Shalin Maria Lawrence
“Every year the atrocities on Dalits is rising.
Precisely every second, every minute, every hour, every day.
Every season is a season of violence for them.
History has not been kind on them.
But they have been rebellious throughout. They have been resistant throughout.
They put their best foot forward to fight with integrity and discipline.
They strive for freedom all the time.
They trash evil and embrace love and compassion.
They seek justice all the time.
All the time they dream of a life with no grief and
Find ways to make it a reality...”
I was overcome with emotion when Prasanna Ramaswamy’s play 68.85.48+12 lakhs ended with these lines of Stalin thee, a sub-altern Dalit activist, with an actor dressed as Babasaheb Ambedkar seen standing on a pedestal lit up in blue light. The lines were delivered with so much pride and assertion that it moved quite a few in the audience to tears.
A fine theatrical production by Prasanna, staged recently at Medai in Alwarpet, it depicts with utmost sensitivity atrocities against Dalits, never for a moment sympathising or pitying them. This is where Prasanna Ramaswamy’s work breaks all stereotypes associated with such subjects. She takes the audience across the country — from West Bengal’s Marichjhapi and Andhra Pradesh’s Karamchedu to Thanjavur’s Keezhvenmani and our very own Mylapore — to show the heart-wrenching massacres. Prasanna’s script exposes the ugly face of the fascist state, which denies dignity and right of life to its own people. “Oh, they were Hindus too. Why did you kill them?” the play questions, as it depicts casteism in modern times and the voyeuristic attitude of the oppressor castes.
From 68.85.48+12 lakhs | Photo Credit: PRADEEP R
Co-written by Rathan Chandrasekhar and Diwakar Ravi, the play also depicts the indigeneity of the Dalits, their relationship with the land, and their resilience to keep up the fight.
Prasanna draws inspiration from the works of Dalit writers such as Challapalli Swaroopa Rani, Stalin Rajangam and Dura Ravikumar to convey these emotions in a play that brilliantly comes across as a Dalit voice.
