By Mahek Sukhani for BIS Mumbai

The Department of Mass Media and Communications (BAMMC) of Don Bosco College, Kurla, presented The Nine Notebooks – A Navarasa Play in Nine Acts as the highlight of its Cultural Day celebration at 1 p.m. on September 30, 2026 in the Fr Santino Mondini Hall and was attended by nearly 230 persons including students, faculty members and the management. The 80-minute theatrical production that involved nearly 90 students of the department explored the nine emotions of the Navarasa tradition through a contemporary family story.

The play centred on Meera and her father Anand and unfolded through nine notebooks written by Anand over the years. Each notebook represented one of the nine rasas – Sringara (Love), Hasya (Joy), Karuna (Compassion), Raudra (Anger), Veera (Courage), Bhayanaka (Fear), Bibhatsa (Disgust), Adbhuta (Wonder) and Shanta (Peace). The production was a harmonic coming together of drama interspersed with music and dance to help the audience embark on a journey of witnessing and experiencing the nine rasas.

The students took up the initiative to bring the production to life. The performance involved teams working in drama, dance, band, decor, logistics, backstage, coverage, social media, fashion, and tech under the leadership of a Core Organising Committee. Chryson Valladares, who headed the core committee remarked: “Leading the cultural day taught me how small pieces of everyone’s work can come together to form something beautiful.” The final performance was the culmination of months of meticulous planning and rehearsing, without any break or concessions in the regular academic schedule. Heli Doshi, the faculty member coordinating the event proudly exclaimed at the end of the performance: “From rehearsals to the final curtain, our students turned passion into performance, and teamwork into magic. They didn’t merely step on to the stage, they owned it!”

The production offered the students an opportunity to understand and use live music and dance, along with lighting and sound to establish the mood of each rasa. The play also provided students with practical exposure to theatre, event management, stagecraft, communication, teamwork, technical production and creative collaboration. The use of the Navarasa framework enabled students to connect Indian cultural traditions with contemporary storytelling and media practices.

Apart from being a cultural day performance, ‘The Nine Notebooks’ was a powerful demonstration of what young people can create when talent, imagination, discipline and teamwork come together. The production left the audience with a simple yet lasting message: every emotion has a story, every story has meaning, and every young voice deserves a stage.

The entire performance can be viewed at:
https://www.youtube.com/live/8OSMKTL4CuI?si=UQJ7epdhQg5rEhLI