Political satire ‘Taj Mahal Ka Tender’ kicks off NSD festival

New Delhi: The National School of Drama’s Winter Theatre Festival 2025 opened on December 26 at NCUI Auditorium, South Delhi, with ‘Taj Mahal Ka Tender’, a sharp political satire by Ajay Shukla, directed by Chitranjan Tripathi.

The play imagines Shah Jahan navigating bureaucratic red tape to build the Taj Mahal, exposing corruption and inefficiency with wit. NSD Repertory Company’s performances, especially Tripathi as Shah Jahan and the bureaucrat Gupta Ji, drew sustained applause. Supported by the Ministry of Culture and Delhi Tourism, the three-day festival aims to make Hindi theatre socially relevant.