ART at Ranga Shankara: The Invisible River March 8, 2008

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JAGRITI
presents

Artistes' Repertory Theatre's
THE INVISIBLE RIVER

by Gautam Raja
(by arrangement with the playwright)

Scientific advisor: Dr. Mukund Thattai, NCBS
At Ranga Shankara, 8th March, 7.30 pm and 9th March, 3.30pm and 7.30 pm

Tickets Rs 110 (Available at venue, or sms 97406 57191)

The Ganga. The key to the hearts of 80 percent of India's population.
A goddess revered, a goddess defiled.

What if science proves the miraculous self-cleansing and purifying properties of this holy river? What if pharmaceutical companies recognise the healing potential of tiny, invisible bacteria-eating viruses in these swirling, murky waters and are willing to fund research on them? What if sleazy politico-religious nexus find a new platform for power mongering? What of the environmentalists agitating to clean up the filth polluting the river?

Would science and religion join hands for the first time ever?

When Uma, a young scientist from Bangalore, arrives in Allahabad to investigate the possibility that bacteriophages present in the Ganga could be a potential starting point of a new era of disease eradication, she sets off a ripple effect that will impact the lives of several people. Dr. Thyagu, a government doctor and staunch believer in cleaning up the river, represents the conventional wisdom of the medical profession, entangled with his personal demons - a mother obsessed with religion, dying slum children, and a government that just doesn't care.

A colourful cast of characters including a pujari with an agenda, a politician with nasty habits and a canny street urchin- set against the backdrop of this powerful symbol, the Ganga- reveal that in India, everything is interconnected, and nothing is as simple as it seems.

With Pritham Kumar, Sukhita Aiyar, Harish Seshadri, Veena Appiah and Joshua Saldanha

Directed by Ruchika Chanana

The Invisible River was first presented in Bangalore by JAGRITI as a work-in-progress, in collaboration with Theatrescience UK, in October 2007 as part of Theatrescience – Imagining the Future India.

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