The moment you hear the word opera, you picture a grand musical presentation with fine costumes and trained singers performing for an audience that has paid a sizeable amount on the tickets. But Kavan turns this identity upside down. “The common perception of an opera is that it’s grand and meant for the elite. We wanted to question this perception. An opera can be staged by anyone. Through Kavan, we are doing it in our style with the tools available to us,” says Dhammarakshit Randive, one of the performers.Ambedkarite by thought, not necessarily by birthAn Ambedkarite opera, Kavan will make its Pune debut today. The theatrical presentation predominantly uses music – rap, folk and electronic – but is a mix of acts and audio-visuals that are connected through Sudesh Jadhav’s story. “At its heart this is a story of love and friendship,” says Randive, highlighting the uniting power of both in a divisive world. Kavan has its roots in the shahiri tradition of folk performances, the writings of which have long highlighted social issues. Elaborating on that, Randive says, “What Shahirs wrote was not something to just read. It was meant to be performed as well. Kavan gets its name from this tradition, and this is our way of carrying that legacy forward.” Randive, who has been involved in the Ambedkarite cultural movement for over a decade, also specifies that this is an Ambedkarite opera because everyone involved identifies with the thought process. “Not everyone in our team is born a dalit,” he explains, adding, “But everyone identifies with Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar’s thoughts on caste bias, the Indian Constitution and more. One becomes an Ambedkarite by thought, irrespective of gender, religion or anything else. That’s also the kind of diversity that we have in our collective.”
The combination of politics and art stands out for me in Kavan. And to get to work with performers from Yalgaar who are politically, theatrically and musically at the top of their game is an honour for any director
Abhishek Majumdar, director
Love and friendship as binding factorsThrough Yalgaar Sanskrutik Manch and Nalanda Arts Studio, Kavan is tapping into new audiences. While the collective has been doing folk and street performances across Maharashtra for a while, this is their first tryst with proscenium theatre. The opera had its opening show at Prithvi Theatre and travelled to Goa and Karnataka as well. “We’re glad to be using this platform to take our thoughts to a newer set of people, and not limiting them to internal discussions within the collective. It’s not propaganda. In fact, the core themes of love and friendship act as binding factors in a world divided in the name of religion, cast views and what not,” says Randive. Abhishek Majumdar, the director of the play, adds, “As a society we don’t want to give up the privileges we have, and because of that we don’t understand that what makes us strong is our ability to create equality. That is the idea of society that Babasaheb Ambedkar created the India Constitution with and it’s what we signed up for. I hope even those who disagree with the Ambedkarite view are able to have a conversation after watching Kavan.”
People often stay away from political or critical theatre presentations today. Our approach is that we will present our thoughts no matter what. Hopefully, it will encourage more people to think beyond their limited world view
Dhammarakshit Randive, performer
BOXWhat is Kavan?In a rapidly changing India, young Bejul and those around him navigate their dreams, desires, dilemmas while also negotiating caste and class. An operatic satire, written and performed fully in poetry and songs about young Ambedkarite experiences, Kavan attempts to encapsulate the rapidly changing India we see around ourselves – a country with mounting ambition, full of contradictions. Where do we go when the boundaries between right and wrong, sacred and profane, personal and universal are blurred? The opera has music and songs by BamBoy and MD Pallavi. It features Siddharth Pratibhawant, Pravin Mukta, Priypal Dashantee, Dhammarakshit Randhive, Amruta Todarmal and Apurva Kadam on stage.
As artistes, it’s equally important to watch the performances of other artistes and experiencing interdisciplinary presentations. It changes our perceptions and helps us grow. We’re glad to be collaborating via Peace Projects Inter-Acts on bringing such experiences to a wider audience
Parna Pethe, actor and one of the collaborators
Where: The Box, Erandwane; When: October 2, 2026; Timing: 4 pm and 8 pm
