Evenings at Theater Manoel added a further richness to my recent visit to Malta.

The capital city of Valletta, built of Mount Sciberras, has a distinct beautiful feel in the evenings.

“The weather is not nice” one of my friends told me. January can be a bit windy and cold.

However, there was something here. The light drizzle and the relatively lonely streets,

a hot cup of coffee.

Nothing to beat that.

Coffee at Manoel

“Prashant, you are living the life which I always dream of” my old friend John told me over the phone, from his office at St.Julian. But it is thanks to John that I have been visiting Malta so often. He is one of the most confident and impressive personalities I have met, never belittling you, always uplifting you.

Every time I talk to John, I learn something new. He introduced me to the world of Taschen. He told me about the sea in a different way.

“I do not want to do things which do not look like having been done by a non-professional” he told me once. That is a very good lesson, for any professional of any field.

Thank you-John

Maybe, one day, we will have coffee at Manoel together

Notice the Chinese sitting there-they are part of the Peking Opera group which performed there on 19.1.09

Going to theater and musing there, is an old habit of mine. It all started long ago, on the streets of Delhi, when we used to go and watch Drama at Sri Ram Centre, Mandi house, very close to the hostel of Maulana Azad Medical College. That was when I first came to know about Mohan Rakesh- “Half-Way house” –Adhe Adhure. We all are incomplete in some ways.

Then there were times when I went with Nishant street theater group of Shamshul Islam, and he showed me an aspect of reality which I would never have seen in my ‘middle-class-secure’ world. Those experiences matured further as I came to know some very dedicated street theater activists of Maharashtra. Sambhaji Bhagat remains one of the best singers I have ever come across, singing the Balads of the People.

The heartrending performances by the great artists of “Asmita” group of Delhi, with their chilling performances like “Court Martial” at the basement theater of Sri Ram Centre or the open air performances of “Cesar” at India Habitat Centre, so ably directed by Arvind Gaur and the music support by Sangeeta Gaur all made a part of my formative experience to be able to appreciate drama.

Catching things which the Naked Human eye cannot see

The night feel of Valletta…I fell in love with it, when I first visited around two years ago, and every time I go there, after dark, there are new experiences.

Musings of an old friend..in the galleries of Theater Manoel.

Communicating Doors

As I watched the play “Communicating Doors” an interesting story about time travel in which three ladies in 1974,1994 and 2014 can communicate with each other by walking through time, using a communicating door.

One realizes how one can become wise with hindsight.The same man is involved with three different ladies in different phases of his life. The story is interesting, you should watch the play, but suffice it to say, there is a devil within all of us, and the play laid that devil bare.

The feel of Manoel-

Interiors

In front of Manoel-during the 20 minutes break

The Roof of Manoel.

The Chinese Spring Festival by the Peking opera was another beautiful memorable performance which I watched.

East meeting the West. An Indian watching the Peking opera at Malta.

The roof of Theater Manoel-Having an eye for imaging-from my field of medical specialization (Radiology) and my passion for photography, I tried to take this image of the roof of the theater. ( I had to do some climbing up, to get this angle of the roof..photography has it’s charms and challenges) The interiors have a different feel.

Will return to you, Theater Manoel.

http://www.teatrumanoel.com.mt/