Project Overview
Piya Rang Mitti is a folk musical inspired by the life of Bhakti saint Meerabai. It explores a long walk across the desert and unravels several struggles and desires of rural South Asian women, folklores about their madness and their inner quest for enlightenment. It follows the life of a young girl Runjhun who finds herself stranded between the memories of her mother and the music of the desert, all the while struggling to make ends meet as an idol sculptor. The musical is an interdisciplinary intervention that aims to bring together several mediums of story telling such as theatre, dance, music, paintings and puppetry on one stage. It is inspired also by our fieldwork engagement with women of Andore village of Rajasthan.
Expected Impact
When we first conceived of this project and coincidentally found ourselves in Rajasthan around the same time, we didn't know the world that was awaiting us. We came across many women who dream of freedom, education and ability to choose what and whom to love. However because of patriarchal structures, topographical and infrastructural limitations and generational struggles, most of these women curtail their desires and choices. By following the lives of characters who come through similar circumstances we seek to raise important question about women's agencies, desires and harbour attention for much needed infrastructural developments. On an artistic level as well, this is a one of its own kind project that aims to contribute to the life of folklores and cultural memory through its innate dependence upon them.
Applicant Background
I am an interdisciplinary artist engaged in the world of performance, theatre and folklores. I have been actively doing theatre for the past six years and have worked as a performer with places such as IHC, Akshara Theatre and Red House. Two years ago I delved into a new journey of creating my own theatre productions and give voice and space to my own stories. My first production, Jaise Kahin Ek Azaad Aasmaan, Tumhari Nooran was a partition memoir and a theatrical attempt to build a live musical and we traveled with the production to many villages and rural communities of Rajasthan, Himachal and Haryana. Apart from this, I'm also a researcher and a folklore enthusiast. My most recent research area has been Tibetan memoryscape in exile and their traditional performing arts. I have been taking this research to various international platforms such as the International Federation for Theatre Research conference (2025).