15-Minute Play in Rishikesh Raises Questions on Religion, Caste, and Faith

There are performances that entertain. And then there are performances that disturb — gently, purposefully — the settled sediment of what we think we believe.
Robin Ka Dharm, staged in Rishikesh on March 29, was the latter.
Written and directed by Shubham Mishra, this 15-minute play waded into territory that most public spaces prefer to sidestep: religion, caste, and what faith truly means in contemporary India. It did not arrive with a verdict. It arrived with a mirror.
Arundhati Mishra brought the central character Robin to life with quiet conviction, while Himanshu Rai’s portrayal of Mishra Ji gave the play its dramatic tension. Trisha Mukherjee’s lighting and Aditya Keshi’s sound design worked in careful service of the story — present, but never intrusive.
The play was presented by Kitabi Kabootar, the Rishikesh-based arts and literary community that Shubham and Arundhati have built into a space for exactly this kind of courageous, community-rooted storytelling. The event was sponsored by Vashist Wellness, Lakkadghat.
Fifteen minutes. Enough to open something that may take much longer to close.