Innovation holds the key

Anukriti, the 52nd year old Hindi Dramatic Society of Miranda House, continues to stage meaningful plays that deal with burning issues of the day with a rare commitment

Miranda House College has always been in the vanguard of experimental theatres and pushing the limits of its creativity. No doubt, its Hindi Dramatics Society, Anukriti, continues to hold a mirror to socio-economic problems plaguing the country. The Dramatic Society recently celebrated its 52nd year. Apart from being one of the well-known societies in the campus, Anukriti also happens to be the oldest creative society existing in Delhi University (DU).


"As the name of our society suggests, Anukriti, meaning innovation, we always strive for creating something new, fresh and unique which are avant-garde pieces," says a beaming Neha Jain, the president of Anukriti. There are two major productions which are organised every year: stage play and street play. "This year’s stage play is an adaptation from Sharad Joshi’s writings called Andhon Ka Haathi and the street play is titled Gum Awaaz which talks about the issue of child trafficking," she explains while spilling more details about her passion for Anukriti.

With loud voices and expressive eyes, the girls are all gung-ho about their pursuits, be it street play or stage play they grab the spotlight. Donning red kurtas and black dupattas, they deliver every dialogue with a rare spontaneity and, if need be, improvise as and when the occasion demands. This is something that sets them apart. While the girls prefer to attribute this rare trait of theirs to the regular workshops being organised courtesy National School of Drama (NSD) where there is a high degree of detailing about all gestures right from the body language to perfect voice modulation as per the situation demands.

Anukriti has performed in a number of DU colleges like LSR, Hindu, winning the first prize at Gargi College and even at IIT Kanpur, where their street play was highly appreciated by one and all. "We are still left with our performances in Janki Devi Memorial College (JDMC), Jesus and Mary College (JMC) and SRCC Theatre Fest. Apart from going to the other colleges, we also invite experienced theatre personalities to our college to guide us in our shortcomings and prepare us for the next challenge.

For instance, last year a group of students from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) performed Shakespeare’s Macbeth in Miranda in a very innovative way ie, by moving around the bonfires," reveals Neha. And adding another feather to their cap, Anukriti organised the first bilingual festival this year called DRIS`YA.

The alumni list of Anukriti is quite long as 70% of the NSD comprises of Anukritians. An interesting trivia: Amitabh Bachchan first performed in Miranda House during his heydays in Kirori Mal College (KMC). So it again call for a huge applaud for the girls’ acting skills as their group throws an open challenge for the guys too.

So, at the end of the day, what is the basic success formula behind this enormous success of this dramatics scociety ‘Anukriti’? The president takes charge again, "Well, frankly speaking, there is no magic potion that we drink or any success mantra that would be good enough to defines us, but, most importantly, it is the invigorating and the innovative environment which is enough to motivate all of us. We try to give opportunity to as many first year students as possible and explore new talent for our group. At the time of the selection, we make sure that we choose only those individuals who eat, drink and sleep theatre."

That says it all about Anukriti. Here’s North Delhi Plus wishing them all the luck with all their future endeavours.