This is a long narrative—one that spans the entire life of an old woman waiting for death, which she recalls, before dying, with her indomitable will to live. Along with all her anguish, her whole life is reincarnated in memory. There is no fear of approaching death; rather, it feels as if her entire life, once again closing in and churning, waits in the midst of attachment—not by discarding desire and memories, stubbornness and experiences, into some ascetic simplicity, but by carrying everything she has done and lived through straight into the heart of attachment itself.
In a fearful time, when we constantly fear both life and death, this story becomes an epic of fearless vitality. It contains complete and piercing melancholy—of acceptance, of irony, and of its tragicomic presence.
This story is the gift of detachment that a woman, completely immersed in her memories, gives to her daughter as she departs from the world. Traversing the rising and falling valley between attachment and renunciation through the brilliance of language, someone is about to leave behind all these entanglements. Yet even then, everything remains—held still within language.
Every work exists first and finally in language alone—therein lies its truth, its fulfillment, and its dissolution. In this story, narrative language reaches a new pinnacle: it carries the poetry of being, sinking, rising, shaping, and creating; it is prose that examines its own condition, gathers the many unexpected moments of life, and tests the harshness of truth. Ae Ladki is prose drawn quietly from the domain of experience—an experience lifted and preserved from the realm of death into life.
Director :
Seema Sharma is a well-known name in the field of theatre and has been continuously active for the past 35 years. A woman theatre practitioner from Himachal Pradesh, she has played a significant role in shaping the theatre movement in the state and has taken the name of Mandi to the national stage.
Through her tireless efforts, she was honored with the “Excellent Award” by Divya Himachal in 2012–13 for her contribution to theatre. Recently, she was also honored by Dastak Natya Sanstha, Amritsar.
For the past 25 years, Seema Sharma has been coordinating a one-year acting course run by the Himachal Cultural Research Institute and Theatre Repertory, through which trained theatre practitioners have gone on to do outstanding work in their respective fields. She has worked with renowned theatre practitioners and directors from across India.
In 2013–14, she received the Senior Fellowship from the Ministry of Culture, Government of India. She has acted in more than 100 plays and directed over 50 plays. For the last 30 years, she has been working at the community level to promote the theatre movement through children’s theatre workshops and folk theatre platforms.
Her notable folk theatre works include Debkoo–Jindu, Maati Re Khelanu, Saah Ri Kanjar, and Haada Ra Ek Dhyada. Her acclaimed productions include Dhoop Ka Ek Tukda, Gunjan Sharma Beemar Hai, Khanabadosh, Trishanku, Savitri, Ae Ladki, and Kanupriya (solo performance).
Director’s Note
This play is less about a sequence of events and more about a woman’s journey of consciousness, memory, and self-respect. For me, ‘Hey Girl’ is not just a story about a mother-daughter relationship, but the story of a woman who, despite illness, age, and societal expectations, preserves her sense of self.
Ambu’s character represents a woman who remains mentally and morally steadfast even amidst physical frailty. My aim is to present her on stage not as an object of pity, but as a presence full of dignity and inner strength.
The play’s craft moves between reality and memory. Along with the dialogues, silence, pauses, and glances are equally meaningful. Here, what is left unsaid is as important as what is said.
Ambu embodies the concept of women’s empowerment, but this play does not resort to slogans. It highlights a woman’s self-respect, decision-making ability, and independent existence in her everyday struggles. Ambu is not an idealized figure, but a conscious, vibrant, and questioning woman.
This theatrical adaptation of ‘Hey Girl’ aims to make the audience more sensitive and aware rather than simply emotional—so that they see women not with pity, but with respect and equality.
Group :
The Himachal Cultural Research Institute and Theatre Repertory was established in 1989 and has been continuously active since then. It has made a major contribution to sustaining and advancing the theatre movement throughout Himachal Pradesh.
It is the only non-government theatre repertory in North India that has been conducting a one-year full-time residential training program for the past 27 years, attracting students from all over India.
The institute has its own developed campus, including an auditorium, mess, library, hostel, classrooms, etc. In addition, the institute also undertakes its own publications.