With his new play Sunte Ho, poet-lyricist Gulzar continues to kindle an interest in Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore's work while raising a toast to womanhood

At the second, "mini" edition of the festival that is being organised to celebrate theatre group Essay Communication's 10th anniversary, it is all about bringing the fringe to the fore. The festival will begin with an interesting set of performances.


Lubna Salim in a still from Sunte Ho

First up will be Kaptan Chacha, a performance piece by physically challenged children from Bhopal-based NGO Arushi. Following the half-hour special performance, actress Lubna Salim will take up the baton and carry on for the sake of women's right through Sunte Ho, a two-part play that includes a piece by Rabindranath Tagore and another by Gulzar.

With Sunte Ho, Urdu and Hindi literature stalwart Gulzar goes back to his current interestu00a0Tagore's works. The previous week-long festival that the group celebrated included Yaar Julahe, an hour-long poetry reading session where the legend read select works by Tagore. In translating Streer Patro, the lyricist found a connect with his own short story Mard, which is about a contemporary woman.

A tale of two stories
Director Salim Arif has decided to stage both stories in a bid to widen the scope of the play. "Sunte Ho is about two ways of looking at women and gender-based issues. So, Sunte Ho is about a woman from a feudal patriarchal family, whose story is told through a letter she writes to her husband. That period is then juxtaposed against a contemporary story in Mard, in which the lady becomes answerable to her son," explains Arif.

The director adds, "It's very interesting to see how the women react in both stories. In Sunte Ho, a woman decides to leave her husband despite the times she is living in. In Mard, the story is more here and now. It's about a woman who goes through a divorce and remarries but does not tell her son from the first marriage. When the son confronts her, you realise what it is for women to exist in a male dominant society."

Kaptan Chacha
The special performance titled Kaptan Chacha is the result of a workshop Salim Arif had undertaken with physically challenged students associated with the NGO Arushi. "I felt theatre would be an interesting way to empower the children and this performance is a result of it," says Arif. Kaptan Chacha speaks of the importance of the national flag and days of national significance with a tinge of humour. The play has been previously performed at Bharat Bhavan in Bhopal.

On August 23 and 24, 9 pm at Prithvi Theatre, Janki Kutir, Juhu Church Road, Vile Parle (W).
Call 26149546 Tickets
Rs 80