Ekta Nagar: To commemorate Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s 150th birth anniversary next week, the Union government has commissioned a play on his life, which will be staged in Kevadia, Gujarat, on October 30-31. Produced by the National School of Drama (NSD), the 90-minute production is expected to later be staged in other cities, including New Delhi and Ahmedabad.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to attend the inaugural performance, along with Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and other leaders from the central and state governments. The play is part of the two-year-long celebrations of Sardar Patel’s 150th birth anniversary, which will conclude on October 31, 2026.

The play is set to be a grand spectacle with a cast and crew of 200, extensive lighting, and augmented reality effects. Three actors will portray Patel at different stages of his life, starting with a 14-year-old Patel, who protested when school textbooks were sold at five paise instead of two—a childhood episode still relevant today, particularly in the context of the commercialization of education.

Currently, rehearsals are underway. The performance will also depict Patel’s return to Ahmedabad as a barrister after studying law in London, and the pivotal moment in 1916 when Bal Gangadhar Tilak’s speech on Swaraj inspired him. Notably, the play will depict how Patel, in 1946, did not withdraw his candidacy for Congress president in favor of Nehru, who later became India’s first Prime Minister, while Patel served as Deputy PM and Home Minister. DeshGujarat