In the form of a play, a film and a workshop, actress Meeta Vasisht brings to the audience medieval poetess Lal Ded from Kashmir.
Play Synopsis: Conceptualised, directed and performed by Meeta, this solo-act is a theatrical collage of poems, songs, thoughts and philosophies of Lal Ded.
Born to Brahmins, this fiery artist transgressed all boundaries by discarding her clothes at an early age and remained unclad all her life. Her poems or vaakhs were short and pithy, resonating secular values that transcended the narrow confines of caste and religion that had crippled India in those times.
Film Synopsis: The film begins with an evocation of Lal Ded, the great woman mystic poet of 14th century Kashmir, and almost immediately engages with the people of Jammu and Kashmir in the present day. It then moves between the deeply personal narratives about Lal Ded by the Kashmiris, (from across the length and breadth of J&K) to fictionalised depictions of her life.
The contemporary theatre performance, on Lal Ded, woven briefly into the docu-feature narrative, helps to bridge the transitions in the vast spectrum of the Lal Ded legend and reveals her influence even among the non-Kashmiris.
Workshop: The workshop is a master class where in the actress, writer, and co-director of the play deconstructs the process of arriving at the performance. She makes the process exciting and relevant and revelatory to every participant, whether they are performers or members of the audience.
When: Feb 5 - Feb 10
Where: G5A Foundation for Contemporary Culture, Mahalaxmi, Mumbai
Tickets are available on Insider.in