ALL OF US ARE familiar with Jawaharlal Nehru as the freedom fighter, the politician and the writer. We all know him as the man focused on setting India free.
We often recall him as the famous Indian leader who even charmed the West with his statesmanship. But how many of us have tried to look beneath the skin of this man, felt his pulse throb with pain and passion or see the lonely man behind the adulation of crowds? Nehru: His Inner Life, written and directed by Pramila LeHunte, explores the real man behind the politician at Epicentre, Gurgaon, on Sunday.
Through this English play, LeHunte has given Nehru his licence to talk. Actor Dilip Shankar will relive the man at ease with ladies, literature and laughter, but trapped by his destiny as an Indian leader. The thoughts and feelings showcased in the play have been culled largely from the vast amount of personal revelation that lies embedded in Nehru’s many writings.
There are many vignettes allowing the audiences a glimpse of the days of Nehru’s solitary imprisonment with birds, his playfulness with children, his exhilaration on independence, his despair at Gandhi’s death and his bonding with the ladies in his life.
Basically, the script of the play is a monologue but it is peopled with “virtual” characters appearing on the stage as his memories: Sarojini Naidu, Kamala, Indira, Edwina and Lord Mountbatten.
The play promises to share Nehru’s love for music and poetry, as its scenes flow from one pocket full of memories to another.
Throughout the opera of his life, there runs a background symphony of politics, overlaid with his baritone dialogues with an awakening land that is both adulatory and acrimonious, and that the aristocratic protagonist tries to understand and govern.
So, was Nehru great as great is? Le­Hunte’s Nehru will unpeel himself and allow us to form our individual definitions of the man. For tickets call 9810349056.

CHALLENGES ATTRA-CT Mumbai-based director Waman Kendre. When he chooses a content for his production, he focuses on the “virginity of subject”. The perfection-freak director never declares the dates for his productions unless he is satisfied with the quality of his work.
So, this Sunday, when Kendre opens his new play Madhyam Vyayog, we can all expect to float in the new sphere of perfection and creativity with him. The premiere show of Madhyam Vyayog is opening in three different languages —Marathi, Hindi and English — on the same day at NCPA, Mumbai. Madhyam Vyayog is the first Sanskrit-style play of Kendre’s career.
He chose this particular style to ingrain the rich Indian performing traditions into the performer and the audiences. He wanted to expose his performers and audiences to aesthetic values of the Sanskrit theatre tradition. His characters always comes from the “uncared and forgotten section of the society.”
“After reading many plays, I decided to adopt Madhyam Vyayog because I felt that Bhasa has left many areas in the play, which have tremendous social importance even in today’s world. I felt that the distinction between Arya-Anarya and Stree-Purush and the concept of politics of relationship and politics of power could be played with, to give the play a whole new interpretation.”
The play focuses on the politics of relationship between Bhim and Hidimba and their son Ghatotkach.

LIVING ROOM Theatre is set to showcase three short plays for raising aid for Helpage India on Saturday and Sunday at India Habitat Centre.
The three socially-relevant plays focus on the deep-rooted human emotions. Kathpalia House brings out an old couple’s nostalgic emotion when their son persuades them to reconstruct their old bungalow for a more comfortable and modern living style.
Inspired by an Israeli film, Ek Aur Aam Kahani, the play depicts the politics of environmental protection. With the Delhi Metro construction story in the background, where trees were uprooted to make ways for the Metro routes, the play brings out the pain involved in the process of change.
The third play, Aur Hum Do, is set against a bomb blast at Delhi railway station where two old men take shelter in an abandoned godown. The drama reflects the basic strength of human nature and responses in the hour of crisis. Tickets are available at IHC programme desk.