Giving wings to dreams

In an effort to use drama as a creative life skills tool for young underserved learners, Youngistaan Foundation in collaboration with Sutradhar created an inclusive and playful learning experience in the form of a two month-long theatre workshop.

A total of 15 eager children from a slum in Gachibowli (beneficiaries of Youngistaan Foundation ongoing educational programme - Bright Spark) with limited access to any kind of creative or artistic opportunities participated in this workshop that culminated in the unique showcase.

The sprightly young artists (aged between 7 to 14) brought to the stage their infectious excitement in a performance adapted from Harishchandra’s 19th-century “prahasana” ‘Andher Nagari Chaupat Raja’.

The play ‘Kane Raja ki Nagari’ is the tale of a myopic monarch who rules by whimsy. What happens when the witless, intoxicated ruler falters and stumbles along the path of justice and promises a ‘fair trial’? Mayhem ensues, of course, but even his doomed subjects cannot predict how the story ends!

Directed by Sutradhar’s Vinay Varma, the play was a satire on narcissistic political leadership and an ignorant citizenry and speaks to our times loud and clear.