Born by the grace of Shiva when he is in his Ardhanaareeshwara form, Samba is the prodigal son of Krishna who becomes the conduit for Gandhari’s curse, spoken in her agony after the bloodbath at Kurukshetra. Her grief finds voice in a wish for the destruction of the race of Krishna, which will be orchestrated by the birth of Samba

The future is as blank as the present or the past. A curse is cursed. Even silence is silenced. This is how Bala deconstructs or reconstructs, if you prefer, the known classics in his own inimitable style. Time and again he has revisited the classics only to reset them in his/our time. Bala knows his strengths-minimalism, in his writing as well as in his productions, simple yet powerful, silent yet screaming. I have always cherished reading ‘poetry’ in his plays, watching ‘dance’ in his stage versions. Of course, he is one of the most important playwrights and directors of contemporary Indian theatre.

– Surendranath Suri, Director and playwright