Happy endings and more

It is like a celebration coming to an end. Yes! the 16th chapter of Bharat Rang Mahotsav or International Theatre Festival of India came to a close in style. For us, the play Baawre Mann Ke Sapne by director Ramanjit Kaur witnessed some untold stories of women of our country. 

The Creative Art, an all-women theatre production, is unique as it uses theatre as therapy with homemakers. These ‘non-actors’ have actually gone through rigorous training of discipline of time, space and body.  The play has been woven together through improvisations, incidents and life experiences and also take inspiration from stories by Indian women writers like Jhumpa Lahiri, Bulbul Sharma, Abha Iyenger, Irene Dhar and others. 

The focal point  of the play is Amma’s decision to fly to London to see her daughter, Amita. She invites many women to her house, whom she has raised, and it is in this space they start talking, gradually revealing secrets to each other, be it about sexual abuse, domestic violence, sexual perversion or the loss of loved ones. It becomes clear that the women had been hiding immense pain and anger behind masks.

The women draw strength from each other, finding cathartic relief as well as solutions and the will to change their lives. The actors have  apparently taken inspiration from their personal stories and developed them to give this play shape.