Shakti in Clay

Known for his socially conscious theatre performances,Lokesh Jain’s latest offering is a powerful and provoking play called Khwabon Ke Bul-Bule,which was staged at Nehru Memorial Museum and Library auditorium,New Delhi,on Monday.

The play depicted an uncanny setting — nine dolls scampering on the stage,clay men rolling on the floor,psychedelic lights,and the dramatic beats of dhols as the only sounds in this non-verbal performance. The message,however,became clear when the “feminine energy” (played by Ragini Lalit) transformed clay into a living force. Ironically,the created beings took on the creator and ultimately destroyed the life-giving energy.

The play is based on a poem that Jain wrote in the dead of the night. “I had been hounded by this idea for quite some time. And then,one day,at 2 am,the poem just wrote itself,” says Jain,a prominent Delhi-based theatre artiste for 25 years. “I wanted to make a play without a character or linear structure. That’s why the play is non-verbal,it shows how creation has always been an invincible force,which,to me,lies in feminine energy and man destroys it through greed,” he adds. The play will be staged in Chandigarh soon.