India has faced many socio-political issues, and the 1990s were a period when various events were at their peak in its capital, New Delhi. From important cultural events to political tensions and economic changes, the decade shaped the consciousness of the general public in several ways.
This theme of political, societal, and cultural shifts is at the crux of Re: Staging 1990s, an exhibition conducted by two archival institutions. It’s a return to those troubled times of the past, where pertinent questions are asked concerning the events that became historic moments revived through an architectural model or an installation.
In this blog, we will explore more about the Delhi Exhibition 2024 and the renowned personalities who were part of the event in New Delhi.
Background of the Re: Staging 1990s
New Delhi in the 1990s became a destination that was undergoing a shift economically, politically, and culturally. Major events like LK Advani’s Ram Rath Yatra (1991), the Central Market bomb blasts (1996), and protests against Section 377 (1991) became historically and culturally significant for the Indian masses, especially those living in New Delhi.
Re: Staging 1990s
The Alkazi Theatre Archives and the Alkazi Collection of Photography organised a series of exhibitions titled Re: Public Theatre and Architecture in Central Delhi in 2024. A part of this exhibition, Re: Staging 1990s, explores the relationship between the historical events of the 1990s and theatrical practice, investigated via an architectural model.
This theatrical model consisted of archival materials used to explore the role of theatre via the New Delhi Exhibition 2024. As part of the model, the historical events are set above a hand-traced map of Central Delhi, with the background resembling a theatre.
Running parallel alongside one of the biggest events in the country, the India Art Fair, Re: Staging 1990s was held at the Triveni Amphitheatre, Triveni Kala Sangam in the capital city. In the introduction, Zuleikha Chaudhuri, one of the curators, raised compelling and pertinent questions regarding the theatre serving as a mode of cultural action where theatre artists engaged with the market, government, cultural establishment and audiences.
After the introduction by Chaudhuri, Re: Staging was followed by talks from eminent speakers like Ram Rahman, Ritam Sengupta and Sarover Zaidi, where they explored the interrelationship between freedom, dramaturgy and architectural form.
Safdar Hashmi’s Talks at the Delhi Exhibition 2024
The journey of SAHMAT, one of the prominent cultural collectives of New Delhi, was built reminiscing about the street theatre activist Safdar Hashmi. It was highlighted in the talks along with the contemporary reality of the narrowing of the medium of street theatre.
With the presentation by Rahman, several events and activities of the Trust were brought to light, such as a 17-hour Sufi Bhakti event in the city of Ayodhya and its struggles against the political and administrative forces.
Nanhe Miyan’s Talks at the Delhi Exhibition 2024
The 1990s were also a time when memories, spaces and histories were disappearing owing to demolitions happening like the infamous Babri Masjid demolition or the more recent Nanhe Miyan shrine demolition and large-scale urban transformations that continue to impact the public sphere even in contemporary times.
All these historical events contributed to feelings of paranoia against surveillance and the “blankness of memory” that is even witnessed in today’s generation. The erasure of the spaces is presented through a material testimony by the Alkazi Theatre Archive as part of Zaidi’s talks.
Even the more recent memory of the Nanhe Miyan shrine demolition in 2023 by New Delhi’s civic authorities is evoked through her presentation.
Ritam Sengupta’s Talks at the Delhi Exhibition 2024
Ritam Sengupta sheds light on the chief economic policies introduced in the 1990s, highlighting the policy and market forces that govern theatrical responses.
He also discussed the concept of dramaturgical surplus by navigating the fact that performances that should belong to the theatre have now penetrated politics and media.
Why was the Delhi Exhibition in 2024 titled Re: Staging 1990s?
When events dominated the landscape of New Delhi in the 1990s, the capital city became a sort of theatre or a rehearsal stage that was both a witness and an active participant in cultural and historical transitioning moments.
With the possibility of theatrical practice acting as a bridge between “aesthetic judgement” and “social or institutional critique”, Zuleikha Chaudhuri launched an investigation into the interplay between performance, historical event and politics.
The Delhi Exhibition 2024, positioned as a provocation, makes us realise that both theatre and history are perpetually restaged and therefore contingent performances, where rehearsal is not a mere practice but a medium where the unfinished negotiations of history can find a place.
Bottom Line
Re: Staging 1990s is a revisit to the decade in India and a reconstruction of its capital as a theatrical stage where historical and cultural events were enacted. Whether it’s the cultural model, talks by eminent personalities or the restaging itself, the Delhi Exhibition 2024 reveals the intersection and interplay between history and theatre.
When the events turn into performances enacted on the stage of history, audiences become spectators, which serve as a reminder of the reality that cultural memory is not static. Rather, it’s a living archive that continues to be shaped by what we witness, hear and experience in the now!