The Ujaagar Dramatic Association production recently bagged seven awards at the Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards (META), 2023 for Best Production, Best Script, Best Lights, Best Costume, Best Set Design, Best Director, and Best Ensemble.

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The play is an intriguing weave of 3 stories that talk about strength and hope and how life without hope is impossible to sustain. Out of these three narratives, two are from young contemporary Rajasthani writers Arvind Charan and Chirag Khandelwal. The one which basically lays the foundation for the performance is by renowned Rajasthani writer Vijaydan Detha

In Detha's story, a down-on-his-luck farmer from Marwar loses his wife and is left behind with two kids and a piece of barren land. The stepmother isn't too keen on the kids. When the drought hits, the mother decides that they kill the children and leave for Mumbai in search of a better life. The father devises a plan where they lock the kids behind with some meager food to die while believing that their parents would return home by evening. The wife hopes that the next year will be fruitful. The husband hopes that someone will save the kids. While the kids believe that the evening shall arrive only when their parents have returned home. Now, whose hope will prevail is the question Detha asks in 'Asha Amar Dhan'.

Khandelwal's lyrical account is that of one 'Amar' who just like thousands of others takes a long walk home during the mass migration in the times of Covid-19. He has no food, no water, and no money on him. Yet he is hopeful that sooner or later he will be home. En route he meets this strange entity who becomes his fellow traveler, his friend, his foe, and the philosopher; A half vulture-half crow. The crow shows us the survival instincts of a man and the vulture is a beacon of death. Their ever-evolving relationship and the long journey they go through, both on the road as well as in their being is 'Giddh'.

Maai by Arvind Charan is the story of two brothers, Birju and Mandu who live with their physically challenged mother in a small chawl in suburban Mumbai. They have hopes, dreams and a mundane life to bind it all together. When lockdown is declared, they both decide to leave their mother behind in Mumbai and go back to

their native village in Rajasthan. When they reach home, Mandu is guilt-ridden but Birju assures him that this was the right decision to take. A year later, with new dreams in their eyes, they return to Mumbai. The guilt and the relentless hope they carry is the crux of 'Maai'.

Mohit trained as a professional chef and set up his theatre group Aasakta in Pune in 2003. Active in various aspects of theatre, he has earned a reputation for the group and him, with his work. His plays have been regularly invited to national and international festivals. Having directed more than thirty plays, his first play was Girish Karnad’s Yayati in 2000. Among his other notable plays are Mein Hun Yusuf Aur Ye Hai Mera Bhai, Chaheta, F-1/105, Uney Purey Shahar Ek, Comrade Kumbhakarna, Gajab Kahani, Mosambi Narangi, Tu and The Colour of Loss. Also, a film editor and director, his debut feature The Bright Day premiered at the Toronto International festival before being screened at London, New York and Shanghai International film festivals. He has been awarded Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar, Homi Bhabha Fellowship, Shankar Nag Theatre Award, Aditya Vikram Birla Kalakiran Puraskar, Amrish Puri Award, Sahitya Rangbhoomi Fellowship, etc. As a Charles Wallace Scholar he acquired a Postgraduate degree in Theatre Practice from the University of Exeter. He runs his own restaurant, ‘Barometer’ in Pune.

Ujaagar Dramatic Association is a theatre company comprising of performers based in and out of Jaipur. The group established in 2013 strives to rejuvenate the fading culture of Rajasthan through theatrical performances. The idea behind it was to introduce an array of performative styles to experiment with new texts and performances. Ujaagar’s ‘Kasumal Sapno’, ‘Mukaam Dehru Jila Nagaur’, ‘A Girl Who Shot Her Doggy’, and ‘Kahani-Junction’, have been staged across the length & breadth of India and have been showcased in several national and international theatre festivals. Music & language are an integral part of Ujaagar. The group aims to inculcate the sense of stage music in aesthetic terms to enhance the performance.