KOCHI: She arrives back to her homeland after a decade. She makes the entry to the church, which is steeped in a pious aura as the day is a Good Friday. A bevvy of policemen provides her security. All she wanted to do was return to the tiny little hamlet which she left when she was just sixteen, and visit her parents and take part in the ceremonies of the church. This is just one of the defining moments in the play Parayan Maranna Kadhakal.
The play crafted by ‘Mazhavil Dhwani’, a theatre group of transgenders is replete with many such highly poignant moments. Well, how could it not, when the play itself revolves around the heart-wrenching tales of the transgenders ostracized by the society.
The play featuring 15 transgenders is woven around the issues faced by the transgender community and holds up a mirror to the society, exposing the harsh realities the transgenders are subjected to. The play discusses politics, gender issues and the many challenges society throws up at them. Although the many instances in which they were prosecuted and belittled by the society is brought to the stage, the fifteen transgenders tell the tale of their survival.
“It is what you have done, what the society has done to us that we are performing for you. We are doing this so that no more transgenders get persecuted for their identity. Maybe this could also inspire and give strength to the many people out there who live afraid of revealing their identity. This could possibly help them come to terms with their identity and maybe come out,” says Harini Chandana, a cine-artist who is essaying her real life in the play. “It has been more than eleven years since I saw my parents. All I want to do is see them,” says Harini who grew up at Kumbalanchi in Kochi. “I left the place when I was sixteen. I had gone to our church with police protection. But I could never see my mother,” she adds.
The play features as cast Ishan K Shan, Soorya Ishan, Sheethal Shyam, Harini Chandana, Deepthi Kalyani, Renju Renjima, Daya Gayathri, Heidi Sadiya, Renjumol, Ayisha Dudle, Sweety Bernad, Shani, Monisha and Miya Sivaram.“We didn’t need any script for this. We are trying to tell our life stories,” says Sheethal Shyam, a human rights activist and a member of the transgender justice board.
“The acceptance has to begin from home and we hope that through the drama we get to tell the people of our struggles and let them know more about us. Moreover, the visibility of trans-men is very less. We are trying to address that as well by bringing to the public the issues faced by them,” she says.
It all started as a ten-day long drama training at the School of Drama, Thrissur in January. “After the training, the play just evolved. We are trying to bring the many stories the society doesn’t see or chooses not to see. We have also incorporated varied themes in this including the rights of women, the recent Supreme Court judgment about section 377 and also the floods,” says the director of the play Srijith Sundaram.
The play is also one of resurgence and resilience. It was first staged in the International Theatre Festival of Kerala and later on in Kochi and Palakkad. The floods hit whilst waiting to stage their next play. “We lost all our properties in the floods. This is our first play after the floods,” says Sheethal. “For us, theatre is a weapon which offers us a platform to tell the tale of our struggles. And we are not going to stop at this. We intend to pursue more themes and bring to the stage more issues,” adds Sheethal.The play has been selected to be screened at the Goa’s Serendipity Arts Festival (SAF). The play was staged at the Ganesham auditorium in the city.