IHC Collegiate Theatre and Music Festival 2026. Syaahi (Hindi & English/ 50 mins) by Anukriti, Miranda House. Dir. Kaashvi Piplani. Of past and home, of scattered yellow pages and spilled ink, weaving echoes of her own household, a writer's journey of her own story, or rather the ones who gave her the courage to sew her narrative. The play is the journey of a woman writer, abiding by her ideas of feminism, trying to navigate the same as she writes a realistic piece, carrying the unsaid burden of gender. Inspired from Louisa May Allcott’s ‘Little Women’

Followed by Beti Bachwa (Bhojpuri/ 40 mins) by Aaghaaz, Zakir Husain Delhi College (Evening). Dirs. Akanksha & Animesh Pandey. Beti Bechwa is a Bhojpuri social drama originally written by the popular Playwright 'Bhikhari Thakur' that exposes the exploitative custom of poor families marrying off young daughters to elders men in exchange for money, due to poverty, social pressure, and ignorance. The play revolves around a poor village family struggling to make ends meet. Under financial stress and influenced by societal norms, the father "Chatak" persuaded by the village priest marry his young daughter "Upato" to a wealthy but elderly groom in exchange for money. The family is lured by the promise of money, gifts, and an escape from poverty. The play challenges conventional logic that considers child marriage and mismatched marriages as viable strategies for socioeconomic stability.

An India Habitat Centre Presentation.

Tickets at Rs.200 available online on bookmyshow.com and at the Programmes desk, IHC.