Udaipur – A thought-provoking play titled Agarbatti was staged on Sunday under the monthly theatre series Rangshala, organized by the West Zone Cultural Centre (WZCC), Udaipur. The Darpan Auditorium at Shilpgram was filled to capacity, with the audience deeply moved by the powerful performance.
WZCC Director Furqan Khan informed that Rangshala is a regular monthly initiative promoting socially relevant theatre. This month, Samagam Rangmandal, Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh), performed the play Agarbatti, written by Ashish Pathak and directed by Swati Dubey.
The play raises burning questions about gender discrimination, caste, and class-based oppression in Indian society and offers a symbolic and emotional resolution. It attempts to showcase how these three societal evils intersect and cannot be separated. The audience appreciated the bold theme and lauded WZCC for organizing such meaningful cultural events. At the conclusion, all performers were honored.
The story begins in an incense factory where widows of Thakurs murdered by Phoolan Devi are employed. One of them, Damyanti, plots revenge but finds no support. Recalling a traumatic childhood abuse incident, she mixes her husband’s ashes—who was himself a wrongdoer—into the incense powder. Through this act, she reflects: “Just as a sinner shows no mercy while committing sins, they too should burn—slowly, like an incense stick.”
Swati Dubey as Thakurain
Shaivi Singh as Suman
Ekta Chaurasia as Parvati
Vanshika Pandey as Kaushalya
Anjali Sharma as Lajjo
Harshita Gupta as Damyanti
Srishti Pogde as Kalli
Sakshi Gupta as Nanhi Bai
Mayur Tiwari as Heera
Vandit Sethi as Sohan Singh
Himanshu Tiwari as Lalaram & Banshi Thakur
Shivakar Sapre as Surjan Thakur
Arpit Khatik as Shivpal Thakur
The event was attended by WZCC’s Assistant Director (Finance & Accounts) Durgesh Chandwani, along with C.L. Salvi, Rakesh Mehta, and Siddhant Bhatnagar, among other notable citizens. The evening was hosted by Durgesh Chandwani.