BENGALURU: Theatre is a medium of change, and Kavya Achuth couldn’t agree more. The first woman to be elected as secretary of Samudaya Bengaluru in the organisation’s 45-year history, Achuth says, “Women have previously held posts in Samudaya, and have built it as an organisation more than a theatre group. We have pledged to break the gender barriers in the society.” According to the 33-year-old, Samudaya is a space where women have always been treated equal to men.
“Women here are sensitised about gender equality. And we have been responding to any harassment towards women in an artistic manner,” she says, citing the staging of many plays about violence against women. “There are people who ask us why we are into theatre, and tell us we need to return home before it gets dark. We have answered them, rather educated them, politely. But it is a challenge too as we are often questioned about our integrity,” adds the content writer whose real interest lies in theatre.
Achuth grew up in a theatre-loving family, and acted in plays as a child artiste. Her parents’ involvement in cultural and social movements of Karnataka influenced her from an early age. She has been a part of Samudaya, the theatre movement that fought the Emergency in the ’70s through cultural activities such as street plays and jathas, since childhood.
“We’ve learnt to view society through a subalterns eye from an early age through discussions, etc. Theatre is a powerful media to reach a commoner,” she says. The organisation has a history of playing a role in progressive movements, especially farmers’ struggles. “It is a huge responsibility to carry forward its legacy. We are now facing an unannounced emergency all over India.
From the corporate sector to the labourers, everybody is in trouble. Farmers are taking to streets. The government is destroying public institutions,” says Achuth. They now plan to stage street plays to talk about various laws, including the food bill, in front of the grain godown in Maluru sometime in February. “We want to create cultural resistance on current issues. I also aim to include more women and sexual minorities in our team,” she says.