The lights went out. A group of people in white spilled out from among the audience looking for someone called “Khoka”. Tiny flashlights bobbed around like a constellation of ghost lights, and the hushed queries became more and more frenetic. Suddenly, out of the darkness, came a piercing scream. And with that, came one of the most thrilling sounds a stage actor can ask for: a collective gasp from the audience. That is when you know that the crowd is rapt — glued to the magic on stage. And that is the kind of magic you saw happening repeatedly at the 2nd South Asian American Theater (SAATh) Festival in Boston on September 16 and 17, 2023. Theatre of the South Asian diaspora made its second, ambitious leap towards grabbing centrestage.
Hosted by Off-Kendrik, a Boston-based Bengali theatre group, the festival drew more than 500 people from South Asian American communities and beyond. If the first SAATh Fest, in 2022, was a resounding success, its second iteration turned up the volume several notches.
Off-Kendrik has been presenting original and adapted theatre to the Boston-area Bengali community since 2008. With SAATh, the group is lifting up the voices of theatre enthusiasts from the larger South Asian diaspora. This year’s festival showcased nine plays — in Bengali, Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Kannada, and English — from theatre groups across North America. From solo acts to folk theatre to Badal Sircar’s third theatre, it was a mélange of themes and genres that celebrated the cultural diversity of South Asia.
As Off-Kendrik’s artistic director Sankha Bhowmick put it, “We had full houses on both days! It is the outpouring of support from local Bengali, Marathi, Kannada, Gujarati, and Hindi-speaking communities that made the second SAATh Fest such a success. And the participation of second-generation South Asian American actors shows that SAATh is building a following across the diaspora.”
Here’s a look at the plays that were presented at the second South Asian American Theater Festival in Boston.
Deconstructing Shakuntala: A One Woman Experiment
This solo work in English dramatises Shakuntala’s poem from Michael Madhusudan Dutt’s Birangana Kabyo. Abandoned by her husband-king, the humble forest-maiden is given a voice in Dutt’s work. But what if Shakuntala made her case today? Anrinya Banerjee, a second-generation Indian American actor, reimagines the poem through a contemporary feminist lens. “It’s a powerful and exciting opportunity for me as the child of immigrant parents to be able to expose the next generation to Michael Madhusudan Dutt’s work,” said Banerjee.
Ghati Mommagu
Presented by the Kannada theatre group NataLoka, Ghati Mommagu speaks of ties that transcend generations. Through what seems like total chaos and comedy, the play shows how a second-generation Indian American child learns to appreciate and understand the world from the perspective of their visiting grandparent. This is NataLoka’s second year at SAATh. “Last year, we had presented a musical, Yakshagana. This year’s play has an entirely different flavour, contemporary and high on emotions,” said director Praveena Naduthota.
Gandhi
The Gujarati play Gandhi is a satire on today’s politicians and uses Bhavai, one of Gujarat’s oldest folk theatre forms, to get the message across. Presented by New Jersey-based Shakuntala Arts, the play shows how a corrupt political leader fools his constituents, playing out his nefarious schemes by repeatedly invoking Gandhi’s name. Sailesh Trivedi who leads Shakuntala Arts, was inspired by the SAATh setting, and said, “SAATh brings out Indian diversity in such a beautiful manner. Although we speak different languages, our art has the same roots. It truly feels like one family. I hope to be back next year with another play.”
Park Bench
Park Bench depicts the story of two college students in Kolkata – Onnesha and Akmal – who come from vastly different backgrounds. Are they just classmates? Besties? Lovers? Soulmates? This Bengali play, presented by the Ohio-based Onnyo Theater group, takes the audience through a journey in which they start to wonder what the true meaning of love is. The play has been written and directed by Sandip Mazumdar, who has worked with stalwarts such as Meghnad Bhattacharya and Usha Ganguly. “Of late we’ve been trying to do more original work because I want to speak to the issues faced by our communities and the audience here,” Mazumdar said.
Shubho Drishti
Moments before her wedding, Mimi has a change of heart with respect to her marriage. Struggling to rationalise their daughter's sudden change of plan, her parents attempt to reason with their daughter. The events that follow delve into an introspection of relationships, marriage and interpersonal conflict. Shubho Drishti is a Bengali adaptation of Neil Simon’s A Visitor from Forest Hills, which is one of the stories from his award-winning play Plaza Suite. Shanto Ghosh, the Boston-based director of the play, sees SAATh as a one-of-a-kind opportunity that brings together the various theater-loving communities in the US under one roof. “As an avid theatre enthusiast, it is a wonderful opportunity for me to connect with the various regional theatre forms of South Asia,” he said.
Lucy
Presented by Natyaranga, Lucy is a light-hearted comedy in Hindi. The plot plays out through a hilarious interaction between a clerk who is also a budding singer, Mehta, and his boss’s wife, Tejaswini, who is looking for a singing tutor for her dogs, who happen to be prominent social media influencers. “Natyaranga has a long legacy. We were founded in Boston in 2004, and the team has a long pedigree in acting – stage, short films, and commercials. We are proud to have among us people who have performed widely in English, Marathi, Hindi, and even French,” said Shashank Nene.
Koham
Koham, literally translated from Sanskrit as “Who am I”, explores the very definition of one’s existence. Through a gripping plot, the Boston-based Marathi theatre group, Kalashri, brings forward a fundamental philosophical conundrum: Who am I? Do I decide who I am or does the world around me decide that? The play does not attempt to answer these questions; it prompts the audience to ponder. “The play was written by noted Marathi science fiction author Laxman Londhe. And what is most interesting is that in our play, the lead character is portrayed by his daughter, Rucha Londhe,” shared Koham director Shriniwas Jambhekar.
MustaQueen
A pure-bred Siamese, MustaQueen is sexy and she knows it. And so does the Pakistani family who care for her when she miscarries, and whose own fractures she comments on with piercing wit and empathy. As the global siege on reproductive rights and bodily autonomy rages on, this one-act play’s raw, mischievous commentary upends the myths associated with motherhood. Uma Paranjpe, a second-generation Indian American actor who is making waves with her portrayal of Pi in the Broadway production, Life of Pi, dishes out a delicious performance as MustaQueen. The play is written by Pakistani-American playwright, Fatima Atta Maan, and directed by Zahra Budhwani, a New York-based director and actor of Parsi origin.
Michhil
The hosts, Off-Kendrik, rounded out the festival with their depiction of Badal Sircar’s Michhil. The play was created to be performed on the streets and fields with non-actors. As we approach the 50th year of this iconic play, its relevance still resonates as generations grapple with alienation, dispossession and invisibility. It begs the question how many times can you die and how long can you remain lost?
Dipankar Mukherjee, who directed Michhil, said, “Michhil addresses the current socio-political truths both in the US and in India. Through cameos, we depicted scenes based on the murder of George Floyd, the heinous act of using women’s bodies as battlefield in Manipur, the vacuous nature of the education system, and other social injustices. In a larger context, we are decolonising the North American aesthetics of theatre-making. We are reclaiming, reframing, and renaming our aesthetics.”
Dipanwita Bhattacharyya is a social sector professional and an avid enthusiast of the creative arts based in Boston, Massachusetts.
