Based on the story ‘Duvidha’ written by Vijaydan Detha, Mai Ri Main Ka Se Kahoon  is the story of the conflict between a woman’s desire, her emotions and the social norms. One of the biggest disparities or irony of today’s progressive society, which advocates women walking shoulder to shoulder with men, and providing them equal rights, is put forward in the author’s words, as follows – ‘  Where is the woman’s own will, Medhi (vestibule) till before reaching the Masaan (crematorium)… and straight to Masaan from the Medhi.’

In a society that claims to have reached the height of science and intellect, woman is still not free to exercise her mental and physical rights – rather she has to weigh her every desire and reluctance against masculine thoughts. from birth to marriage, all her rights are with her parents and after marriage, with her husband and children. Her feelings, her desires,  all her freedom… all its possibilities are still limited to the two restricted frameworks created by the society – ‘From Medhi to Masaan’…

Playwright

Vijaydan Detha, also known  as Bijji ,  was a noted writer from Rajasthan. He  has been honored with several accolades like Sahitya Akademi Award, Sahitya Chudamani and the prestigious Padma Shri  conferred on him by the Govt. of India. He was born  on 01 September 1926  in village Borunda, Jodhpur. He was Chaaran (bard)  of the  Detha (clan). His father Sabaldan Detha and grandfather Jugatidan Detha were also well-known poets of Rajasthan. He never wrote in any other language to pay honour to his mother tongue Rajasthani,  his work was translated into Hindi by his son Kailash Kabir.  He died on 10 November 2013  at the age of 87.

Director

Ajay Kumar has earned respect for his acting as well as singing skills. He started his initiation in theatre in 1989 at Nirman Kala Manch, Patna. Later he also joined Rang Vidushak, Bhopal. After graduating from Patna University, Ajay Kumar joined the National School of Drama, New Delhi where he completed his deploma in the year 2000 with specialization in acting.

Ajay Kumar has worked with B.V. Karanth, Bansi Kaul, Ram Gopal Bajaj, Anuradha Kapoor, Robin Das, Tripurari Sharma, Naseeruddin Shah, Bhaskar Chandavarkar, Sanjay Upadhyay, Roysten Abell, John Russell Brown and Cicely Berry. His experience of working with these iconic personalities helped him grow as a versatile actor, director, composer and a writer. Ajay Kumar has represented the theatrical performances of more than 50 plays, poems, stories and biographies. Some of his most important works include Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, directed by Tim Supple. It was a collaborative work with the British Council and the Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford-upon Avon, England. He has also worked with Dash Art Group, UK; Act Production, UK; CAPA, USA; and has traveled all over the world with his performances. He has also been associated with NSD as a guest faculty of theatre music. Ajay Kumar has skillfully carved a niche for himself while working on the narrative art form of story-singing and telling, where only one singer-actor performs different characters. He composed Bada Bhand Se Bada Bhand and Mai Ri Main Ka Se Kahoon in this form. He was awarded the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar 2008 by the Sangeet Natak Akademi for his remarkable genius  in the field of theatre music.

Director’s Note

In this age of global crisis, if we are able to do theater, it is nothing short of a miracle! The return of the audience to the auditorium is a matter of joy and excitement for us artistes on behalf of all the artistes I would like to say only one thing which is inherent in this poem by Shrikant Verma:-

गुण गाहक गुण सागर गुण निधान

गुण गाहक गुण सागर गुण निधान

बहुत वर्षों बाद मैं आपके दरवाज़े आया हूँ,

सुनिए जजमान

जन्म जन्मान्तरों की कथाएँ,

नगरों नागरिकों की व्यथाएँ, लाया हूँ

पहचाना मुझे बेताल,

मुझे मेरे कृत्यों ने काल की रुग्ण एक डाल पर

लटका दिया था ।

आपकी दया से मैंने नर योनि‍ फिर धारण की

अब एक और मुझे वर दें,

अगर मैं आपको स्वर न दे सकूँ,

आप मुझे स्वर दें ।

Group

Established in 1964 with only 4 members, the Repertory Company is the regular performing department of the school. It was established with the twin objectives of establishing professional theatre on the one hand and continuing regular experimental work on the other.