How this new play by Ulka Mayur in Mumbai highlights the voices of women in Indian mythology

Ahalya (in pink saree) confides in Sakhi about how lonely she feels in Ulka Mayur’s new play, Ballads of Desire

As characters from the pages of the Upanishads come to life on stage, a voice echoes, "Yeh hasratein pyas bujhati hai hamari aur pyasa chodti hai humein, Ye hasratein taakat banti hai hamari aur tadpati hain humein (These desires quench our thirst and leave us thirsty. These desires become our strength and make us suffer)." Desire, says the Rigveda, is "the primal seed and germ of spirit", a seed whose fruit is forbidden for women. Be it the Puranas or epics like the Ramayana, they echo with warnings of women who are said to have failed in chastity.

Ulka Mayur, writer and director of Ballad of Desires, takes the same stories and guides you to the other side - where the women talk. "I have taken characters that are marginalised, often overlooked in the larger narrative," says Mayur. Her protagonists are women from dharti-lok, apsaras from swarg-lok and nag-kanyas from patal-lok. As different as the inhabitants of these three worlds are, the laws their womenfolk have to follow stay pretty much the same. In the play, to be staged at Creative Adda 191, Sakhi is a common friend and confident for all these characters.

We see her first with Ahalya, created by Brahma to be the most beautiful woman in the world and given in marriage to the sage Gautama, and tricked by Lord Indra. However, some texts, like Bala Kanda of the Ramayana, say that she saw through Indra's disguise and willingly committed adultery. Playing on this version and adding layers to it, Ahalya confesses her thoughts to Sakhi. "Gautama is like a celebrity husband, who doesn't have time for his wife and her needs. Much like modern corporate husbands," Mayur laughs. "Besides, he was decades her senior. All Ahalya ever did was pine for her husband - and be punished for it."

Despite dealing with heavy topics, the play never gets preachy. When emotions ride high, dialogue gives way to dance. If dance fails, there is poetry - reiterations of Maya Angelou, Pablo Neruda as well as Mayur's original verses. There is satire which jumps out in little quips, such as when a man from the "judgement ki dukaan" says "Vidhwa ko sati hona chahiye, not slutty." Or when a minor character, who had thus far been "protecting" his Guruma from male attention,catcalls another woman saying, "What's up baby, kabhi aao meri kutiya pe." Mayur says that she has kept the language massy because people often learn bigger lessons while laughing.

The standout? The last act - a folk story from the tribal mythology of Bhil Bharath, Gujarat. In this tale, after Arjun falls into the nag world, Hirapath, a nag-kanya, unapologetically takes control and demands the satisfaction of her desire.

WHAT: Ballad of Desires
WHERE: Creative Adda 191, Andheri
WHEN: November 25, 8.30 PM
PRICE: Rs 350
TO BOOK: insider.in

A festive line up

Performers Anshika Chonkar, Juggy Sandhu and Mohit Madanwal, and bands Abhanga and Euphony will perform at the Dahisar River Festival this Diwali, from November 11 to November 15 at Riverview Hall, Dahisar west.
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WHAT: Dahisar River Festival
WHEN: November 11 to November 15
WHERE: Riverview Hall, Dahisar West
TO BOOK: Dahisar River Festival on Instagram

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WHEN: November 18, 7.30 AM to 8.30 AM
MEETING-POINT: Carter Road Amphitheatre
TO BOOK: insider.in