Like a museum, Sheikh’s Kaavad opens in many directions, with multiple doors, and they navigate through multiple narratives from the past and present. In his artistic practice, the traditional kaavads, i.e., portable religious shrines of visual narratives, transform into a portable structure of socio-political narratives. Kaavad becomes a medium for representing the multiplicity of narratives in a layered and non-linear manner, engaging with themes of identity, memory, and belonging. Similar to a museum, the richness of visual narratives in a Kaavad allows viewers to absorb these complex layers of meaning through a complex physical structure. It becomes a powerful portable vessel of cultural symbols, juxtaposing events from different temporalities and geographies, allowing viewers to synthesise newer meanings.

About MAYA:

Maya is a world of a mythical, folklore land, where space and time have been intertwined intrinsically. Kaavad’s immense possibilities allow for multiple stories to weave into each other, creating the experience of being in Maya. Blending traditional form with modern ideas and sensibilities, the show is structured in the ancient format of “KathaSaritaSagar” of a story within a story. It's a world beyond our world, reflecting, meditating, symbolising our shared time in an interconnected mythical reality. 

The performance begins with the story of the gatekeepers of Kaavad, whose identities are hidden inside Kaavad. A powerful king, Mahabali, is on his way to destroy and recreate the three worlds. Our protagonists Ram and Rahim take on a journey to stop him, and as the doors of Kaavad open one after the other, they go through tales and riddles and questions which connect them back to the gatekeepers. Each tale within then explores the multi-faceted idea of Maya and how it drives and triggers every aspect of tales and our metaphorical lives.

“Maya” is the first performance created as part of our research on the storytelling aspect of the Kaavad tradition. The performance gives an experience of Kaavad storytelling and ignites curiosity to initiate a conversation about Kaavad, its history, its relevance, etc. 

The work, mostly written in Hindi verses, delves into various philosophical questions and human emotions, like duality, passion, love, bravery, moral dilemmas, companionship, etc.

Artist Bio:

Akhshay Gandhi: 

Akhshay Gandhi is a theatre artist and facilitator. He is a SITI Company (NYC) ambassador, visiting faculty at Lalit Kala Kendra and Drama School, Mumbai. He has been artist-in-residence at Gessnerallee, Zurich (with TENT School), and a fellow at BeFantastic Within (in Art and AI). He has received his theatre training at SITI Company (New York), Odin Theatre Laboratory (Denmark) and Indian Ensemble (Bangalore). His work has been performed at prestigious venues and festivals, including Stanford University (California), UCLA, Columbia University (NYC), Odin Teatret (Denmark), Spoken Fest (Mumbai), to name a few. Some key accomplishments include a TEDx talk, IATC Conference Paper, Tata Scholar Grant and BITSAA 30u30 award. He is fascinated by profundity in ‘daily life’ and ‘mythology’. His current work includes an interdisciplinary solo, “It Is What It Is”, and a play, "Epic", for NCPA Connections.

Rohit Bhasi: 

Rohit Bhasi is a Bengaluru-based self-taught visual artist. His practice is an ongoing journey of exploring connections between ancient narratives and contemporary society. His work explores ideas from local belief systems, ancient myths and folk narratives, and how these continue to influence our evolving societies and mindsets - with a thread of humour and playfulness interwoven. Rohit remains fascinated by the human body and its potential for beauty, creation and destruction. Hence, a leaning towards the performing arts and storytelling traditions. His work can be seen on Instagram under the name ‘Indigoranges’.

Anita Gandhi:

Anita Gandhi adeptly juggles numerous roles with dynamic teams and creative individuals. An MBA in finance with acute observation skills, she fulfils the diverse roles of host, organiser, cook, coordinator, calendar planner, finance manager and a steadfast support system. Some of her work includes initiatives to support marginalised artists, producing theatre shows, curating children's festivals and managing international artists for performances and workshops.

Ticket price is all inclusive of Food & Beverages.