Learning from Plays

Yesterday night, I saw a play at the NCPA. It was titled, 'Einstein' and was produced by Motley's Production House. For one hour the brilliant Naseeruddin Shah took us into Einstein's world, into Einstein's mind, into a world of science. How fascinating, that a play could let you explore a new world and yet be present in the same one.

My First Play

The first play I ever saw was written by the well known playwright Girish Karnad, and was presented in the front lawns of the NCPA during the Tata Literature Festival in 2013. After witnessing this performance, I decided that I would try to attend as many plays as possible in the coming year.

Here is a list of a few plays I got to attend over the past year.

1.  A Play on Beethoven’s Life at the St. Andrews College Auditorium in Bandra

2.  A Play by Naseerudin Shah titled, ‘A Walk in the Woods’ which was about the friendship and conversations that an Indian and Pakistani diplomat had when they met at international diplomatic events.

3.  A Play titled, ‘Tuesday’s With Morrie’ that was an adaptation of the well known book by the same name, written by Mitch Albom. This play described the relationship between an aging professor and his student over time.

It was fascinating how a theatre performance could bring characters created in the mind to life. At these events I would get into conversations with people sitting around me. These conversations would be so insightful. They would be about books, philosophy, the play and other plays we must watch. These plays often made me think about issues I would never think about normally. Sometimes I would come across an idea for a project, sitting at one of these plays.

When you give yourself the opportunity to learn from different sources, you give yourself the opportunity to learn from the best aspects of different fields. You can learn from a play or from a ride on the train. You can learn something from an intense conversation with a friend or from a teacher in the classroom. Learning from the classroom is just one aspect of the learning opportunities you have everyday in your life.

Let us Learn Together

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