Set in Mumbai, with Kashmir as the backdrop, the play Apples and Walnuts encapsulates the state of affairs in the valley of Kashmir.
The title is suggestive of the state as apples and walnuts are the famous fruits in the valley and also “are an analogy for the children of the state.”
Written and directed by Troy Riberio, the play, in its one hour twenty minutes long duration, delves into the strife and struggle of two Kashmiri mothers who move to Mumbai after having lost their sons in the “holy war”. Troy explains how this play happened.
“Reading about the loss of innocent lives in Kashmir used to disturb me a lot. On delving further into the subject I realised that a common man was not interested in this fight. And moreover the voices of the mothers who lose their children go unheard.”
Troy had started writing the play somer seven-eight years back, but wasn’t sure of staging it till now. Further, he kept on updating it all this while. It casts four actors — Madhuri Bhatia, Ashish Chawla, Mini Ribeiro and Akshay Dogra.
The play, says Mini, “is thought provoking.” “It is bound to sensitize people towards the troubled circumstances in Kashmir. It ends on a positive note spreading the message of peace during troubled times.”
