Chitkara University hosts theatre production ‘Ek Lamha Zindagi’

Chitkara University hosted Ek Lamha Zindagi, a theatre production co-directed by Makrand Deshpande and Juhi Babbar Soni. Featuring Juhi Babbar Soni as the sole performer, the play presented the personal history of her maternal grandparents, tracing their relationship across four decades, from 1938 to 1979.

Written across generations by two daughters and a granddaughter, the narrative followed a 27-year marriage during which the couple spent barely ten years together. Her grandfather’s association with the Communist Party and the impact of the India-Pakistan Partition kept them apart for extended periods, shaping a relationship marked by love, sacrifice and separation.

The production incorporated the nazms of Jan Nisar Akhtar, voiced by Javed Akhtar, alongside verses by Faiz Ahmed Faiz and poetry by Mirza Ghalib. The set, lighting and backstage coordination complemented the solo performance, bringing the different phases of the narrative to the stage.

The production formed part of Chitkara University’s cultural engagements, providing the university community an opportunity to experience theatre through a performance rooted in personal history and the social circumstances of its time.