Six actors gather at SPACES. Outside, the blue sea sparkles, reflecting the bright morning sun.
Things are heating up not just outside but also within the amphitheatre-like space. The Trans Rights Collective and Kattiyakkari theatre group are warming up to rehearse Sandakkaari , a play they will showcase this Sunday. ‘Sandakkaari’ is a Tamil term for a girl who picks up fights. The name sounds aggressive. However, in the scene being rehearsed, the actors sport a smile on their faces. There is even a playful rebellion in their eyes.
The director Srijith Sundaram says, “We have approached the subject of transgender struggles differently.”
The collective has been campaigning for transgender rights in the field of education and employment. “Our aim is to bring back dignity and equality into the lives of transgenders,” says Grace Bhanu, a transgender activist and founder of the collective. Sundaram recalls visiting Bhanu’s office. “People were huddled together when I walked in; some were discussing the lack of employment and others, counselling each other on issues with Government and educational institutions. The idea for the play, involving these people as actors, struck me then.”
A three-day workshop ensued after Sundaram discussed the idea with them. The experience was different and refreshing, recalls Bhanu.
“We have exercised other mediums of protest like cinema and news in the last few years to address our issues. But, theatre is a first. It is a great tool for social empowerment.” Sundaram has worked with sex workers, transgenders and children for his previous productions. He says, “We shouldn’t criticise sex workers. They are carrying forward a career like any of us.”
At this year’s International Theatre Festival of Kerala (ITFOK), Thrissur, he directed a play called Parayan Maranna Kadhakal (Stories We Forgot To Tell You) for which he had worked with around 16 transgender people. He says there is a difference in the way Kerala and Tamil Nadu handle the same issue. “In Kerala, people have a bigger sense of independence. They are more assertive in protesting against the Government. In Tamil Nadu, we are a lot more cautious,” says the director who has worked with stories of writers like Bama for his previous productions. His play has also travelled to a Dalit women’s conference in Pune.
Sundaram says he plays a choreographer’s role in this production. They are narrating seven personal stories in the form of contemporary theatrics. Some of them are exciting and will hold the audience’s attention, he feels. “For instance, the first time I met Bhanu, she was in front of the Secretariat, agitating against a police constable. She was ready for a fight. That’s why I call her sandakkaari,” he recalls. The play will also address the tales of transgenders who belonged to the previous generations and their history.
The play is an attempt to make Transgenders Day as much a cause of celebration as Women’s Day or Children’s Day, says Bhanu. “You know how much the media and market celebrate these days. Similarly, every medium, including radio, television and print, should celebrate our day. My dream is to make April and May, trans season. And, use the occasion to retell the history of our ancestors, their achievements and agitations. I aspire for something like Wikipedia, a store house of information, exclusively to record the transgender movement.”
The play is to be staged on April 14, at SPACES, Besant Nagar at 6.30 pm, in the wake of the Tamil Nadu Government recognising April 15 as Transgenders Day.
