On April 15, 2014, the Supreme Court passed a historic judgment recognising transgenders as the third gender. But problems are far from over for the community in spite of the ruling, as they fight for their rights and recognition. And they continue to ask themselves, “Who am I, a man or a woman?”
It is this dilemma that Jisha Abhinaya brings to the stage in her solo, Avan/Aval . “Although the ruling said that the state commission and transgender justice board have to be set up, nothing has happened. Trangenders continue to struggle for identity,” says Jisha, who has scripted and directed the play.
The thread for the play came from a real-life experience, she says. “My maternal grandmother, a music teacher, had Alzheimer’s disease. My mother was shattered when my grandmother failed to recognise her. I wondered how one person could end up forgetting one’s identity and that of others around him or her? Well, they could at least say whether they are man or woman. But what about those people who can’t say that?” asks Jisha, a mediaperson working in Palakkad. Theatre runs in her blood. Her father, V.S. Jayan, has been active in theatre for many decades now. He is a scriptwriter and director while Jisha’s mother, Usha, acts in the plays directed by her father.
The family runs Abhinaya Nadaka Samithy at Kuttoor in Thrissur, which is presenting Avan/Aval in the capital city.
Jisha’s daughter, Abhinaya, a class seven student, is also active on stage. The mother-daughter duo had staged the play Mulanaavukarodu Chila Suvisheshangal in the city two years ago.
“My husband, Anilkumar, is the one who takes care of all activities related to stage and settings,” says the 34-year-old artiste.
Avan/Avalwill be staged at Vyloppilly Samskriti Bhavan today at 6.30 p.m.
A transgender group will light the lamp before the event. “In future, I want members from the community to present the act,” Jisha says.
