Lal Ded (1320-1392), the iconic woman mystic and poet of 14’ century Kashmir is revered and loved for 700 years, right up to the present day. She is a shared archetype for all Kashmiris, both the Muslims and the Pandits of Kashmir. Her poetry and life has also found a resonance amongst people from other parts of India (as well as amongst the people from France, Holland, Germany). The power of Lal Ded has not diminished over the centuries, even as her presence continues to defy all attempts to define her or confine her to any ‘ism…
Thirty ‘vaakhs’ of the greatest mystic woman poet for all times featured in the play.
Director
Mita Vasisht is a distinguished actor, director, and writer, with a postgraduate degree in English literature from Panjab University and a three-year acting diploma from the National School of Drama (1987). She further trained in Voice and Speech in London under renowned coach Patsy Rodenburg. Mita has performed extensively in films, television, theatre, and OTT platforms, earning acclaim for collaborations with filmmakers like Mani Kaul and winning awards including the Filmfare OTT Award for Chhorri. She has written, produced, and directed across mediums, executive-produced the award-winning documentary The Name of a River, and served on juries of major film festivals. A visiting faculty at premier institutes such as NSD and FTII (where she was HoD of Acting), she founded ‘Mandala’ in 2001 to empower trafficked minors through theatre. Her celebrated solo performance Lal Ded, based on the 14th-century Kashmiri mystic, has toured widely in India and abroad. She has also directed notable stage productions and authored essays on acting in leading literary journals.
Director’s Note
Lal Ded emerged from three years of my research on the mystic poet and allied women poets. Primarily scripted by me, initially in English, it’s final version is in collaboration with the renowned film maker Vishnu Mathur. The Hindi translation of the original narrative parts of the text are done by writer Rajesh Jha. The Kashmiri Vaakhs in English are from the translations credited to the poet A. K. Ramanujhan, and early 20 century translations credited to Grierson. The Hindi translations are in collaboration with the late Bansi Kaul, Anjana Puri (Rangvidhushak, Bhopal) and some by myself. All their contributions are invaluable for me.
Group
‘Dhwanipad’ is the professional Drama Repertory Company established by Mita Vasisht. It works towards creating a new impetus in Theatre and performance. Its’ parth breaking productions are ‘LAL DED’ (which completed 21 years of performance in 2025) ‘Love Real and Reel’, ‘Neeti Manakikaran’ a theatre production with trafficked minors.
Its upcoming productions are Hindi adaptations of ‘Cherry orchid’, ‘Agnipankh’, ‘Hey Site’, ‘The Millionairess of Naples’ and Two plays of ‘Krishna Sobti’. Dhwanipad also has conducted theatre based intensive workshops with NIFT, NID, FTII and amateur groups. Director of Dhwanipad MITA VASISHT is an NSD alumni whose work specializes in contemporary as well as classical theatre techinques.