Aka Nundun is a legendary folk narrative that transcends generations, and its essence is brought to life in an opera that seamlessly weaves together the rich tapestry of Kashmiri performance art, a fusion of Kashmiri folk and the Sufiyana Maqam. Performed in traditional Bhand style, the opera undergoes a transformative journey to grace the modern stage.

The story is – in ancient Kashmir, a King and Queen, blessed with seven daughters, longed for a son as an heir to their kingdom. A wandering Yogi promises them a child on the condition that he would one day come for him. The son, Akanundun, was born – a radiant child who brought joy and prosperity to the kingdom. Years later, the Yogi returned to claim him. Bound by his vow, the King surrenders his beloved son despite his and the Queen’s grief. The boy was sacrificed as part of a divine ritual – his body cooked and offered to the Yogi. But in the end, the Yogi revealed his true power: Akanundun was restored to life, transformed and pure, symbolizing the triumph of faith over despair. The legend blends myth, mysticism, and moral tragedy. For Kashmiris, Akanandun endures as both a tale of divine testing and a metaphor for their land itself – wounded, mourned, yet forever reborn through faith and memory.

Director

Arshad Mushtaq has a Bachelor’s degree in English literature (D.U.), and a Master’s degree in Communication (K.U.), was an international fellow at the George Washington University, Washington D.C., and an Artist-in-Residence at the Nazareth College New York.

For over two decades, Arshad Mushtaq has stood at the crossroads of memory, creativity, culture, and performance in Kashmir, shaping Peather Baraye’ Kasheer (Theatre for Kashmir). His other major productions are Kashmiri opera Assi Aies te’ Aisse Assav, Lal Ded (blending mystic poetry of female Kashmiri saint Lal Ded and tantric visual paintings of G.R. Santosh); Maag (Kashmiri adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth); Deda: The Rise (2022) a trilogy based on the legend of Queen Didda Rani, and Su Yee (adaptation of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot). Arshad has conducted Edu-theatre workshops for students, children, and youth. His anthology of plays for youngsters, The Soul Bridge and Other Plays, introduces the young audience to theatre as thought and introspection. His new book on Kashmiri Theatre, The Eternal Play, will be published soon along with an anthology of his four Kashmiri plays. He is an active member of the Fiction Writers Guild; founding member of Kashmir Playwrights Commune, and is part of the advisory committee of Kashmir Art & Artists Foundation, an artist residency in Kashmir. His theatre work has been featured in the Routledge’s Footprints Without Feet (Theatre, 2023). He has adapted world classics in Kashmiri such as Hamlet, Macbeth, Waiting for Godot, Antigone, and Riders to the Sea. His original works are Footprints (Kashmiri), Fading Memoirs (English), Barzakh ke Rahi (Urdu), Khawb Kinarey (Urdu), Rinchan Shah (Urdu, historical), Deda (Kashmiri).

Arshad also teaches Theatre, Communications, Film, Design Aesthetics and Space Design at NIFT Srinagar as an Assistant Professor.

Director’s Note

The production of Aka Nundun emerges from a deep conviction that folk traditions can be reimagined without losing their soul. The performers were first trained in the authentic Bhand Pather style, under the guidance of Shah Jehan and the community elders, ensuring fidelity to inherited modes of acting, rhythm, and music. Only then was the work adapted for the proscenium stage, where light, design, and technology were used not to alter the form, but to amplify its emotional and spiritual resonance. The aim was never to modernize for novelty’s sake, but to let tradition breathe anew – to allow the ancient energy of Bhand Pather to speak through contemporary expression. By remaining true to its improvisational spirit, humour, and humanity, the performance reaffirms that the folk form is not a relic, but a living art, capable of renewal without erasure. In reimagining it, we return it to what it has always been: the people’s theatre, timeless and alive.