Scenes from previous stagings of Jhumkewali
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The imagination is a wondrous place where ideas take root and bloom. The crushing crowds on Mumbai’s local trains didn’t stop Ami Bhansali from adding a dreamy twist to the monotony of her daily routine.“I was sitting in the local train, and wondered how this practice of selling trinkets to commuters began. My hypothesis was a lady deeply in love started it so her girlfriend could buy jhumkis whenever she pleased,” says Ami, who admits she enjoys watching people try, buy and sell these traditional bell-shaped danglers on trains.This flight of fancy first took shape as a short story at a writer’s workshop before it became a play she collaborated on with Nidhi Krishna, and Ami is quite clear Jhumkewali is, “a love story, and not a tale of coming out”.According to Ami, the recent passing of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Act, 2026, has left many in the community feeling vulnerable and a story such as Jhumkewali would be a welcome respite. “Our team has quite a few non-binary and trans people, and it is important for us to keep making queer and trans-centric art, and do our bit to spread queer joy.”
