THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Definitions of femininity are multidimensional, taking a cue from Vaikom Muhammad Basheer’s oeuvre. A woman can be a gossiping village girl, an unseen lovelorn spirit, a feminist or a mourning sweetheart of some man and more. How it would be if you get to see them all together? And it did. They came; Sainaba, Suhara, Pathumma, Jameela, Saramma, Devi, Narayani and Bhargavi Kutty.
In a one-act play, titled ‘Soja Rajakumari’, the heroines of Basheer, familiar to the literature cognoscenti through his writings, flickered in different states of emotions and appearances through Pooja K Nair, on and off stage.
While the loquacious Sainaba entered from the midst of audience, the classic melody ‘Pottatha ponnin kinavu kondoru...’ marked Bhargavi Kutty’s arrival. But where is she? In the subdued light, the eyeballs surfed all four sides of the hall. Will she come? Had anyone seen her before, even the author? Sad and quite, she swayed back and forth on a swing suspended from the branches of a tree outside, in a melancholic mood, lamenting on the days of love. She turned each leaf of her past one after the other, sharing the days of love, loss and finally an abrupt end - from worldly life, keeping alive her dreams and love.
Suhara, Kunjipathumma, Pathumma and Jameela Beevi followed her. Then Saraswathi Devi, Basheer’s lady love ‘Devi’, the less-talked-about-woman. She reveals that Bhargavi’s tale of love was really the one between the writer and her. Who finally blessed her ‘Deerkha Sumangali Bhava’ and left, leaving behind all memories with her in ashes. Finally, for bidding farewell came Narayani, the one keeping a love-filled heart walled inside a prison’s solitude. All she had was bouquet of red, red roses, like her love.
The play, an ensemble of ten female protagonists of Basheer, was directed by P C Hareesh.
It was as a tribute to Beypore Sultan on his 20th death anniversary that the play was presented at Vyloppilly Samskrithi Bhavan the other day.
