RUMIYANA – A Journey within

Inspired by the tales from the Masnavi by Rumi, a labour of love, brought to you by The Ishara Puppet Theatre Trust. The performance is a collection of poems and stories from the Masnavi interwoven to tell a singular narrative of a journey in search of the self, in a quintessential Rumi style of ‘a story within a story within a story.

Rumi consciously made himself and his poetry a bridge between cultures and between religions. There is nothing exclusivist about him. He includes everyone in his embrace. He was, and is, a healer of whatever might separate us.

Students from the Communication Design department of the Indian Institute of Art and Design, New Delhi under the guidance of Shaaz Ahmed - Associate Professor, IIAD have had the opportunity to collaborate with Dadi Pudumjee - Founder, The Ishara Puppet Theatre Trust on a show called 'Rumiyana - a journey within'. This multimedia musical puppet theatre performance is inspired by Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi’s works.The show attempts to capture Rumi's iconic style of telling stories, within stories in a matryoshka dolls style, that delve into the depths of one's inner consciousness and the search for the self.

The production synergises puppets, actors and dancers, to create a multimedia performance with music, animations, and digital projections. Using metaphors of soul, body and shadow, the performance explores the concept of the true self in harmony with the concepts of pluralism and the unity of all existence as one. The show celebrates love, unity, harmony, and diversity by portraying the roles of both master and student. The student dressed up in a present-day attire, as a common man of today and the master referencing Shams guiding the path ahead. The show affirms there are as many paths to the divine as there are seekers.

The script and animation for the show are written and designed by Shaaz Ahmed, Associate Professor, Communication Design, IIAD and Inderjit Singh Jassel, Technical Lecturer, Communication Design, IIAD . The costumes are designed by Gunjan Arora, Associate Professor, Fashion Design, IIAD. Communication Design students - Sreeram Jairam, Rishabh Jain, Harshul Grover, Simranjeet Singh Bhutani, Nanki Ghuman, Nandini Sharma, Tanvi Gupta, Amartya Chakraborty actively participated in providing animation and production support for the show. Students were also involved in visualising, conceptualising and the animation production that created a multimedia performance, taking puppet performances in India to a whole new level.

The show was first performed at India Habitat Centre, Delhi on 4th December 2022 and then at Serendipity Arts Festival,Goa on 19th December 2022. It has been received with resounding applause and audience appreciating the unique combination of traditional puppetry and contemporary design, a quintessential Dadi Pudumjee style. IIAD is proud to

be a part of this innovative production, and we look forward to many more collaborations of this nature. The next shows of Rumiyana are scheduled for 10th February 23 at the Natrani - Darpana Academy of Performing Arts, Ahmedabad and 12th February 2023 at the National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA), Mumbai.