The world was her stage: Remembering Jalabala Vaidya

NEW DELHI: Veteran thespian and co-founder of Akshara Theatre Jalabala Vaidya died on Sunday following a prolonged respiratory illness. Along with her husband, poet-playwright Gopal Sharman, the couple staged some celebrated plays, including a contemporary interpretation of the Ramayan at Broadway.
Vaidya's passing comes at a time when Ramayana - which the New York Times called "India's gift to Broadway" - is celebrating five decades of its production.Moulded into the traditional katha style, it was a one-woman performance with Vaidya essaying all the roles.
Born in 1936 to journalist, author and freedom fighter Suresh Vaidya and classical singer Marjorie Franckeiss Vaidya, the actor followed in the footsteps of her journalist father before venturing into theatre with Full Circle, a dramatized selection of poetry and stories, in 1968. It was the critical acclaim for Full Circle that led to Sharman being invited to write and direct a play based on the Ramayan for Royal Shakespeare Theatre's World Theatre Season.
Daughter Anasuya Vaidya told TOI that Akshara would continue being a platform for performing artistes. "We will try to expand to other areas like publishing, but as of now we will continue celebrating my mother's life through her works. We are already celebrating 50 years of Ramayana with exhibitions and performances. Apart from a memorial, we plan to republish the books written by my mother and father many years ago," said Anasuya. Akshara also plans a festival of plays written and directed by women.
With the wall holding framed posters and old newspaper reports at the theatre on Baba Kharak Singh Marg as a backdrop, Anasuya reflected, "Both my parents had such an amazing life. What they did impacted so many people. They always had big dreams and kept dreaming on. They lived a life on their own terms and never followed the trends, however fashionable. Even now, it feels like they are still with us at all times."
The daughter continued, "Inspired by her father, my mother wanted to be a journalist and wasn't interested when some filmmakers approached her. It was only after meeting my father that her path changed. They then spent a lifetime together building a rich legacy of work."
Vaidya performed for the last time on December 10 last year. However, even till the end, she was involved with the theatre, always enquiring about the productions.
"We were working on a play by a Ukrainian playwright on how the war has impacted daily life and small aspects of life. My mother was very involved in the play, reading it, making suggestions on the script," said Anasuya. "She even saw some rehearsals. But she couldn't watch the play when it was staged because she was hospitalised by then. However, she did ask how it went."