The Jehangir Theatre Group, founded by Late Rusi Baria, Rohinton Baria and Navsari’s Parsi theatre veteran – Rumi Baria, is run by the Baria family with its current Executive Producer, sister Yasmin Baria and partner, Jagruti Baria – also a Navsari theatre veteran.

The Jehangir Theatre Group, which has been a beacon for dramatics in the Gujarati performing art circuits, completed its glorious 40^th anniversary, with a full-house celebration, at the TATA Memorial Hall, Navsari, with the silver jubilee of the much acclaimed ‘Chello Parsi’, written by Piyush Bhatt.

The Guest of Honor – Padma Shri Yezdi Karanjia was the highlight of the show, with his unparalleled wit and charisma, who had come to Navsari specially with his own theatre group – Karanjia Arts, which is now lead by Farzan Karanjia. The function was commemorated with their play ‘Mungi Stree’ written by Late Shri Chandravadan Mehta. Both these Parsi backdrops and enacted plays were written by Gujarati theatre veterans who had lovingly grown amidst Parsi neighborhoods and theatre culture.

The function was compared by Navsari’s humorous Dr. Rajan Shethji, who has been part of the Jehangir Group since its inception and shared legendary stories of the Group’s journey, with Rumi’s evolution from a theatre artist to a sound arts whiz and how the theatre group has been sustaining its art heritage, with the help of its patrons and fans.

In fact, Navsari’s love for Parsi theatre art was further emphasized as none of the six donors were Parsis. Donors Bharat Sukhadia rightly pointed out that with the evolution of technology, theatre in Gujarat has become a dying art that needed reviving, as with theatre other life skills of children are also nurtured and they all look forward to the likes of Jehangir Group to take the lead. Other prominent donors – Jignesh Dandiwala, Lalit Pandya, Dr. Dinesh Joshi, Prashant Parekh and Hardik Naik, also shared their love and fond memories of the artform and Parsi Theatre groups of Navsari.

[Courtesy: Ruzbeh Umrigar]