Tarpa Theatre Festival in Aarey Milk Colony starts May 15

A scene from the play Tujhi Aukat Kaye. (PR handut)The three-day Tarpa Theatre Festival, scheduled to be held from May 15 to 17, will feature performances that explore themes like sustainability, environmentalism, and indigenous culture. To be held in an open-air arena in Aarey Milk Colony, the festival will feature plays, musical performances, art-related activities and conversations, among others. The festival will feature Jikni, a musical, with a cast comprising children from Vadavli-Sonale, Palghar. Kavan is an Ambedkarite operatic satire on modern India that offers a glimpse into the tensions between modernity and tradition. Theatrical performances such as Totto Chan, Tuji Aukat Kaye? and Lavani Ke Rang will explore stories of identity and gender. On the last day of the festival, plays like Kaakasauraus and Gubu Gubu, which is inspired from the Nandiwala folk style of storytelling in Maharashtra and Karnataka, will be staged. Sangeet Bibat Akhyan, which talks about the relationship between the earth and the self, too will be performed on May 17.The festival, conceptualised in 2018, is an extension of the Save Aarey Movement, which is a campaign aimed at protecting the Aarey forests. The festival is organised by ‘Artists for Aarey’, a collective of artists performing for the environment founded by Harshad Tambe. “I want to educate people about the beauty of nature and the importance of wildlife conservation. But I don’t want to preach it. I want them to experience it themselves,” he says. A still from the play, Jikni. (Photo: PR handout)Art and nature have been inseparable for Tambe, inspiring the idea behind the festival. Mumbai’s duality has also inspired the festival: “Mumbai, a metropolitan city, has a natural forest. These extremes thrive within the same space. But they seldom interact,” he says. Tambe hopes to fix the divide through the festival. Along with the plays conducted under trees, the festival will also feature workshops in Warli Art and seed ball making. The symbolism of the tarpa — a tribal wind instrument played by a performer at the centre with a group of people around — sums up the spirit of theatre for Tambe. It also honours the artistic legacy of the indigenous populations. “I want to bring the Warli Adivasis, their sustainable lifestyle, and the city dwellers to create a model of co-existence,” says Tambe. For details, check