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Time of India
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Pagla Ghoda's local version has raw take on patriarchy
Pune: Pagla Ghoda is not the kind of play that disappears quietly into theatre history. This powerful piece, written by Badal Sircar in the 1960s, has haunted Indian stages for over six-and-a-half decades. Audiences will experience its piercing truths once again on the weekend, with 9Thirty Theatre Company staging the work at The Box2 in Erandwane on June 8 at 1 pm, under Chahat Singla's direction. The play is set in a crematorium where four men gather for a young woman's funeral who died by suicide following a love affair. What follows is a slow, smouldering confession that exposes the hypocrisies, fears, and fragile egos of men who had failed the women in their lives all along. Badal Sircar's writing is sharp and subtle, implying that no matter how educated or refined, men often share a brutal indifference when it comes to love and emotion. However, Chahat Singla's staging of the play brings a fresh, confrontational edge. For one, the soul that haunts the cremation ground in this version is not that of the dead woman, but of a man. "There's a big difference when a man asks certain questions to society and when a woman does," said Singla, who also plays the central, ghostly character. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 月 *만원대 "실비보험" 최적가 비교가입! "가성비 굿 맞춤설계+할인혜택"... 굿리치 보험대리점 (등록번호:제2006038313호) 가입하기 Undo "When woman ask these questions to men, there would be no effect. But when a man is asking them, ego comes into play. It frames fragile masculinity," he said. By flipping the gender of the unfulfilled soul, Singla reframes the entire emotional landscape of the play. "This shows how different emotions are evoked when patriarchy is questioned by different genders. It also shows how little and how slowly society has changed over the last 65 years. There is awareness, but no acceptance," said Singla. Though the original play has been staged across India and abroad by countless theatre troupes, the Pune production leans into rawness. There is no attempt to cushion the audience from the discomfort of confrontation. "The play has exaggerated pauses between dialogues to let the heavy emotions sink in. These dramatic silences provide space for the audience to feel what's being said and to think about it in real time," Singla explained. Among the play's ensemble, the character of Laxmi, stands out in this staging for her compassion. "She is a prostitute, treated quite rudely by everyone. She's like a blank canvas, coloured by how life and people have treated her. It makes you see her not just as a prostitute, but as a human being crushed by patriarchy," said Singla. It's this layered humanisation and refusal to let audiences escape into stereotypes that makes Pagla Ghoda still hit hard today. Pune: Pagla Ghoda is not the kind of play that disappears quietly into theatre history. This powerful piece, written by Badal Sircar in the 1960s, has haunted Indian stages for over six-and-a-half decades. Audiences will experience its piercing truths once again on the weekend, with 9Thirty Theatre Company staging the work at The Box2 in Erandwane on June 8 at 1 pm, under Chahat Singla's direction. The play is set in a crematorium where four men gather for a young woman's funeral who died by suicide following a love affair. What follows is a slow, smouldering confession that exposes the hypocrisies, fears, and fragile egos of men who had failed the women in their lives all along. Badal Sircar's writing is sharp and subtle, implying that no matter how educated or refined, men often share a brutal indifference when it comes to love and emotion. However, Chahat Singla's staging of the play brings a fresh, confrontational edge. For one, the soul that haunts the cremation ground in this version is not that of the dead woman, but of a man. "There's a big difference when a man asks certain questions to society and when a woman does," said Singla, who also plays the central, ghostly character. "When woman ask these questions to men, there would be no effect. But when a man is asking them, ego comes into play. It frames fragile masculinity," he said. By flipping the gender of the unfulfilled soul, Singla reframes the entire emotional landscape of the play. "This shows how different emotions are evoked when patriarchy is questioned by different genders. It also shows how little and how slowly society has changed over the last 65 years. There is awareness, but no acceptance," said Singla. Though the original play has been staged across India and abroad by countless theatre troupes, the Pune production leans into rawness. There is no attempt to cushion the audience from the discomfort of confrontation. "The play has exaggerated pauses between dialogues to let the heavy emotions sink in. These dramatic silences provide space for the audience to feel what's being said and to think about it in real time," Singla explained. Among the play's ensemble, the character of Laxmi, stands out in this staging for her compassion. "She is a prostitute, treated quite rudely by everyone. She's like a blank canvas, coloured by how life and people have treated her. It makes you see her not just as a prostitute, but as a human being crushed by patriarchy," said Singla. It's this layered humanisation and refusal to let audiences escape into stereotypes that makes Pagla Ghoda still hit hard today. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Eid wishes , messages , and quotes !
Time of India
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
It's houseful at Mumbai's Prithvi theatre for these juvenile home kids
The group from the Umerkhadi home during a performance of 'Ek Aise Gagan Ke Tale', an adaptation of renowned theatre director Badal Sircar's, 'Beyond the Land of Hattamala' MUMBAI: Professional production, ticketed shows, popular acclaim. A dramatic intervention hopes to help children at city's Umerkhadi home reimagine their place in the world. Earlier this month, the stage at Prithvi Theatre belonged to 19 children in conflict with the law — many charged with serious offences — as they stood in the spotlight, not as wrongdoers but as artistes, reclaiming their story. The boys — all from Umerkhadi Observation and Children's Home — were the stars of ' Ek Aise Gagan Ke Tale ', adapted from Badal Sircar's whimsical, 'Beyond the Land of Hattamala', and directed by theatre artiste Sapan Saran. The play is set in a surreal land, where nothing is bought or sold. Two bumbling thieves stumble into it and find that it values kindness over the wallet — a world far from the one these boys have known. For the audience, it was an evening of llaughter and surprise. For the boys, it was much more — a shot at being seen differently. Just months ago, none of them had seen a play, let alone acted in one. Aged 16 to 20, most ended up at the home in connection with serious offences like theft, rape, and murder. Some are undertrials, a few have been committed (juvenile justice term for convicted), but all carry more personal and legal baggage than most adults will in a lifetime. Their fifth consecutive sold-out show, the play was a part of Theatre for Change, a drama-based intervention that begins with weekly sessions and builds up to one full production a year with professional direction, public shows, and paying audiences. The initiative is meant to support 'children in conflict with the law', a term that humanises their status but rarely alters their path. 'We didn't want an NGO showcase, but a proper, ticketed play where the boys feel like artistes — a way for them to step out of the margins and into the mainstream,' says Timira Gupta, project mentor at Ashiyana Foundation, which works with at-risk children and youth. It began, as many powerful stories do, with something small. On Human Rights Day in 2023, a group of boys from the Dongri home were invited to perform a 15-minute skit at the Raj Bhavan, called 'Second Chance', pieced together from scraps of their own lives. It was part of a theatre workshop Ashiyana had started at the home. 'The shift was visible before their first-ever show,' recalls Sachi Maniar , director of Ashiyana. 'They were talking about dialogues, not bail or court dates. And they were performing for judges, cops, authority figures — you could see the shift in gaze.' For the first time, they weren't seen as offenders, but as artistes. 'It showed in their posture, their eyes, their energy.' That moment, says Maniar, planted a seed that has since grown into this full-length play. The boys didn't warm to theatre immediately. Coming from fractured homes and violent surroundings, some were too wary to trust the room. 'They didn't want to do what they thought was ajibo-garib (strange),' laughs Gupta. But soon they were hooked, and the script grew from their ideas. 'They are victims of circumstances. Many are school dropouts with no role models. Some can't even read. Many struggle with language, memory, or focus, and so the play was adapted to suit the boys' strengths and realities,' says Maniar. Saran, who spent four months coaxing performances and conversations from the boys, says the play's humour and idealism opened up complex conversations. 'They have strong opinions about the world and how it works. The play lets them imagine an alternative,' she says, calling it a bridge between where they've been and where they want to go. For the boys, the transformation is visceral. 'They walk and talk differently. Their sense of self-worth has gone from zero to hundred,' says Gupta. Initially, the team considered giving them masks to protect their identity. But the boys refused. For Veer being in the play stirred something long dormant. 'Main kharaab hoon. Sabko pata hai (I'm bad. Everyone knows it),' he says, matter-of-factly. 'But there's something good in this play. And I'm part of it. So, it feels like I'm doing something good, too.' Jai talks of how, after one show, the dignitaries came up to speak with them, seeking them out as artistes, not offenders. 'Bahut acha laga jab bade-bade judges ne aake humse izzat aur pyaar se baat ki (It felt good when important judges spoke to us with love and respect),' he says. 'Too often, children in conflict with the law are defined by what they've done or where they're from. But they're also dreamers, thinkers, creators,' says Maniar, who sees this as central to Ashiyana's restorative work at the Umerkhadi Home, one of the country's oldest at 220 years, that offers vocational training, education, and counselling. With the play, the idea was that it's arts-led interventions like these that help children heal and reimagine their place in the world. Like Kenaram, the hapless thief in the play, who stumbles into a land where money means nothing, 17-year-old Ali — who plays him — finds himself in a world just as unfamiliar, filled with light, laughter, and second chances. 'Through the play, I've seen new places, met new people, done things I never imagined,' he says. Kader, 18, puts it simply: 'We kids don't always know what's right and wrong. We just flow, like a river. But this play gave us better direction. I hope people realise that kids like us need guidance.' The bond between the boys has deepened, too. 'Earlier, we barely spoke — just gaali (abuses),' says Ali. 'Now we joke around using lines from the play, and look out for each other.' Even home feels different. 'My brother and sister came to watch me. Not my father. But I heard he's proud. That made me happy,' he smiles. Ali now dreams of running a small business — 'maybe a food shop'. And what's he leaving behind? 'Just the aimless wandering.' (Names changed to protect identity)
