Kaumudi: A Hindi Play Explores Art, Caste, and Father-Son Dynamics

About Kaumudi

Kaumudi (Moonlight) is a Hindi play about a rite of passage. Set in a theatre in late 1960s Allahabad over three days, it marks the last three performances of a great actor who has nearly lost his sight. The play uses the moonlit timeless night on which Krishna delivered knowledge to Arjuna as its central trope to explore the dynamics between an estranged father-son duo who play Eklavya's ghost and Abhimanyu respectively.

The production touches upon caste-based injustices, the transmission of knowledge from a father to a son and a thespian to an upstart, the nature of art, and how an efficient mode of production replaces a less efficient one. The play draws inspiration from Anand's Malayalam novel Vyasam Vigneswaram and Jorge Luis Borges' essay Blindness.

Director: Abhishek Majumdar

Abhishek Majumdar is a Bangalore-based playwright, theatre director, teacher, and actor who writes in English, Hindi, and Bangla. His early works include Pratidwandi, Niharika, and Lucknow ’76, while his awarded works feature Harlesden High Street, An Arrangement of Shoes, The Djinns of Eidgah, A Small Small World, Afterlife of Birds, Waterlines, Gasha, Rizwaan, and Thook. Majumdar has taught theatre at institutions such as NSD, FTII, IIM Bangalore, and NYU Abu Dhabi.

Director's Note

Director Abhishek Majumdar notes that the play examines whether an older or younger person's life is more valuable, whether personal ethics outweigh public ethics, and the function of art. It also questions theatre itself, asking whether theatre holds meaning or merely massages the ego, and whether it belongs to the audience or the practitioner.

The Group: D for Drama

Formed in 2013 by Kumud Mishra and Ghanshyam Lalsa, D for Drama aims to collaborate with various writers and directors to create unique theatrical works.