Gasha

Prithvi theatre, Mumbai always gives you the best of the experience where the audience becomes one with the play. Like usual, I picked up my favourite seat of the centre top, all set to watch the much acclaimed play 'Gasha'. The set looked interesting with a few baby boots, suitcases and blackboards on the stage, leaving us all eager to see what Gasha is going to show. Gasha has won the best play, best original script and best ensemble honours in META Awards.

Img Source: http://allevents.in/Mumbai/Gasha-Sep-5th-Prithvi,-Mumbai-6-00-and-9-00-PM/538697966185628

Gasha is more than a typical Kashmir story. It is the journey of two boys, their friendship and the world they built in a shed on an island in middle of the lake; a story about what made people leave Kashmir and what brings them back. The play captures interest in the way props are used, where actors write numbers on the black boards, keep moving the suitcases - suitcases which become people, seats, and what not. The two actors play multiple roles of various ages from a 2 month old baby to the oldest grand mom along with the central characters of Gasha, the Kashmiri Pandit and Nazir the Muslim lad. They change into various characters of the parents, relatives, teachers, priests and neighbours. People fall into memories, and come back to present. 

Img Source: http://www.buzzintown.com/delhi/events/meta-2013-gasha-play/segment--photos/id--749413.html

Gasha left Kashmir as a kid and returns as an adult, when he can no longer connect with the place. He has no idea as to what has happened after he left and returns back as an unwilling tourist forced by his maternal uncle. There is a humour when Gasha finds excuses for his refusal to visit Kheer Bhawani, the devotional holy place of Kashmiri Pandits. However, his boss and family are successful in bringing him to visit the sacred place. The story moves on with flashbacks to Gasha's childhood where one sees why many Pandits were forced to leave Kashmir, what the situation was then and how it has transformed now. It has the simplicity of the little moments spent by kids in the school with their favourite teacher, and their times while building a little home without the knowledge of others. The play progresses to political issues separating two best friends without giving them a reason. 

Of course, they meet as grown-ups when Gasha is about to leave after his three day short visit to Kashmir. It is a mixed feeling that the friends feel, yet a very formal conversation that the two friends have after several years.

The use of language makes the play quite interesting, making one feel Kashmir. Words cannot be enough to describe the experience of this play. It is not just a story, but a reflection of the journey of innocence in the history of Kashmir.