American scripts stay in India experience into monologue

An American storyteller has converted the experience of his stay in India into an hour long monologue which is a humorous take on the land that almost every westerner puts on his must visit itinerary.

In the one-hour-long monologue, called From Madison to Madurai: 134 Days in Mother India, HR Britton narrates the experiences of a just out-of-college student backpacker who comes to India seeking spirituality.

"In a short version, yes, I came to India looking for spirituality and also to learn yoga and singing. I was also interested in Buddhism and wanted to go into the source of ideas," says Britton, 38, who currently teaches English at the Boston University.

The funnyman says he landed up in his friend's house in the south Indian city of Madurai and soon began his four-and-a-half month long journey all across India, including the religious places he visited.

"The performance is a take on my experiences in 1995. I haven't been to India since then and so the drama is about the stories back in time," says the storyteller who alternates between original monologues and literary adaptations, he has been spinning yarns in New York city since 1999.

In the monologue the American portrays different people and situations like a family of four on one scooter, aggressive fruit sellers at Kovalam beach and fisherwomen at Rameshwaram.

"It portrays the awe I looked at things. Maybe it had something to do with my naivete," explains Britton. he piece also exposes the misconceptions and hidden romanticism that characterised his trip and often led to mishap and deflation.

Returning to the country after a gap of over 14 years Britton finds almost everything in India to be changed. "There are so many cars on the roads here. Back then owning a car was an exception. There were more bicycles, today the traffic is overwhelming. Also everybody seems to have a cellphone, even the rickshawallah," says an amazed Britton.

Britton's monologue was conceived and curated by Prakriti Foundation as part of the Park's New Festival that was held in Delhi and Chennai recently.  He debuted the piece at St Mark's in the East Village in 2006.

With performances at the 2005 Philadelphia Fringe Festival, Frankford Arts Festival, the Andes Society for History and Culture in Andes, New York for his adaption of Sleepy Hollow, Britton has told stories on the East Coast for several years.