Second day of Natya vachan spardha turned out to be a shift to family stories. We can safely say that caste, family and religion were the highlights of the day. ‘Dhadpad’ (ILS college) was performed first followed by ‘Dusra Samna’ (Aakar, Pune) and ‘Kurban’ (ILS college). One more thing that stood out today was – atmospheric sound. ‘Dhadpad’ and ‘Kurban’ focused on atmosphere too along with text. There were animal sound, songs, dholki and many more noise details created through voice, just so we can reach close to the story.’Dhadpad’, a play taking place in rural Maharashtra showed horrific effects of forced marriages we (sadly) still tolerate in our society. It also showed biased face of the society. How adults ‘contribute’ in every decision younger generation tries to make, even something as important as marriage.

‘Dusra Samna’ dealt with politics, caste and love. Just like the first one, in here too, we saw how parents tries to take control over children’s life. ‘Dusra Samna’ also brought dirty politics, bribe and centralized power into the picture. Small town politics was not far away from the real picture we see. Even the story took place in rural setting, the issue it brought was quiet contemporary and relevant to everyone.

Third play, ‘Kurban’, again a family story focused more on religion. It’s a story of small muslim family and terrible consequences they face just because of their religion. We hear these stories everywhere. Innocent people get killed each day and maybe that’s why we’ve become numb towards it. ‘Kurban’ showed a muslim moholla getting attacked because of religion riots and how family tries to survive it by sailing away through sea.

– Sanket Bagul