Dara Shukoh, the Mughal prince often remembered as a philosopher, pluralist, and the “lost heir” to the empire, continues to be a figure of intrigue with his grave never conclusively identified. This absence, and the questions it raises about history and the paths not taken, becomes the seed for Theatre Nisha’s The Grave of Dara Shukoh, a new play written, designed, and directed by V Balakrishnan, featuring actors Shakthi Ramani and Meera Sitaraman.
Set not in the 17th century but in the present day, the narrative unfolds through the eyes of two sex workers caught in the chaos of riots triggered by the search for the prince’s resting place.
Balakrishnan, who has long been fascinated by the prince, traces this intrigue back to his 2016 staging of Indira Parthasarathy’s Aurangzeb. “The mystery of his grave’s location always had Dan Brown proportions attached to it,” he says. “When reports emerged that it had been found, it felt like a victory for love and peace. Dara becomes one of the banners around which all lovers of wisdom and peace must congregate to ensure inclusivity and justice.”
The play pursues the narrative of the finding of his grave that leads to disturbances and violence. “It tries to coax the audience to recognise and realise the futility of war and to inspire them to be all embracing and just,” he continues.
The choice of protagonists, sex workers, adds a striking counterpoint to the narrative. “The profession doesn’t drive the plot,” he clarifies, “but their social ostracism helps underline the dichotomy of the discovery of the grave of a liberal while marginalisation’s are a sad reality of our modern times.”
The play does not seek to sermonise, he insists. “It is a story. My play at the least says: people are people. The rest is our prejudice.”
If this sounds overtly political, Balakrishnan is quick to push back. He frames the work not as commentary but as “a slice of heightened reality.” The riots in the play are not stand-ins for contemporary flashpoints. Instead, they become a backdrop to explore something more intimate: fear. “I was writing about two witnesses to a riotous situation and how they are affected by it. I was exploring fear as a persistent state we humans find ourselves in,” he says.
This deliberate ambiguity also defines the play’s tone. It is staged as a two-hander, leaning into both realism and absurdism.
For Meera Sitaraman, who plays Gracy, the appeal lies in this human-centred approach. “Gracy is stoic, but you can see her struggle with the panic brewing outside,” she says. “The part that resonates most with me is how survival reduces us to our most common denominator, and unites us all,” she continues.
What emerges is not a historical pageant about Dara Shukoh himself, but a meditation on what his rediscovery signifies. The grave becomes a metaphor, the epicentre of buried ideals, unearthed only to reveal how fragile our present remains. The script does not quote his writings, nor does it reconstruct his life. Instead, it places two marginal voices at the heart of the chaos, forcing audiences to reckon with fear, prejudice, and resilience.
If history is usually told by victors, the play asks if we are willing to listen to the silenced. As Balakrishnan puts it, “The play questions, are we ready to accept solutions, or do we find more comfort in nurturing conundrums?”
Perhaps that is the urgency the director wants his audiences to leave with. “Without communion, we are destroying ourselves,” he says. “Don’t let that happen.”
₹500 onwards. On September 6 and 7, at 7 pm. Spaces, Besant Nagar.
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