Ehsaas developed as a revolution in Indian Theatre talking about the struggle against the heteronormative world, social and family acceptance etc
January is an exciting month for Godrej India Culture Lab, as it’s part of QAM (Queer Azaadi Mumbai), and is hosting a couple of exciting events for Pride month. Through these events, India Culture Lab seeks to explore youth culture within the Indian LGBTQ movement. On January 12, they are staging Ehsaas, a lesbian coming-of-age play by the Asmita Theatre Group and Harmless Hugs, who are bringing this from Delhi, in collaboration with Gay Bombay. Arvind Gaur, director of Ehsaas, tells us more about the play...
What was the thought behind staging Ehsaas?
At Asmita. we believe in working with all communities and have remained connected with the LGBTQ community since the last five years. This association happened during QAM in Delhi wherein we organised a street play, Pehchan. It was one of the first street plays in the country talking about bold issues facing the LGBTQ community. We intended to turn the play into a debate within the society. Post QAM, we took it to various colleges, communities and markets. A lot of support was extended from organisations like Harmless Hugs and pleasant responses were received from all sections of society.
Through this initiative, we got more individuals involved into talks with the LGBTQ community. A volunteer from Harmless Hugs narrated her own experience and we did numerous sittings with the community members to understand various issues facing them. Ehsaas developed as a revolution in Indian Theatre talking about the struggle against the heteronormative world, social and family acceptance etc. It narrates the struggle of a young girl, who loves and feels for the same sex.
What was the response when it was first staged in Delhi?
This play was first staged two years ago; however, this will be the fourth staging in Mumbai. Ehsaas brings a message of hope. We made it more dramatic by adding songs and LGBT rainbow colours. We have always received an overwhelming response from the audience. In fact, we have seen audiences coming up on stage and celebrating. Ehsaas is an emotional story questioning social restrictions around sexuality. Therefore, audiences have appreciated it not only as a lesbian play but also a production that breaks taboos about sexuality. On conclusion, people identify themselves with the play and celebrate it.
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