The Prophet and the Poet

About the play:

The Prophet and the Poet is based on the exchange of letters and articles between Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore over 25 years, with the Indian freedom struggle as the backdrop. The letters reveal how the two personalities differed significantly on the form and content of the freedom movement. The differences widened over the years. However, the depth of their personalities maintained genuine respect for each other in spite of deep differences on ideological grounds. It reflected the political maturity of those times in India. Bangalore Little Theatre was privileged to be invited to stage the opening shows of the play at the places hallowed by Gandhi and Tagore in their lifetime – Sabarmati Ashram, Santiniketan (Visva Bharati) and Jorasanko in Kolkata. The Kolkata performance was at the courtyard stage of Thakurbadi, the Tagore ancestral home, now a heritage site looked after by Rabindra Bharati University. On the occasion of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore’s birth anniversary, the play was staged at the Raj Bhavan, Bangalore, with the President of India in attendance. Later, the play was performed by invitation in Dhaka and Chittagong, Bangladesh, as part of the India-Bangladesh Joint Celebrations of Tagore’s 150th birth anniversary. Prasar Bharati commissioned a tele-film of the play. The film was telecast several times over Independence Day and Gandhi Jayanti. There have been about 130 performances of the play since its opening. The play has generated much interest

outside India as well. It has had two American productions, one in Houston and the other at the University of Iowa. Productions in UK and Ireland are also planned. A highly successful tour of Trinidad & Tobago was followed by performances in Singapore, co-hosted by Tagore Society and the Indian High Commission. The play was invited to Sydney for celebrations of Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary. An enriching experience ... Times of India, Kolkata

Enthralled ... President Pratibha Patil at Raj Bhavan A moving evening, elevating The Hindu, Bangalore Exalting and inspiring experience ... New Indian Express, Bangalore

Enlightening ... melody from fascinating verbal images ... Times of India, Ahmedabad Powerful and enlightening ... The Star, Dhaka The audience thoroughly enjoyed every bit of this play ... a standing ovation ... Deccan Herald, Bangalore. Simply superb ... a rare non-fiction drama. Shunya Theatre, Houston Gandhi, Tagore leave Trinidad & Tobago spellbound ... Guardian, Trinidad. Highly educative, an extraordinary production ... Faculty, University of Chittagong Amazing presentation, outstanding performance ... Indian High Commissioner, Singapore Every Indian must see this play .... Prof. CNR Rao, Bharat Ratna

Inspiring history, beautifully presented ... Gerson daCunha A great message for today’s highly polarized world ... Indian Link, Sydney. Important history, beautifully recreated. India International Centre Truly inspiring presentation of important history ... Ashoka University

Moving and compelling ... Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad Greatly privileged to have this presented by a member of our founding faculty ... IIM Bangalore. Extraordinary presentation of very relevant history ... Dr. Souraja Tagore

About Vijay Padaki

Vijay Padaki is a Theatre Educator based in Bangalore. He has worn two caps all his life with equal facility. He has been active in the theatre for over sixty years. He has been a management professional for over forty-five years.

Vijay joined Bangalore Little Theatre in 1960, the year of its inception, and later served the company in many capacities – as actor, director, trainer, writer, designer and administrator. In 2008, Bangalore Little Theatre Foundation was restructured as a Public Charitable Trust. It was done with the purpose of reinforcing the organisation’s commitment to social development goals beyond performance. The Trust requested Vijay to provide the leadership to a newly-created Academy of Theatre Arts in its formative years.

Age 16+