my unquestionable love for the city, blinds me to its demerits,” said Islam.

“I wish the people of the city would become more humane. They seem to be in a race and everyone wants to be a winner. In the process, they have become selfish and self-centred. Had they channelled the urge to win into productive work, the city would not have been such a mess, as it is today. If we want to make the city a better and brighter place to live in, then we have to come together to work for its growth and development,” says Islam.

The artiste strongly feels that the future of the city lies in the hands of its denizens and he wants them to make it one of the best places in the world.

A staff reporter