A cow takes us through one of the worst communal conflagrations in recent Indian history.
Gaumukhi, staged at the 2025 Toronto Fringe Festival can be described in this single line.
This is an inspired choice, considering a cow is sacred in Hinduism and also the frequent flashpoint of religious conflict.
The setting is a relaxed performance space with an actor (Deval Soni) on a soapbox in the middle of the room surrounded by the audience on all sides. A tag on the ear tells us they are a cow. The floor is a giant chalkboard where the actor scribbles things from time to time. The performance is accompanied by live Indian classical music from the sidelines which sets the atmosphere for the piece and complements it.
The cow moves from Meerut, the birthplace of the 1857 revolt (India’s first war of Independence) to Bombay, India’s financial capital. It goes from being revered in the village to being whipped; waiting for the day it will get butchered in a shed in the big city. It walks us through history, specifically the year 1991 – Babri Masjid demolition, the ensuing riots, and its aftermath.
The show addresses heavy themes such as religious intolerance, prejudice, and death. It uses humour to comment on peculiarities like defacement of public property by young lovers to express their ardor and urban unaffordability. In a memorable exchange, the cow asks the pig (that it has befriended in the shed) – “Are you religious?” The pig replies, “God can’t afford a place in Bombay”.
Considering the rising intolerance in India, this is a commendable attempt to have difficult conversations. The show is timely and leaves the audience with much to ponder on. Being from India, I knew of the history and the cultural context being talked about in the show. I wonder if an audience unfamiliar with the history of India would understand, but they would certainly be intrigued.
This is the kind of show one wants to stumble on at a Fringe festival – experimental in its form, bold in its ambition, and a diamond in the rough.