Theatre collective BotTala is set to stage the 99th performance of its acclaimed play ‘Khona’ today, at the Experimental Theatre Hall of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy. Written by Samina Luthfa Nitra and directed by Mohammad Ali Haider, the production revisits the folklore figure Lilaboti, widely known as Khona, an astrologer whose agricultural wisdom survives through Khonar Bochon.

Set nearly fifteen centuries ago, the play examines gender, class and power, focusing on how women’s knowledge is systematically silenced within family and institutional structures. Since its debut at the Central Shaheed Minar during the centenary of International Women’s Day, Khona has continued to attract audiences both in Bangladesh and internationally.