Dream Merchants

Written and directed by Niresh Kumar,a final-year student of the Department of Indian Theatre,PU and member of Alankar,the play was born out of a story that Kumar would hear as a six-year-old from his mother every night.”Biniya is an imaginative child,who becomes a part of the stories that her mother tells here every night at bedtime. Somehow Biniya’s world of dreams stayed with me,” says Kumar,talking of how Biniya is faced with a tough life,even in her dreams,but she comes out a winner every time. “She is faced with a tough life,but in the end she overcomes each situation. She is a winner all the way,” says Kumar,introducing the leading ladies,Bandana,who plays the role of Biniya and Durga,who plays her mother.

The play is an extension of the philosophy and effort of Hamari Kaksha,a society of city-based teachers working over the last seven years for children of the lesser privileged sections of society,including kids who have never been to school and drop outs,helping them get basic education and personality development. “We forge a bond with them,helping them to cope and be a part of society. Theatre plays a very effective role in it,” says Kumar. “When we started working with them many of these kids had personality problems,since they were grappling with insecurities,fears and various other problems. Some of them could not speak,others refused to look up when spoken to. Slowly,through theatre exercises,games,music,we got to know their mind and connect with them,” he adds.

As a group,Alankar has experimented with various forms of theatre and worked with these children for a while. “Some of these children are very talented. We told each of them to write a lullaby for the play and we were amazed at the range they came up with,” says Chakresh,founder of Alankar. Though the children have been part of many theatre productions,this particular show was special for them,thanks to the grand scale in which it was played out. “We had everything from bright costumes,sets,make-up and music,” they chuckle. Interestingly,it was the kids who zeroed in on the story. “We gave them many options,this was their unanimous choice,” says Chakresh.