(Top) The Brahmaputra in Guwahati and (below) Bhagirathi performs a solo play at Awahan, the First Bistar Concert, at Rabindra Bhawan on June 6, 2007. Pictures by Eastern Projections

She is the quintessential “Asomiya buwari”, who enjoys flaunting her designer mekhela-chadors and relishes Assamese delicacies.

Come to think of it, Bhagirathi is a Kannadiga, born and brought up in Karnataka. But Guwahati is her home now and she has given it her heart and soul. That, in essence, is theatre veteran Bhagirathi for you.

Married to theatre personality Baharul Islam, she is in love with the charm, nature and lovely sights and sounds of Guwahati. It has been almost two decades when Bhagirathi first came to the city before she tied the knot with Islam. Since then, she has developed an emotional bonding with the city.

“It was almost love at first sight. The city’s natural beauty has the power to attract one and all to it. But while coming home accompanied by my father-in-law from the railway station, I was shocked at the presence of largescale paramilitary forces along the roads. It was a completely new thing for me then. Now I have grown used to it,” says Bhagirathi.

“The fear of terrorism has only grown bigger and bigger with the passage of time. Now every other day I get a new shock — innocent and poor people of the city dying at the hands of terrorists and bloodthirsty militants planting bombs and targeting civilians. Honestly speaking, this is not the city to which I came after my marriage. It was much better and peaceful in those days,” she adds.

Bhagirathi, who is principal of the famous Seagull Theatre Academy in the city, is planning to stage a play which professes peace and non-violence in a Gandhian way.

“Perhaps by following Gandhi’s ahimsa we will be able to have a semblance of peace. Let us pray that violence in the city comes to an end soon. Largescale killing of innocent people in recent times have often made me want to leave the city along with my husband and children. Maybe I am scared. Why are we all staying in the city? But leaving ones home is not the solution. We all have to work unitedly to solve the problem,” says the activist in Bhagirathi.

The actor-director is happy that some real and positive changes are slowly being introduced in theatre. “More and more artistes are now ready to experiment with their works,” she said. “I still remember how I picked up a long-drawn argument with Baharul when he rejected my wish of staging a play in front of an audience sitting on the ground. Fifteen years back, it was almost impossible to attract the audience in a hall where there were no chairs. Now things are changing. Intimate theatre has been welcomed with an open heart in the city,” smiles Bhagirathi.

Bhagirathi, a native of Karnataka, started acting since she was only 10 years old. Her prodigious skills in drama helped her win gold and silver medals at state-level drama competitions in various theatre festivals.

With whole-hearted support from her family, Bhagirathi enrolled in the drama institute Ninasam in Karnataka for a one-year diploma in dramatics. Then she joined the Ninasam repertory company in 1986. As a part of the repertory she toured all over Karnataka giving some 130 shows in only 10 months.

Ninasam motivated her to jump into the vast ocean of theatre. She got admission in the National School of Drama (NSD), New Delhi in 1987.

After graduation from NSD with specialisation in acting, Bhagirathi obtained a fellowship for a project on solo narrative of female characters of Shakuntala, Gandhari and Mallika.

In 1992-93, she joined Tara Art of London as an actress for the production of the play Heer Ranjha. Rehearsals for the play took place in London and thereafter she toured the United Kingdom and Japan extensively, giving 56 shows in seven months.

After coming to Guwahati with her husband, Bhagirathi, some theatre activists and NSD graduates took the initiative to start Seagull Theatre Academy in 1990.

Today Seagull is doing pioneering work in spreading the message of experimental theatre in every part of Assam. Seagull has emerged as one of the prominent theatre troupes in the region. “Language barrier was the first hurdle that I had to face after coming to Guwahati. To be an actress in Assam, I had to learn Assamese and immediately I started learning the grammar of the language and the process is still in progress,” she said in chaste Assamese.

“Adajya by Santawana Bordoloi is my first film in any language. It was not that I was not interested in working in films. But somehow, due to my deep involvement with theatre, I could not think of films,” she said. Her very first film fetched her the national award as special jury award in acting in the 44th national film awards ceremony in 1997.

A mother of two beautiful daughters, Bhagirathi is also closely associated with several child rights issues. She has staged plays with challenged children of Sishu Sarothi, a city-based home for mentally challenged children. “I love children, just as I love the city,” she signs off.

A staff reporter