The mood was light; the audience appeared cheery with what was about to unravel on stage. I was at a Lavani performance at Prithvi nearly eight-nine years ago, to watch Shakuntala Nagarkar weave her magic on stage and to witness the folk art form that she and her fellow artistes were to present in an urban milieu.

I was seated in one of the first few rows by the stage, and boy! I was glad that I chose wisely, given Prithvi Theatre’s interactive design plan, and the engagement that is integral with these Lavani shows. Unbeknownst to me, Prithvi’s main man, Kunal Kapoor was seated in the row behind mine. The show began, the cheers grew louder, and ‘Shakubai’ was in her element. The senior pro’s enthusiasm was infectious, and even a novice to the understandings of this art form, like yours truly, could gauge how her co-artistes were feeding off that energy. The script, performed in Hindi and Marathi, for the mixed audience was a delight, drawing in everyone, across age groups and backgrounds.