At Ranga Shankara

Tantalising play on Holy Ganga

The Ranga Shankara is dishing out a delicious drama called The Invisible River for theatre buffs on the Ganga, holy river to a billion Indians, this weekend. The narrative poses a few tantalizing question: 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 politicians find a new platform for power mongering? What of the environmentalists agitating to clean up the filth polluting the river? And finally, will science and religion join hands for the first time ever?

Here’s the story in brief: 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.