This Ambedkarite opera explores the theme of social politics through music

There has always been a prevalent anxiety in developing countries to try to be decolonised and yet modern This is where Dr Babasaheb Ambedkarrsquos principles are most exciting He had the ability to separate the twordquo shares playwright Abhishek Majumdar The Bengalurubased theatremaker is currently in Dubai as he delves into the complex sociopolitical reasonings and genesis of his ongoing production Kavan An Ambedkarite opera Produced by Nalanda Arts Studio and Yalgaar Sanskrutik Manch the play is in its second run in the city starting today at AndheriActor Apurva Kadam at the first staging of the play in Juhu last monthThe production is the result of a journey that began in 2018 when Prithvi Theatre approached Majumdar to restage Prithviraj Kapoorrsquos plays While the initial idea did not take off it set the foundation for a new collaborationShahiri on stageldquoAny collaboration is a timeconsuming process but it is also about understanding each otherrsquos perspectivesrdquo shares 35yearold Dhammarakshit Randive one of the founding members of Yalgaar The stage is not new to members of the Mumbai troupe Since 2015 they have been at the forefront of raising questions on the stage ldquoWe had designed and performed a musical Rang Aman which featured folk fusion and was built around shahiri This Kavan was also a learning experience and offered us a chance to reach an audience outside our echo chamberrdquo Randive says The story by Sudesh Jadhav revolved around the life of a shahir When his father a shahir passes away Bejul is confronted with the choice of pursuing the life and its sacrifices and the cost of walking awayShaping the narrativeCollaboration was the keyword the duo says Initially the project began as workshops between Yalgaar Majumdarrsquos Nalanda Arts Studio and Samuho a queerfeminist theatre from Kolkata However it slowly devolved into two productions mdash one with Yalgaar and another with SomuhoDhammarakshit Randive in a moment from the playWith the troupe from Yalgaar working on multiple story workshops the task was finally entrusted to Jadhav ldquoIra Irawati Karnik myself and Jocelyn Starke were part of the dramaturges on the draft My decisions were purely craftorientedrdquo he admitsACOperatic formThe term opera Majumdar points out is not to be viewed from a European perspective ldquoWe refer to opera in its form here There are many such as the Peking opera Bengali opera even the Harikatha is operatic in formrdquo he explainsThe jalsa form of the Ambedkarite movement was a key influence although not the only one when MD Pallavi signed on to the project The composer says ldquoThe music is a mix of many forms since it is a narrative There is the shahiri music elements of folk and elements of rock and rap music There are ballads spoken verse poetry and librettos that come throughrdquo With only six people taking on both acting and singing roles Randive admits it was a challenge for the team used to performing at full strengthAbhishek MajumdarThe visuals by Gaurav Singh Nijjer add another layer to the production With animation videos and short films mdash six films were shot by members of the troupe depict Mumbai through their lens mdash they offer another layer to the carefully constructed production languageIdentity and answersThis was enabled through the constant inputs from Randive and his team ldquoEvery plot decision in a play is political The choice of music is political In such cases I left the decision to them for they were the experts on the movement in the roomrdquo Majumdar saysHe further notes that Mumbai and its experiences played a key role ldquoIt is a myth that casteism does not exist in urban spaces It is simply existing in a different formrdquo The question is also at the heart of many members of the Mumbaibased caste collective ldquoYalgaar are honest at exploring themselves This is what makes theatre richrdquo admits MajumdarWith support from the New York University Abu Dhabi NYUAD the production is planning for an India tour followed by a performance in Abu Dhabi and later USA ldquoIt can be scaled up or down according to the stagerdquo Randive sharesON Today 8 pm March 16 4 pm and 8 pmAT Rangshila Theatre Aram Nagar Part 1 Versova Andheri WestLOG ON TO inbookmyshowcomCOST Rs 500 onwards