Ramayana's Women Speak Up
'The play features a fictional panchayat of women from the epic, where the female characters gather to share their pain, guilt, anger, and even wisdom,' says Gupta, also a mental health consultant and a playwright. 'This isn't just another version of the Ramayana. It's about what these women might say if given a chance to speak freely. They question their roles and struggles, and in doing so, they heal themselves.'
The 'all-women' drama revolves around 11 female characters from the epic. These include well-known names like Sita, Kaikeyi, and Mandodari, as well as lesser-known figures like Sunaina (Sita's mother), Sulochana (wife of Meghanada, the eldest son of Ravana), Urmila (Lakshmana's wife), Ahalya (sage Gautam Maharishi's wife), and others. And the range of emotions they allow themselves to reveal on stage are varied as well—from Kaikeyi's anger and Urmila's loneliness, to Ahalya's curse, the drama depicts the many emotions these women were forced to endure.
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