That image must have been among the most haunting ones from last year’s State School Arts Festival at Alappuzha. A bunch of little actors, disappointment writ large on their faces, staring at the stage while the Malayalam drama competitions for high school students was on.
They were students of Memunda Higher Secondary School in Kozhikode, winners of the first prize for drama at the district level who could not stage their play Kithaab at the State level.
Backtracked
The school authorities had backtracked in view of Muslim groups’ objections that some of the scenes in the play had hurt their religious sentiments.
The team from the Memunda HSS has bagged the first prize for drama at the district level this year too. Sooraj and Archana, who were part of the group last time, are again in the winning team.
Rafeeq Mangalassery, who wrote and directed Kithaab, is also behind this year’s play titled Peru, which deals with the atrocities and discrimination being faced by Dalits in Kerala society for long.
The main character in the play is Theettathilparambil Abhi, a Dalit, who is quite popular through his Tik-Tok performances.
He is asked to perform the role of an elephant, apparently in view of his dark complexion, in a promo video staged by the Chenthara Arts Club for a temple festival.
“There are some upper caste people around who are jealous of Abhi as they are not as popular as him. So this video becomes a ruse to intimidate him,” says Mr. Rafeeq. During the video, the ‘elephant’ is seen running for its life to escape from mob lynching.
The play, however, ends with Abhi claiming that despite the torture, he bears no ill-feeling towards others.
Change of heart
This leads to a change of heart in his upper caste neighbours, who accept him wholeheartedly.
“Despite Kerala’s Leftist and progressive credentials, the discrimination being faced by Dalits is a serious social issue here. One of the characters in the play says that even the ancestors of Abhi had been playing the role of animals, implying that Dalits are only good at that,” Mr. Rafeeq says.
The drama team from Memunda has won the first prize at the State School Arts Festival a number of times.
