Parthapratim Deb

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Parthapratim Deb
Parthapratim Deb.jpg
Parthapratim Deb during his 2024 visit to perform Kittonkhola [1] with the Bay Area Amateur Thespians
Born (1963-11-08) 8 November 1963 (age 60)
Alma materSanskrit Collegiate School, Calcutta University
Occupation(s)Singer, actor, director, playwright
Known forPanchajanya, Naachni, Goynar Baksho
Spouse
(m. 1996)
ChildrenRup Deb

Parthapratim Deb [lower-greek 1] (or Partha Pratim Deb [lower-greek 2] ) is an Indian actor, director, playwright, singer and music composer in Bengali theater. He is a member of Nandikar since 1986 and also runs his own theatre organization, Baghajatin Alaap in 2005.

Contents

After graduation from Calcutta University, he joined Nandikar and contributed in multiple capacities to popular productions such as Nana Ronger Din, Amar Priyo Rabindranath, Madhabi, Nachni, and Panchajanya. His long-standing involvement with Nandikar highlights his commitment to the growth and evolution of Bengali theater.

Parthapratim is known for his musical talent, which sets him apart from many of his contemporaries in Bengali theater. He is among the few actors in Bengali theater who have undergone classical vocal training and can sing on stage. A key highlight in his plays is the usage of music, folk songs and dance sequences, a unique trait in Bengali theater.

Deb joined Nandikar as a trainee in 1986. Over the years, he became a theater trainer there. In addition to his work with Nandikar. Deb founded Baghajatin Alaap, where he conducts regular theater workshops. Besides, he has trained actors all over West Bengal and teaches theater to children professionally. Some children's productions he has directed include Gorabubr Swapno, Indian Idol & Swapna Muhurte (written by Debshankar Halder), Tota Kahini, Light of Asia, Monikatha, Wazeb Miyar Biya, and others.

He frequently travels to train Bengali actors and conducts workshops in other countries such as the US, Canada, Australia, Kuwait, Sweden, and Oman to train children as well as adult artists in Kolkata and abroad.

Early life and education

Parthapratim Deb was born in Kolkata, West Bengal on November 8, 1963. He completed his school education at the Sanskrit Collegiate School. Following his school education, Parthapratim pursued higher education at Calcutta University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He received a scholarship from the Department of Culture, Government of India in 1990.

In 1980, Parthapratim undertook training in Rabindra Sangeet under Shri Goutam MItra. After his graduation in 1981, he started taking classes in Hindustani Classical Music under singer Pandit Sushil Bose, a student of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan in Patiala Gharana. Alongside Nandikar, With the foundation of Baghajatin Alaap, Deb along with his wife Rupa, embarked on the creative journey together. Baghajatin Alaap soon increased in number and performed Bengali theatre across India.

Career outside of theater

Parthapratim Deb has served as a dramatics teacher of the Ashok Hall Group of Schools in Kolkata, and G. D. Birla Memorial School & Aryaman Birla Institute in Uttarakhand.

Publications

Parthapratim Deb has published four original plays, including Naachni, Panchajanya, Samparka, & Mufti-e-Azam. These plays are contained in three books named:

  1. নাচনি (Naachni) (Bengali : নাচনি, IAST : Nācni) is a Bengali play [2] written by Parthapratim Deb that centers around the miserable life of dancing girls' in the Indian subcontinent. It was adapted from Subrata Mukhopadhyay's novel Rasik [2] (Bengali : রসিক) and premiered in 2013 at the Academy of Fine Arts, Kolkata. Naachni tells the story of young girls who are condemned to a life of being sex slaves and entertaining the rich and powerful with their dance performances. The production has a rich collection of songs and dances that depict the gore, guilt, poverty, and sexual exploitation in a system controlled by degenerate men (known as rasiks). Parthapratim directed the play and composed its music as well. Some stalwarts of contemporary Bengali theater such as Rudraprasad Sengupta, Swatilekha Sengupta, Sohini Sengupta, and Debshankar Halder.
  2. পাঞ্চজন্য (Panchajanya) (Sanskrit : पाञ्चजन्य, Bengali : পাঞ্চজন্য, IAST : Pāñcajanya) is a Bengali play [3] written by Parthapratim Deb named after Panchajanya, a mythological conch of Vishnu that produced the primeval sound of creation. Woven into the storylines of Mausala Parva, Mahaprasthanika Parva, and Harivaṃśa Parva, the play is connects the various episodes of Mahabharata based on the lament of Gandhari — wife of Dhritarashtra and mother to 100 dead sons and her eventual cursing of Krishna. In the play, Gandhari accuses Krishna of leaving the path of Dharma and therefore curses his clan (the Yadavas) to death by in-fighting. The play premiered [4] on 16 June 2016 at the Academy of Fine Arts, Kolkata under the banner of the theater group Nandikar. [3] Deb played the role of the old Krishna [4] in its debut performance, where Sohini Sengupta played the role of Gandhari.
  3. দুটি নাটক (Duti Natok)
    • সম্পর্ক (Samparka) (Bengali : সম্পর্ক) is a Bengali play written [5] by Parthapratim Deb that revolves around the lives of three generations of men who face a sudden reality check when their old deeds are come back to haunt them in the middle of a happy reunion to celebrate two birthdays. The play premiered on October 5, 2018, at the Gyan Mancha in Kolkata. Dulal Lahiri and Shantilal Mukherjee played the lead roles along with Parthapratim's son, Rup Deb. [6]
    • Mufti-e-Azam, a Bengali play revolving around the Battle of Karbala between the army of the second Umayyad caliph Yazid I (r. 680–683) and a small army led by Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, at Karbala, Sawad (modern-day southern Iraq). Inspired from 'Bishad Shindhu' by Mir Mosharraf Hossain, this play is yet to be staged.

Theater

As Music Director/ Associate Music Director/ Lyricist/ Playback Singer

YearPlayProduction byDirectorPlaywright
1988Antigone Nandikar Rudraprasad Sengupta Chittaranjan Ghosh
Football Peter Terson/Rudraprasad Sengupta
Shesh ShakshatkaarVladlen Dozortsev/Rudraprasad Sengupta
1991Ek Theke Baaro Goutam Halder Swatilekha Sengupta
1992Sankhapurer Sukanya Rudraprasad Sengupta Bertolt Brecht/ Rudraprasad Sengupta
1994Feriwalar Mrityu Arthur Miller/ Rudraprasad Sengupta
1996Gotroheen
1997Nagar Keertan Goutam Halder Koushik Ray Chowdhury/ Goutam Halder
1998Brechter Khonje Rudraprasad Sengupta Koushik Ray Chowdhury
2000Ei Sahar Ei Samay
2003Sojan Badier Ghat Goutam Halder Jasimuddin
2004Wazeb Miyar BiyaSamatatParthapratim Deb
2006Nana Ranger Din [7] Nandikar Rudraprasad Sengupta Anton Chekhov/ Ajitesh Bandopadhyay
Notun Chele Natobor [7] Goutam Halder Swatilekha Sengupta
Padma Nodir MajhiPratikritiAlok Deb Manik Bandyopadhyay/ Alok Deb
2007Jaha Chai Nandikar Rudraprasad Sengupta William Shakespeare
Palashi Natadha Shib Mukhopadhyay
2008Aahare Shaishab [7] Parthapratim Deb Debshankar Halder
Ajnatobaas [7] Sumanta GangopadhyaySukanta Gangopadhyay
2009Madhabi [7] Nandikar Swatilekha Sengupta Bhisham Sahani/ Swatilekha Sengupta
2010Mahabhoj[Baghajatin Alaap]Parthapratim Deb Rabindranath Tagore/Parthapratim Deb
2011Amar Priyo Rabindranath [7] Nandikar Swatilekha SenguptaKoushik Ray Chowdhury
2012Sagina Mahato[Baghajatin Alaap]Parthapratim Deb Badal Sircar
2013Naachni [7] Nandikar Subrata Mukhopadhyay/ Parthapratim Deb
2014Parashmoni[Baghajatin Alaap]Parthapratim Deb
2015Kittankhola Selim Al Deen
Indian IdolMirttika, NJ, USA Debshankar Halder
2017Panchajanya [7] Nandikar Sohini Sengupta Parthapratim Deb
Light of AsiaMirttika, NJ, USAParthapratim Deb
Sagina MahatoEpic Actors Workshop, NJ, USA Badal Sircar
2017Goynar Baksho[Baghajatin Alaap] Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay/ Parthapratim Deb
ShiladityaMirttika, NJ, USAParthapratim Deb
2018AranyadebSwapnaluPremangshu Ray Bratya Basu
Sagina MahatoBrischik, Seattle, USAParthapratim Deb Badal Sircar
Samparka[Baghajatin Alaap]Parthapratim Deb
2019Ranighater Brittanto
Mrityu Na HotyaSpotlight Ohio, USABibhash Chakraborty
Manush [7] Nandikar Sohini SenguptaAnindita Chakraborty
2020Aprakashito[Baghajatin Alaap]Parthapratim DebParthapratim Deb
2021Kaaler Mandira
2022Padma Nodir Majhi Manik Bandyopadhyay/Alok Deb
2023Agoon [8] Rakesh Ghosh
Indian IdolTSS, Canada Debshankar Halder
Mayukh Naame Ekhane Keu Thake NaKathak, Sydney, AustraliaTito RayDibyendu Dasgupta
2024Je Nodi Morupothe[Baghajatin Alaap]Rudrarup Mukhopadyay
2024Kittonkhola [1] Bay Area Amateur Thespians, San Francisco, USAParthapratim Deb Selim Al Deen

Notes

  1. Spelling according to The Hindu
  2. Spelling according to The Times of India.

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References

  1. 1 2 https://www.baat.us/kittonkhola Kittonkhola by BAAT (Bay Area Amateur Thespians)
  2. 1 2 Mirroring the human condition, archived from the original on 24 January 2014, retrieved 9 June 2024
  3. 1 2 Arindam Basu (3 July 2023). "Panchajanya: Nandikar's conch of success on its 64th birthday". India Blooms. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  4. 1 2 "Review: 'Panchajanya' was a nice play from Nandikar".
  5. Shamayita Chakraborty (8 October 2018). "Baghajatin Alaap all set to premiere Samparka". The Times of India.
  6. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bengali/theatre/dulal-lahiri-and-shantilal-mukherjee-to-share-the-stage/articleshow/64961447.cms Dulal Lahiri and Shantilal Mukherjee to share the stage
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 https://nandikar.net/productions/ Nandikar past productions
  8. Anshuman Bhowmik (8 July 2023). "Ties that bind". The Telegraph, Kolkata. Retrieved 18 June 2024.