After houseful shows in Mumbai, Ladies Sangeet, a play staged under the Aadyam banner, is now in Delhi. Directed by Purva Naresh, the play will bring alive the various hues of a modern wedding sangeet ceremony and the complexities of familial relationships. As expected from grand Indian weddings, the play has colourful costumes and lively music.
Ladies Sangeet opens with a household that’s buzzing with wedding preparations. Radha, the oldest daughter of the house, is about to wed Siddharth, a man from an affluent family. Everyone is happy and chirpy, as the music-filled house resonates with joy and cheer. Radha is as nervous as she is excited because she has been dreaming of her wedding since she was a young girl, but apart from what she has read in books, she has no idea of what a marriage actually entails after the bonhomie ends.
Says director Purva Naresh, “The play is a series of conversations between people that serves to highlight gender stereotypes and representation. Through these conversations, we get a glimpse of the evolution of relationships and somehow veer towards the fact that the more relationships evolve with time, the more they’re actually not all that far away from the traditional.”
Initially in the play, everything seems fine, but slowly, the shadows begin to creep in and the flaws begin to reveal themselves, and at each juncture, the wedding seems to be in danger. Each character in the play re-examines gender stereotyping and the changing value system across generations. Each character’s story starts a debate on Indian sensuality, sexuality and gender, and like a kaleidoscope or a tapestry, comes together in the end to reveal a perspective on some of the questions raised.
Says artistic director Divya Bhatia, “Over the years, it has acquired a very Bollywoodesque element, with all the particular songs and dances, choreographers, etc. There are elements of all of this in the play, but at the same time, Ladies Sangeet is also a metaphor for what women are in this day and age. It’s also about women’s voices being heard; voices of different ages and time. Relationships today have become far more complex and modern, so these occasions of trying to get everybody to get together are challenging ones. The play reveals this, often in a light-hearted vein… what it really means to put together a wedding today.”
Naresh, an accomplished kathak dancer and pakhawaj player, brings very unique sounds to the play. Given that one would come to expect a rather typical Bollywoodesque playlist for a sangeet, her own roots in traditional music forms lend a very unique sonic palette to the play.
Bhatia adds, “Since Purva herself is a dancer/percussionist, her use of music is minimal and judicious; her experience of being a kathak dancer, a pakhawaj player and more means that much of her work epitomises her own artistry.”
Aadyam is a cultural initiative by the Aditya Birla Group that was launched two years back. The aim was to offer a platform to theatre groups to showcase their talent without bothering about production hassles.
