CHENNAI: In Begum Rokeya’s 1905 novel Sultana’s Dream, she imagines a feminist utopia where traditional gender roles are reversed — women run the world and men are relegated to the domestic setting. A century later, ideas of utopias have altered but the pursuit of toppling hierarchies, and resisting dominant narratives unwaveringly remain.
With resistance as the core, theatre group Kattiyakkari and Alt+Art recently hosted an open mic where all art forms and movements harmonise. As part of the 15th Chennai Rainbow Self Respect Pride March, the event warmly welcomed members of the queer communities and allies at the Alliance Française de Madras. A rainbow flag draped on the side, flowing down the stage, was a testament to this utopia.
Pushing boundaries
From the drum beats of the parai to storytelling to sharp silambam moves, this open mic was not the standard gig. It nudges individuals to look at art — in extension, people — beyond what society deems valid. Just as theatre artist Mangai says, the arts need to flourish on this stage and no matter what the body looks like, expression can be found in music, dance, and song.
Reading out portions from Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues, Mangai delves into stories like that of soldiers raping a Bosnian girl, or an investigating lawyer discovering a clitoris, “a devil’s teat”, for the first time during a witch trial in 1593. “The clitoris is pure in purpose. The word in Tamil pen uruppu combines the vagina and the clitoris. I would call it kalinadi or pulse of pleasure” she says.
Questions of pleasure, sex, and identity filled the event. Among them, should sex education be restricted to speedy lectures in classrooms or browsing sneakily on the Internet? A play starring Kattiyakkari’s Srijith Sundaram and Jaya from Sahodaran proves otherwise. Interspersed with doses of situational humour, the story follows a sex worker who educates an overly eager man on safe sex. With lines like “If I’m a sex worker, should I not speak English?” or “Education is important and so is pleasure,” this is a crash course on how to use condoms, water-based lubricants, and avoid STIs.
An invitation to inclusion
From poems from artiste Agni Pradeep on their gender identity to trans activist Sowndharya Gopi grooving North Madras-style to hit song Mallipoo, the open mic opens up the stage to all, never leaving out any performance. This space, blends advocacy, and warmth while always highlighting struggles from all marginalised communities. In this spirit, trans artiste Gana Vimala takes to the stage with her gana song lauding Dr BR Ambedkar. “SC nu sonna enna kevalama nee pakatha. Samathuva thalaivara nee jaathi thalaivar aakathu (Don’t look at me terribly for being SC. Don’t make the leader of equality as that of caste),” she sings, adding that the gana style she has mastered should not be stereotyped or narrowed down to songs of grief.
Shortly after, Shweta reads out her scathing poem: “Dear Savarnas, I love being the villain of your story, the asuran that you demolish in the name of purity, in the name of light defeating dark...Yet I show up again and again in spaces you try to erase me.” Reminding the upper castes to acknowledge their privilege, the poet points out that caste identity surfaces before other any other like working class or queer ones.
Krishna, founder of Alt+Art, explains, there is a “need for intersectional queer spaces, we want to create spaces free from judgment and harm.” Indeed, the auditorium was a free space as people read out love poetry and narrated stories, whether fantasy, fact, or in-between. Centered around the metaphor of walking past a door frame (perhaps, one held back by society’s norms and the self), 20-odd artistes talk about moments and books that helped them embrace their identity. One talks about becoming the queer teacher they grew up dreaming about while another reflects on her love failures and the idea of love itself.
Speaking about why an open mic should be conducted, organiser Srijith says, “There are spaces for people who advocate for women’s rights and Dalit rights, and in this solidarity, we forget queer rights. Queer people are in every space, and similarly, so are artistes. That is why Alt+Art and Kattiyakari came together to hold this festival. This is an important experience.” The open mic is not just about story-telling and music, it is about holding up historical truth like Jai Bhim and Happy Pride, Srijith signs off.