The Hindi play, Ek Madhav Baug, written by late Chetan datar, brings out with clinical finesse a mother's reaction on getting to know some hidden truths about his youngest son.
The play reading followed by a group discussion was held as part of a daylong workshop on understanding the struggles and traumas of homosexual community. The play was spectacularly performed by a television actress and theatre artiste, Mona Ambegaonkar. The play opens with introduction of the owner of Ek Madhav Baug apartment, Mumbai. She first greets and introduces herself to the audience.
A middle-aged, working woman and a single mother suddenly finds herself dealing with one of the most difficult situations in her life. At the beginning of the play, the woman plans to enjoy her off day with her youngest son. But, her plans turn turtle when a voice on phone calls her youngest son a homosexual.
Dumbstruck, she goes back to the time when she had an extra-marital affair that brought into being her son. Her youngest son is a college-going boy while the other two are well settled in life. The youngest one is closest to her because he is creative and a free thinker, quite like her. Devastated by the information about her son's sexual preference, she rummages his bedroom and wardrobe to find some tell-tale signs like pictures of men hidden under his mattress and a pendant bearing the name, Manish.
The mother is caught in an avalanche of emotional turbulence just when her youngest son saunters in. He has also taken the day off to be in home with his mother. Quick to sense his mother's disturbed mood, he pressures her to reveal the reason and she tells him about the phone call. Instead of denying the allegations, he just hands her over a pen-drive, saying it is a diary he has been writing for her. As she gets to know about his homosexuality, she is shaken and stirred. But, she accepts his son as being natural, after all. Mona Ambegaonkar with her intense treatment explained the emotions of a son and his mother in a heart-touching manner.