INSAF BULLETIN MOURNS THE PASSING OF JAVED MALLICK
Jana Natya Manch
[We were very sad to receive news of the passing of our old friend and comrade Javed Mallick. The following obituary was brought out by one of India’s leading progressive theater organizations Jana Natya Manch, Janam, with which Javed was closely associated.-Ed]
Javed Mallick, one of India’s finest theatre scholars and critics, is no more. He died on July 24, 2024. In his passing, Jana Natya Manch, along with many other theatre makers, has lost a dear friend, ally, and guide.
Javed Mallick was the author of Toward a Theatre of the Oppressed: The Dramaturgy of John Arden, Diverse Pursuits: Essays on Drama and Theatre and Imaginations of an Alternative World: Social Hope Before Marx. His edited books include critical companions to Dario Fo’s The Accidental Death of an Anarchist and Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, and (with Neeraj Mallik) Habib Tanvir: Reflections and Reminiscences. He also translated, with an Introduction, Habib Tanvir’s play Agra Bazar.
Sadly, he was not able to see the last book he co-edited (with Anjum Katyal), Habib Tanvir and his Legacy in Theatre: A Centennial Reappraisal for Seagull Books, which was published just a couple of days before he passed. He also wrote theatre reviews for several newspapers, including the Times of India, Economic Times, and The Telegraph.
Javed Saheb was ailing for a number of years with a degenerative condition which had affected his sight and mobility. What was not affected were his sharp intelligence, his sense of humour, his cheerful optimism, and his commitment to secularism, democracy and socialism. He kept watching plays till as long as his body allowed him – even when he was wheelchair-bound and barely able to see anything beyond a couple of feet. In his final years, when even that became impossible, he kept in touch with theatre through friends, who he would ask about the plays they had seen.
Janam had a special relationship with Javed Saheb. Every time he watched one of our plays, we were treated to his penetrating and critical comments, always offered with empathy and support. We could see why he was such a beloved teacher at the Khalsa College of Delhi University, where he taught literature for many years.
Janam offers its deep condolences to our friend and his wife Neeraj Mallik, their sons and families, and to the scores of admirers and friends of Javed Saheb. He leaves us all bereft.
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