A poignant political play, needed for today's times, is being staged in Mumbai.

I did not take up research for any award.' 'What is more important is the medicine that I have developed.' 'This helps the patient recover and the family is happy that their relative has survived and they go back to their lives.

'If you fight you win, if you don't fight, how will you win?'

'When the mill strike started, there was crisis in every mill worker household.' 'One entire generation went without education.' 'Hunger forced them to take to crime.'

While the country is gripped by Ram Mandir frenzy, Danish Husain -- without shouting from the rooftops -- silently staged his opinion with this play on one of India's best-known poets, observes Neeta Kolhatkar.

'I asked him why were he and other writers being targeted.' 'I saw his point of view, that he and others being writers, their work was popular and well-appreciated by people, especially the youth.' 'This made the State fear them.'

'I was wondering whether I would ever come out alive.'

'Our Left is squeamish about democracy. They are so mechanical they have only dogma.'

'If the authorities go about completing this project the way they have proposed, this is going to cause a HUGE environmental impact not only on Malabar Hill but also on the rest of the city.'

'In that dark tunnel, we spent our energy searching for a ray of hope.' 'It was tough; nobody can even imagine the conversations we had.' 'Laughter had disappeared from our lives.' 'I would tell my daughters, I might go mad.'

'After exiting jail, I thought some of my IIM-A classmates would contact me. None did.' 'The case indeed scared people, which perhaps was the objective of the State.'

'I was under the illusion that this could never happen to me because my background was such -- corporate CEO, IIT professor, IIT alumnus, IIM...'

'This government will be toppled in 2024.'

'I was put in an anda cell. No window, light or air. Only grills.' 'During the monsoon, water would seep. There were rats running around all the time.' 'We were forced to sleep under bright lights all the time. Those bright lights are never switched off.'

'Their conduct is as if they have come to arrest some dacoit.' 'They behave with everyone in this manner, whether it's Manish Sisodia, Anil Deshmukh or anybody else.' 'It is as if they are ambassadors of god and we are satans.' 'This is solely due to the sections in some laws like the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.' 'This is a cruel law. In fact, the death penalty is better.'

'The IB and authorities knew I had given away all my property and had nothing in my name.' 'Even among police officers, they all respected me for this sacrifice which is rare these days.' 'They respected me from this point of view -- in this day and age few individuals live by ideals for the poor.'

'There is no one who will be able to have a dignified life, when your brother and sister of another community are not being treated as human.'

'We had 110 Adivasis who were languishing in jail for nearly five years because it was claimed they were responsible for some blasts.' 'When the time to give the proof came, they had no proof to show.' 'Then the people are let free, totally exonerated, but their lives are totally shattered.' 'Not only their lives, but the lives of their families.'

'The State has played with their lives. Arsenal proved the machines were hacked and false evidence implanted with false files and letters.'

'My father lived on minimum money and helped others.' 'What was he to gain personally? No name, fame like a politician who work for votes.' 'His sort believe all humans deserve better lives.'