Teachers's Day 2022: A 'Pathshala' That Teaches Underprivileged Kids To Dream

India is a land of dreamers. And the Indian film and theatre industry is where thousands of these dreamers come to die. Every day, hundreds of new aspirants come to Mumbai and other major cities with the hopes of making it in the world’s largest film industry. But only a chosen few make it, in the true sense, leaving the others in a sea of faceless ‘extras’, namelessly drifting through the film world, their work making no mark other than the holes in their pockets. With the advent of social media, some of the talent hidden in the small towns, villages, and hinterland of India managed to subvert the mainstream media. People, especially those creating OTT content, realised the economic potential of stories from the hinterland - where the vast majority of the consumers of digital, film, and entertainment content in India actually live - and suddenly, all content platforms were flooded with subaltern, regional scripts and faces. But years before the now-banned TikTok low-key marketed itself as a platform for the artistic expression of rural youth in India, a young theatre enthusiast from Uttar Pradesh had realised this creative potential and decided to create a platform that could help these hidden “kalakars” (artists) showcase their talents to the world.

In 2013, Mahesh Chandra Deva, an actor and head of the NGO ‘Mother Sewa Sansthan’ started the Chabutra Theatre Pathshala to teach theatre to young children from the most backward sections of India. Through the platform, Mahesh has managed to touch the lives of over 10 lakh children, many of whom are today working in the film industry or the theatre circuit and making a living through it.

Having struggled hard to support his acting career, Mahesh wanted to do something that would make it easier for children to express themselves freely and find a way to actualise their talents in the film and theatre world and eventually look at it as a viable career. But he realised that not all children had equal opportunities. That’s how Chabutra Theatre Pathshala project started - a crowdfunded network of mobile theatre schools and workshops that run under the supervision and instructions of Mahesh. “I have been working with children in theatre since 2001 and formally started Chabutra Theatre Pathshala (CBT) on December 11, 2013. In the first year itself, we worked with 5,000 children,” Mahesh tells Outlook.

At present, about 70 children are associated with the platform and receive training through weekly Sunday classes, free of cost. CBT conducts workshops in schools and pathshalas of villages and works with local civil society and child protection bodies to identify locations with vulnerable child populations. Mahesh’s students today include child actors who have appeared in Bollywood films and OTT platforms and some have even reached reputed international film festivals like Cannes. 

The power of theatre

Mahesh knew from Class 2 itself when he first appeared on stage for a school play that he wanted to be an actor. Recalling the days of his youth when he initially stated pursuing his dreams after school, the actor recalls that though his hometown, Lucknow, was full of opportunities for artists and several ‘rang manch’ were operational in the city at the time, it was not easy to make an entry into the theatre scene. “Without connections or money, it is very hard to make a mark. Moreover, it’s a competitive field, and many promise to help but back out in the last moment, choosing personal gains instead”. When he finally did manage to get into the theatre scene, his early plays and works revolved around children. “I was a little boy when I realised the power of the stage. It gave me the confidence and strength to overcome a lot of bullying and personal hardships. That little boy inside me made me realise the true power of theatre in understanding and expressing one’s talents and thoughts”.

The idea of the “Chabutra” classes came to him in college when Mahesh used to spend his spare time giving free tuition to kids on tree tops and ‘chabutra’ in villages populated by backward communities. Many of the children he taught either had no access to formal education or were out of school due to economic burdens. Mahesh also observed how caste discrimination resulted in a lot of children missing out on education and future employment opportunities. “I realised that even after receiving basic literacy, many students were unable to apply their learnings in their lives due to lack of confidence or a supportive environment conducive to positive self-worth and growth. A child may know how to do math but still be unable to stand up to a bullying parent. This child will later have problems in dealing with authority through their life and may end up deprived, despite being meritorious,” Mahesh tells Outlook.

That’s why when the time came, Mahesh chose to open a school for theatre and not just a school for literacy. “Many people, as well as the government, are working on child literacy but theatre can imbibe deeper, philosophical knowledge in kids that school books can’t. It can empower children with the freedom of ideas that can help them realise their true potential and break out of the shackles of caste, class, and social backwardness.” 

He cites the example of a former student Sonali Valmiki who came from a family of substance abusers, having lost three of her initimate relatives to alcohol addiction. After receiving training from CTB and learning more about the art and form of theatre, she eventually wrote a play about the problem of addiction. “The play beautifully depicted the true extent of the problem of alcohol addiction in rural areas and households and its effects on children. But it also helped her cope with her own pain and loss and draw strength through her art that had helped her create something new, and meaningful from pain. She no longer felt like a victim but a stakeholder in the problem with an active voice and contribution. That’s the power of theatre,” Mahesh says. Sonali’s play was staged in various Lucknow auditoriums and earned critical acclaim from top thespians. 

Development for all

Mahesh believes the development of a country can only come through the emancipation and development of its weakest sections of people. Through the Chabutra Theatre Pathshala, Mahesh has made concerted efforts to work with children from oppressed castes. In fact, Mahesh started the second branch of CTB in one of the Valmiki colonies in Lucknow to teach theatre to children of sanitation workers. Today, it gives him great joy to see those children make it on the big screen. Nilima Chaudhry, from the Valmiki community, for instance, has worked on a short film called ‘Pilibhit’ which made waves in the global film festival. Other child actors from the community have appeared in films like ‘The Knot. Uljhan’, which has also received critical applause in international film festivals. Mahesh has also worked with children from tribal communities and makes sure to curate his workshops and classes in a way that best understands and reciprocates to the cultural and learning differences of each of these communities. 

But helping underprivileged children make their dreams come true made Mahesh put his own dreams of becoming a big superstar on the back burner.

In the past two decades, Mahesh has acted in over 40 films and television shows at both national and regional level including character roles in films like Hurdang, Mulk, and Shaadi Mein Zaroor Ana, and others. He has also acted in international films like the South Korean short film ‘Princess of Ayodhya’ and has appeared in multiple OTT series including the popular Jamtara 2 on Netflix. But his love for children and the Chabutra Theatre kept pulling him back from Mumbai to the hinterlands of UP and other states. Does Mahesh think that he would have succeeded further in his acting career, had he not been involved in running Chabutra Theatre? After all, the endeavour did not bring him any monetary support and, in fact, demanded massive investment, both financial, as well as personal. Perhaps. But Mahesh feels that success is a fruit that tastes sweeter when shared.

“I believe children are the future of the country and it is each of our responsibility to steer children in the right direction. As an artist, teaching theatre was my way of contributing the lives of these children who often fall through the cracks of the system,” Mahesh states. He hopes that the Chabutra Theatre Pathshala is someday adopted by the state and national government and theatre studies are added to the coursework of students so that more and more children can make the stage a means to a better life.