If you walk into any government office anywhere around the world you will always find a framed photo of a national leader. Well - if you were to walk into any brothel in the Mumbai red light district you will find, in every room a framed photo of a woman - an elderly, grey haired woman in a white sari edged with a gold border. No, she is not a saint. This was Gangubai, one of the most powerful madams in her time. But why, 50 years after her death, does every Mumabi sex worker have Gangubai’s photo in her room? Disclaimer: one scene of violence with adult themes Follow me on Instagram @seemaanandstorytelling Script by Yasser Usman @yasser.usman Music by Merlin D’Souza @musicbymerlin Artwork by @rsdcreative Supported by ECDP @essexcdp and Active Essex @active_essex

“Deception is a necessary skill of state craft”, said the guru to the young princes, his students, “but for it to be successful it has to be practiced as an art form, it must be planned such that not even God knows what you are doing.” Surely all is fair in love and war. And after all what could go wrong! A wonderful old story from the Hitupdesh, a 2nd century text written to teach young princes how to rule a kingdom both in times of war and in times of peace. This story has been adapted from "The Blue Lotus", an anthology of Indian myths, published by Aleph India. Follow me on Instagram @seemaanandstorytelling Music by Merlin D’Souza @musicbymerlin Supported by ECDP @essexcdp Supported by Active Essex @active_essex Artwork by @rsdcreative

The gods and demons churn the ocean for the nectar of immortality, a potion that will give them everlasting life and superhuman strength. They churn together in a spirit of collaboration but each is determined to cheat the other out of their share of the nectar and keep it just for themselves. This is a story that goes back to the beginning of time and yet it is a story that could have happened yesterday - depictions, power struggles, promises made and broken and the ongoing struggle for survival in the face of all odds. The samudra manthan is originally told in the Srimad Bhagwatam and is the most famous of the Hindu creation stories. Follow me on Instagram @seemaanandstorytelling Music by Merlin D’Souza @musicbymerlin Supported by ECDP @essexcdp Supported by Active Essex @active_essex Artwork by @rsdcreative