GIRL ON RISE: Niharika Bhagat

Around us, there are many girls who would ordinarily pass by us and wouldn't catch our eyes. And in case, you are around them, you would not know even half of what she is. A person is not ordinary or extraordinary by his looks. Yes, for a moment it will hold your attention, but if you are one of those who look for something deep and meaningful in a person, mere looks just wouldn't do. If you ask me, a person holds your attention by his passion, his dreams, his perceptions and ideology. Because only those who could explore themselves and know their true self can tell you what exactly they want in life and how are they planning to achieve it; their dedication towards that will reveal their devotion. 'We the Women' is a medium to bring forth the stories of such girls who not only dream to make it big but are on their way to do so. The results could be anything but that is not what should matter. It is the journey and not the destination that matters more, as they say. AKRITI JAMWAL talked to a rising theatre artist, to know about her journey and get little insight on the life of a theatre artist. So let's jump into it and know about this girl next door with dreams to make it into the Big City. Shall we?

Niharika Sakshi is in her early 20's. She finished her studies lately and took up the job as a teacher. She is regular, bubbly and sweet person, who has a tint of shyness in her persona, boasted by her chirpy voice. She is someone who is seemingly just another person in crowd, if you are not interested in theatre. But you'd be surprised to know that this young girl has around eight years of the experience in the field. She has got her hands in everything that deals with theatre, both on and off the stage; not only acting but singing and decorations too.
Was it really her dream to act? May be. But she admits she was too shy to ever try it. Yet, Niharika has an amazing story about how she stumbled into the field and she feels blessed that she did. Niharika's father Anil Kumar is in theatre and so are her brothers, Abhishek and Aditya Bhati. Her father writers scripts and directs play. On one such occasion, one of the girls in the play could not perform and being quite at the edge, her father had to insist and prep her for the play. The said play was "Visarjan" in 2010 at Abhinav Theatre, Drama Festival, Jammu. She was in school when this happened. After this, she incorporated theatre along with studies. She didn't stop simply because she stumbled into theatre but she also didn't take it as an excuse to not pursue her studies. She schooled from, Shiksha Bhavan Higher Secondary School; graduated from GCW, parade in B.A.; she further pursued B.Ed. from MIER college of Education and M. A. in Education from IGNOU, Jammu and now she is working as a teacher in Jagriti Niketan Higher Sec School. But she never parted from stage ever, after she stepped on stage.
Niharika has acted in "Gagan Damama Bajyo-2011"; "X-reflection-2012"; "Agni barkha-2013"; "The Government Inspector-2014"; "The Last Colony-2015"; "Blood And Beauty-2016" and now she is preparing and looking forward for her next play which is again going to be "Blood and Beauty" to be staged on 3rd February at Abhinav Theatre at 5 pm. It is basically a rehearsal for Bharat Rang Mahotsav to be held on 7th of February. On being inquired about her role she said, "The day I said Yes to the character suggested to me in this play, my whole life changed. As I started putting myself into the character I agreed upon in this thrilling new theatrical adaptation of Kunju Chanchlo i.e Blood & Beauty; one of darkest and most powerful works of Kumar 'A' Bharti, my father. I actually started putting myself through the wring on regular basis for 'difficult' role and now, I clearly get drawn to roles of complex, tortured women".
Niharika also professes that theatre takes the stress away, by giving you a healthy stress. She believes that a depressing role doesn't depress you; it actually has potential to pull you out of it. "The atmosphere that the director, Abhishek Bharti created and the way he helped us to understand our character is marvellous. He is my brother but that is not why I praise his abilities to direct a play. He actually helped me find the origin of her evil side of my character and motivated me to find the humanity at the same time. It was an amazing thing to work on - the humanity of monsters. So now, I have focused on the idea that in every human has demons. And in every human who has given into the demons, there's still a human. It's very interesting to understand how a person can shift to darkness - total darkness, while he can easily turn to lights," she asserts.
It might take many by surprise but even an actress as experienced as her feels nervous till today. Taking about the stage fright she hastily said, "I still get nervous; that first step on the stage is still frightening". Reminiscing her first time on stage, Niharika tells that it was not at all different than, any other time on stage. Being in the field for so long and despite being experienced, she says that she still feel nervous when performing in front of audience but she also stresses that feeling little jittery before performing, has always brought out her best. On being asked about what makes her step on the stage despite of the fear, she says that performing, living a character and getting appreciated for your work, makes you fight your fears, practice, excel and keep moving on.
"I was never concerned about my identity before coming into this field. After performing for the first time, I experienced how wonderful it feels to be appreciated. This made me realise that it is very important to have an identity; people should know you for something good," says Niharika. She also believes that it is essential to know yourself, learn about yourself and dream for yourself. For her, putting your dreams aside or completely giving up on them is the worst one can do to oneself. "If you keep telling yourself that a time will come when you would have favourable conditions to follow your heart and pursuing your dreams, you are losing your time; clock is ticking and it waits for no one. If there is any right time, it is now," says Niharika.
Her whole family has been a support, since her father, elder brothers Abhishek are all in the same field. Only her mother Kamal Mohini, is in different field; she is an accountant. For Niharika theatre is not just a profession but her way of living. She is a great example of today's girl, who can manage between her dreams, passions and occupations; sometimes all are one and sometimes all are different sides of one's life. Niharika is called "Drama Queen" by her friends. It is because of the reason that she always get an emotional role to play, involving a lot of crying. But who, while playing a role of sad person, could be funny? Sharing about her best experience in theatre she told that after acting on stage, they are asked to watch video recordings of the play. This is to make them witness themselves and analyse their acting. "The more you cry on stage, the more you laugh watching it. Sometimes you feel you acted very well, but on watching yourself you realise you went little far and that's hilarious," speaks an amused Niharika. But that doesn't mean she is not serious about her work and persistent to do better.
To our readers the message this girl had to give is- "Theatre offers young girls an opportunity to express themselves in variety of creative ways along with which it is also a great opportunity to enhance their learning and boast their emotional, social, physical and cognitive development. So if you are interested in theatre, dive in to the endless opportunities this thing provides. Do not shy away." We are glad that she didn't!


Updated On 7/3/2017 3:50:57 PM