Actor, lyricist and playwright Piyush Mishra was recently in Delhi, returning to his roots with a visit to the National School of Drama. But even more than his alma mater, it is Mandi House that is closer to the legendary theatre artist’s heart. “Kaam kiya hai 3 saal wahan par, iske alaawa main 20 saal raha hoon Dilli mein. NSD se zyaada Mandi House mujhe pyaara hai. Mandi House mein I have spent 20 years, 20 long years working, working just doing theater. Toh usmein jo hai uski bahut, bahut bhayankar memories hain, matlab chhoti-moti memories nahi hain. Wahan par har chappe mein, har zarre-zarre mein rehearsal ki hai maine. Mandi House is like a pilgrimage for me,” shares Piyush.
He goes on to add, “Bengali Market bada priy adda tha humara. Delhi ko ek hi tareeqe se miss karta hoon ki waisa wala kaam main dubaara nahi kar paaya jaisa maine wahan rehte hue kiya. 20 saal mein jo kaam kiya maine wahan par, with no expectation of going cinema, no expectation of name, fame, money, toh woh jo hai maine wahan par jo kiya woh bahut hi enthusiastic aur bahut hi productive kaam tha. Uss kaam ki wajah se hi main hoon jo kuch bhi hoon. Matlab ab yahan aane ke baad itna jaldi kaam mil gaya mujhe cinema mein, kaaran yahi tha ki itna kaam karke aaya tha main. Toh memories jo hai kaam ki hi hain aur koi aisi koi romantic memories nahi hain meri. Woh alag baat hai ki meri biwi se meri wahin mulaqaat hui thi.”
Earlier this week, Piyush and his wife Priya Narayanan celebrated their 31st wedding anniversary. The actor reminisces, “Priya (Narayanan) padhti thi School of Planning and Architecture mein, ITO pe uska college tha. Wahan main 1992 mein play direct karne gaya tha. Unse mulaqaat hui, ishq ho gaya. Humne 1992 se 1995 tak date kiya aur 95 mein shaadi kar li.”
When asked if the culture of theatre and live performances is still alive in the National Capital, Piyush says, “Hai hai, main jaata rehta hoon. Ab bhi log bhide hue hain. Bhale hi woh cinema ke laalach mein bhide hue hon, lekin engrossed hain woh log, lagaatar theatre kar rahe hain, achhi baat hai.”
On the work front, Piyush was last seen in Rahu Ketu.