This new play features the struggles of two sex workers amidst political conflicts

In 1659, when Aurangzeb executed his brother Dara Shukoh and became the Mughal emperor, the latter was buried quietly and without honour. The exact location of his grave was not clearly recorded, likely to prevent people from treating him as a martyr or symbol of resistance. Over time, the exact location of his burial within the tomb complex remained uncertain, as there are over 140 graves in that complex and many are unmarked.

Based on this very fact, Chennai-based Theatre Nisha’s V Balakrishnan has written, designed and directed a play, The Grave of Dara Shukoh. “Dara Shukoh, a liberal and syncretic thinker, symbolised the possibility of religious tolerance as an achievable dream. The rediscovery of his grave became a harbinger of that thought. This play echoes the conflicts of people caught in battles that are neither their own nor fought for the greater good. Dara’s grave serves as a totem around which the absurd apathy of humans toward one another finds its mirror,” Balakrishnan reveals.

The play unfolds in a small room behind a tea shop near Humayun’s Tomb, where two commercial sex workers, Gracy and Nagina, find themselves caught amidst political, religious and personal upheavals. As news spreads that the grave of Dara Shukoh, the liberal Mughal prince, has been discovered, they oscillate between survival, desire, memory and history.

From childhood memories

“As a child, I once accompanied my father to a tyre shop in New Delhi. While we waited for the tyres to be changed, I witnessed a riot erupt across the street at a tea shop. What began as a verbal altercation suddenly turned into a full-fledged battle. That image became the cauldron in which this play was brewed. Images from my sojourns often find their way into my narratives.

The girl’s banter and shared confidences reveal resilience and vulnerability, while the escalating unrest outside mirrors their inner turmoil. “The set consists of a single cot placed in a dingy back room of a tea shop. Ambient sounds and snippets of conversation form the musical overtones. The costumes are evocative of everyday life, simple, functional and true to the setting,” he shares.

A devastating choice

Ultimately, the struggle for dignity, identity and safety collides with larger forces of intolerance and violence, culminating in a devastating choice that reframes liberation as both survival and sacrifice. “The play attempts realism. The play explores the theme of survival while explaining that physical liberation can sometimes triumph over the liberation of the mind,” the director signs off.

₹400. November 16, 3.30 pm & 7.30 pm. At Ranga Shankara.