This play in Mumbai explores what it means to be free as a woman

At one point in Amb Da Boota The Mango Tree a new play by young theatremakers from the Drama School of Mumbai Lata mdash the sole female character mdash breaks into unrestrained laughter at an innocent joke Her family laughs along but soon enough her joy becomes lsquotoo muchrsquo too lsquounwomanlyrsquo A stern glance from her husband is enough to silence her chuckles With Womenrsquos Day celebrations burning bright and fading fast behind us this moment feels like a quiet reminderPriyanshu Gupta practises his part at an actorsrsquo residency in Kamshet leading up to the premiere PICS COURTESYSUMIT RAWALThe hourlong play conceptualised as part of an academic project follows Latarsquos life mdash the fag end of it if we were to be precise mdash as she battles a terminal illness and reveals an unusual last wish to her family She dreams of becoming a mango tree The tree serves as a metaphor for freedom being unbound or perhaps something more ldquoWe have been discovering new interpretations as we go as well The central question remains what happens when a mother wholly stubbornly demands the freedom to be who she truly wishes to berdquo says troupe member Pranjal Vaid who sowed the seed of this amb da boota earlier this yearldquoI have a chachi aunt back home in Delhi who loves a hearty laugh much like Latarsquos in the scenerdquo Vaid chuckles Having grown up in a Punjabi family Vaid borrows from the nuances of a typical North Indian family including how his auntrsquos laughter that often lingered too long would be eventually curtailed ldquoIn another scene Latarsquos son negotiates a truce lsquoYou called the shots for me my entire life why wonrsquot you listen to us nowrsquo he reasons These narratives draw from the lives lived and unlived by our mothers and their mothers before themrdquo Vaid explainsGupta plays the fantastical frog Pic courtesyInstagramFor a story coloured in complexities including a cameo by a fantastical frog if you fancy a spoiler the stage design is strikingly minimal A short staircase on one end and a lone block on the other ldquoThe block is where Lata finds her comfort and peace at one point even locking herself in the spacerdquo reveals actor Bhavya Rampal Deacutejagrave vu yet again this time for Rampal who remembers how his 90yearold grandmother had a designated spot for herself in their ancestral home in Delhi ldquoThat was her safe space so to say Her everyday essentials water bottle and medicines would be neatly arranged around itrdquo he recalls fondlyWhat the production lacks in visual extravagance it makes up for with its sound design With original Punjabi lyrics penned by Rampal the soundtrack finds inspiration in Punjabi folklore and the artform of tappe mdash fast rhythmic melodic recitations ldquoA thousand crows peck on me with the sound of kach kach kach kach and every time the monsoon comes Irsquoll dance a mad dancerdquo Rampal translates one of the lines from the titular theme song he pennedAlongside Anya Ghai who essays the role of Lata and actors Jai Prakash Kumar and Priyanshu Gupta the young troupe is eyeing a homecoming of sorts after its Mumbai premiere today ldquoThe stories emerge from our homes in Delhi itrsquos only fair that we take them home as soon as we canrdquo Vaid signs offON Today 6 pm and 8 pmAT Chaubara by Veda Factory Aram Nagar Part 2 VersovaLOG ON TO inbookmyshowcomENTRY Rs 350