It was five years ago when Ila Arun decided to launch an Ibsen festival in the city, to celebrate works by the Norwegian playwright that remain relevant a century later. What struck Arun deeply was their resonance in today's world with regard to his portrayal of women. She knew however that she had to adapt these works for an Indian audience and do "Ibsen in tradition."

"I knew the characters must look like they were born here," she says. So, the acclaimed yet controversial Ghosts by Ibsen, became Peechha Karti Parchaiyan set in an ancient haveli in Rajasthan, much like Arun's first such adaptation where Lady from the Sea found herself in the parched desert of Rajasthan. "A woman in the desert is as thirsty as one by the sea," quips Arun.