Pearl Padamsee's life was far removed from stage and theatre. Her father was associated with the Freed-om movement and that ensured she went to college (St Xavier's College, Bombay) in khadi salwar kameez. But, that didn't stop her from joining the theatre club where she also met her future husband Alyque Padamsee. And that was just a beginning of an eventful journey.


Pearl Padamsee with her daughter Raell whose production house has put together a retrospective of Pearl's best plays. Titled Celebrating Pearl… the Giant Pixie, it will be staged at NCPA's TATA theatre at 7.30 pm this Friday 

However, it was not until 1971 that Pearl decided to actively join theatre and produce her own plays. It was a time when theatre was still considered a male bastion and there she was all of five-feet commanding her own shows. "People adored her so much that they were always ready to help her out. She wanted to stage her first play, The Serpent, at a church and managed to get the permission from the pastor of Scots Kirk," says her daughter Raell Padamsee.