A play that delves into relationship of minority groups

A gay couple discovers the life of an old Anglo-Indian couple through their left over belongings, and develops their own love story during this intimate journey. A play in the capital raises questions about love and its limitations for these couples who form a small part of India's population.

In this 90-minute play, "The Pad", Pulkit, a banker uses a house for his random hook-ups, and it is where he meets Sahil, a researcher in history of interior design, who is intrigued by the belongings left behind by its previous occupants -- an Anglo-Indian couple -- Jennifer and Fabian.

Together, the two explore their lives, and in the process discover their love for each other.

"Too much importance to a community label sometimes does more harm than good - it colours our reading of people. We always look at people with certain assumptions about their character that come from stereotypes, if we know they belong to a particular community," Saattavic, director of the play, told IANS.

"Often, that hinders us from appreciating the person for who they are... Gay people are not defined just by their sexuality, and Anglo-Indians are not defined just by their heritage," he added.

While this play does present minorities as protagonists, Saattavic points out that the play is not about "minorities" but has a strong undercurrent to it.

"Both the couples in the play belong to minority communities. These are all communities that aren't very prevalent in Indian theatre. Our very constitution celebrates the diversity of our country, so it our duty as a society to see that no one gets left behind," he said.

"This is not a play about gay rights, or the issues faced by Anglo-Indians. Instead, we look at the development of two relationships between sets of people who also happen to belong to minority communities," he added.

Saattavic pointed out how the play gives a message to look into the ordinary lives of folks who are different from you, and see that their lives are quite like yours.

The play will be staged at Alliance Francaise here June 7.