Play: Kasturba / Gandhi

About the Play:
In a male-dominated society that expected women to obey several unwritten rules of decorum, a woman who chose to speak her mind and not abide by such standards would certainly be considered revolutionary and defiant. Kasturba, the wife of the famous Mahatma Gandhi, clearly fits this outline. She is not as well known to the modern world as her famous husband. It is not known that the concept of 'Satyagraha' was given to Gandhi by his wife. It is not known that Gandhi would have serious arguments and fights with his wife, Kasturba, who was always known as a demure and obedient wife. Kasturba acted entirely of her own accord, and she was not willing to agree to a situation simply because society dictates it to be proper. Kasturba was unwilling to compromise her own beliefs in order to please the populace. She also acted in unprecedented ways, not only for women, but for people in general. Most women would simply accept their husband's word and obey their wishes; however, Kasturba once again, would not relinquish her own values to please society.    It is Nishi Chawla’s aim to make this play a deeply feminist text where Kasturba is revealed as a woman ahead of her times. She cared deeply for women's rights as well as her own rights as a woman. Nishi Chawla’s drama is cinematic in effect: it moves from episode to episode much as a camera would.      

The play was first staged by Natya Bharti in the Washington D.C. metro area in Fall 2016 and has been successfully staged in New Delhi, India, by eminent theatre personality, Shilpi Marwaha a few times in 2018 and in 2019.

The play will be followed by a panel discussion with the Director Alka Sharma and Playwright Nishi Chawla.


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