KOCHI: ‘Boiled Beans on Toast’ is a new play in English by the acclaimed playwright Girish Karnad. The play, directed by Lillete Dubey, traces the interwoven lives of half-a-dozen people who have opted to live in the city of Bangalore.
They are very different from each other, belonging to widely divergent social strata, and from different places. Starting from under a single roof, these lives branch out in diverse directions, get entangled in the swirl of life outside where they lose track of themselves, and unexpectedly collide and careen off each other.
Anyone familiar with life in a modern Indian city will instantly respond to this portrayal of urban aspirations, conflict, blind groping and violence.
A serene old lady unexpectedly discovers a passion for horse racing and is not averse to cheating her own family; a small-town youth, devoted to his family, gets mesmerised by the prospects of sudden prosperity; a trustworthy servant of many years is discovered homeless in the streets; a not-very-bright young maid learns how to fight for survival within the confines of a kitchen. The play is funny, tender, moving, relentless in its pursuit of success, and buffeted by ceaseless emotional flux.
Incidentally, this play has been brought out as a book. And it explains the reasons behind the title. Apparently, there was a 11th century king who was saved by an old woman who offered him boiled beans. The grateful king desired to name the spot ‘Bendakalooru’, the place of boiled beans, which would symbolise hospitality and welcome for a weary traveller. However, over time the place has emerged as Bangalore, India’s Silicon Valley, and now Bengaluru. The play makes this impersonal city and its humongous growth in the last two decades as its subject. It runs for 105 minutes plus 15 minutes of intermission. The actors involved include Joy Sengupta, Meenal Patel, Deepika Amin, Avantika Akerkar, Maneesh Verma, Swati Das, Avnish Mehra, Divya Unny and Gillian Pinto on stage as cast. ‘Boiled Beans on Toast’ will take place at the JT Pac, on Sunday, July 20, at 7pm.