Akriti Singh

“The production is a play within a play, where languages have been personified. While the newfangled Internet lingo is represented by a teen, an older lady represents our dying dialects like Maithili, Khari Boli and Brij,” informs Singh, who has learnt Italian and Persian, and can speak Bengali, too. The plot takes the reader through a mélange of stories and poems interspersed with memes. “We start with Khusrau, Quli Qutub Shah, Mir, Ghalib and move on to Faiz. For verses in Maithili, we read from Vidyapati, who had a huge influence on Hindi and Nepali poetry. The script also includes poetry by Kavi Bhushan, who mainly wrote in Brajbhasha and was a poet in the court of Chhatrapati Shivaji,” she adds.

While several dialects are slowly slipping away, what does she make of the revival of interest in Urdu among Mumbaikars, we ask Singh. “For a language to thrive, we need poets. And Urdu has no dearth of them, which is why the play features some of them. Good poets make society richer,” she says, referring to how beautifully worded verses with deep meaning continue to be quoted centuries after they were written.

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Did the experience of directing Bol change her relationship with Khari Boli? “Definitely. When I write my own poems, I dip into my grandmother’s vocabulary and use ‘kivaad’ instead of ‘darwaza’ and ‘tadke’ in place of ‘subah’,” Singh shares. A chokha development, if you ask us.

On: May 15, 7 pm
At: Prithvi Theatre, Juhu.
Log on to: bookmyshow.com
Call: 26149546
Entry: Rs 250

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