Making sense of namma city's many shades

This year's Deccan Herald Theatre Festival came to a close on Sunday with the performance of 'Boiled Beans on Toast' at the Good Shepherd Auditorium on Museum Road.

The play was written by renowned playwright Girish Karnad and directed by actor and theatre person Prakash Belawadi.

Set in Namma Bengaluru, the play could have been a peek into the life of any of the city's many residents.

An old Bengalurean who has a strong connection with the tree in the yard where she built her home, a young man who moved to the city from a small town with big aspirations, and the usual talk of traffic and underpasses - the audience could relate to every aspect of the play.

The paths of the many characters in the play intertwine as we watch them navigate the city, trying to make sense of it.

Anjana, who has lived in Bengaluru for decades, laments what the city is turning into. Her favourite tree is being chopped off to widen the road and make way for an underpass. At the same time, for Muthu, the domestic help, the underpass is a boon as her house now has some shade and protection from pollution.

The play reflects Bengaluru as it expands, stretching itself to a breaking point. Anjana's Kunnu is stunned by what he sees on the outskirts of the city, where their family's cook lives. There are no roads, and he has to make his way through narrow alleys, amidst the shanties of all those who have moved to the city in the hope of leading a better life.

It was not all sombre though. The thick accent of the policemen and the Ajji who is addicted to betting on horses at the racecourse added humour to the performance.

This year's festival was curated by Sandbox Collective  and featured plays such as Kannada film director Pavan Kumar's 'The Woman in Me' and the classic 'Mother Courage and her children' with thespian Arundhati Nag in the lead.  

DH News Service