THE STAGE LETS YOU “BE”

Indian theatre has experienced many forms of perspectives on identity issues. Around a century ago, Narayan Shripad Rajhans, better known by his stage name Bal Gandharva, held sway in the world of Marathi sangeet natak [musical], playing top-billed women characters like Vasantsena in Mruchchakatika [or, The Little Clay Cart an approximate 5th century play] and Sindhu in Ekach Pyala, a Marathi language drama by Ram Ganesh Gadkari [1885-1919]. Rajhans’ hyper-femininity created a distinct archetype, setting trends and “visibilising” women long before they were “allowed” on stage to portray themselves. Such an entity created the presence of womanhood even if it was conspicuously absent, and was very different from the naachyas of Nautanki — male dancers whose exaggerated femininity acted as a foil to performers who were authentically women, explains theatre practitioner Vikram Phukan.

- Vikram Phukan

More recently, in the Kannada play, ‘Akshayambara’, written, directed and performed by Sharanya Ramprakash, plays an anthropologist infiltrating the traditionally male preserve of Yakshagana [a traditional Indian theatre form].

In a ‘play within the play’, her character chooses to play the belligerent Kaurawa warrior opposite Draupadi, as essayed by a female impersonator [Prasad Cherkady], juxtaposing representation of a woman as a stereotypical figure against her more politicised take on the masculine. More than a performance of gender, it was situating herself in a narrative with a distinctive male gaze that provided Ramprakash an exploration rife with new insights into her own identity.

Over the past year, Ramprakash has been touring with Bangalore-based Deepika Arwind’s ‘i am not here’, a play that is billed as “an 8-step guide on how to censor women’s writing.” Playing opposite dancer Ronita Mookerji, Ramprakash often assumes pugnacious male personas during the performance, playing dance gurus and stage masters who serve as agents that quell the voices of women. Even the slightest murmurings of feminine agency or expression are anathema to those who protect the patriarchy, never unwitting-ly.