Shining at 70: Two septuagenarians follow heart, take to Lucknow stage

Septuagenarians break barriers, join theatre workshop, perform play Camellia - The flower of promise. Age just a number when following passion.

Life begins when you start following your passion. Then, age is actually reduced to being just a number.

A scene from play Camelia - A Flower of Promise was staged at Sangeet Natak Academy, in Lucknow on Thursday (Mushtaq Ali/HT)

Two septuagenarians joined a theatre workshop organised by the Darpan theatre group. Along with 30 other people, they prepared a play Camellia - The flower of promise during this 30-day theatre workshop. It was staged at UP Sangeet Natak Akademi on Thursday. They were the eldest in a group of youngsters who had participated in the workshop.

Sheela Pandey, 70, a businesswoman, who always dreamt of acting on stage said that it was no less than a dream come true. “While working with a brigade of young people sharing the same passion as mine, I felt young. I really enjoyed working in the play,” said Pandey who played the character of a Mother Superior.

Similarly, Ambuj Agrawal (70), a retired businessman said that it was his inclination towards the performing arts which brought him to the workshop. “Being engaged in a full-time profession taking out time for one’s passion was difficult. These days, I have been learning different performing art forms and theatre workshop was one amongst them,” said Agrawal, who played the character of a priest of a church.

These stories set in different scenarios were interwoven through music and the basic idea of love. Spanish flamenco music and live Sialkot Folk music of Punjab (Pakistan) added to the beauty of the play.

The main roles of Fermina were played by Naina Soni and Lori Pathak, while Florentino was played by Omkar Pushkar and Prakhar Pandey and the roles of Heer and Ranjha were played by Jyoti Gupta and Ayush Srivastava.