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Stark narratives

PHOTO: BHAGYA PRAKASH K.

Braided lives Pritam told the stories like they are without any frills

She opened a door into child sexual abuse in the domestic sphere, revealed the joys and pains of becoming a transgender and the drama of being a devadasi turned film star. Theatre performer, activist and researcher Pritam Chakravarthy briefly delved into three lives in an exploitative world of patriarchy in “Nirvanam” and “Mirror”, organised by Masrah and the Alternative Law Forum and supported by the Artists’ Ensemble India Forum, Maraa, Centre for Education and Documentation (CED).

Enacting roles from a pre-adolescent girl sexually abused by her maternal uncle, the personal journey of a transgender and the a film star , the Chennai-based Pritam sketched the roles in an intimate atmosphere. Sitting at a desk, Pritam with no special effects of lighting, props or costume, performed the role of a pre-adolescent with child-like enthusiasm and wonder. The laughter and shouts of a pre-adolescent enjoying her maternal uncle’s company, were both convincing and realistic. It paved the path for the uncle to take advantage of the trust. The performer drew you into the narrative gradually.In the discussion that followed, Pritam pointed out that child abuse does not only take place between a young girl and an older man.

“Nirvanam”, which traces the journey of a transgender from childhood, revelation to the final day of celebration, is quite an experience. Pritam’s raw and uncomplicated acting is pervasive.

The child-like fear of seeing transgenders in the local train, to sexual experimentation of cross-dressing and finally the painful but liberating experience of “Nirvanam” or the biological act of becoming a transgender was enacted in stark simplicity. The humour was subtle but sharp, which complimented the revealing narratives.

“Mirror” forayed into the desperate world of the devadasis. Pritam cleverly poked fun at Victorian morals of abolishing of the devadasi system and the very existence of it — of men living two lives and controlling female sexuality. The life of the devadasi, interestingly, draws similar parallels to the life of a female film star. Enrobed in a rich zari sari, Pritam begins this narrative facing the audience as if it’s a mirror. This could be looked as an interesting medium as the mirror becomes a reflecting medium of voyeuristic curiosity and audience pervasion. As she paints together the lives of multiple stars into one single narrative, Pritam briefly explores the issues of female sexuality, pregnancy, the imperativeness of having a mother and father in a family and the notions of class and caste. She uses humour, sometimes anger or sorrow to look into these aspects of a woman who might be the goddess of a film industry, but who perhaps chooses and is forced to be restricted by the patriarchal framework of her gender, caste and class.

As she bored into your eyes with statements and questions of the female body, of the woman trapped in a man’s body and of unequal relations, you only had to stare back with equal clarity and recognition of some of these facets.

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