- They have responsibilities either at home or the workplace or both.
- Some of them would return from their workplace after a long tiring day and head straight for the rehearsals in the evening.
- Some would go back home from rehearsals to cook meals for their family.
A group of women, none of them professional theatre artists, are staging a play on the Santhal rebellion.
Corporate managers, teachers, homemakers and students — all of them from different walks of life have come together because they share a passion for theatre.
But staging the play is not enough for this group of women.
They made it a point to visit a tribal village in the interiors of Santiniketan to understand their culture and habits.
The research for the play included visits to the National Library and the Santhal department at Visva-Bharati.
“It is important to know the history before a play is staged,” said one of the crew members who visited the tribal village.
The history of the British-Santhal struggle is being staged on May 7 by Keraleeya Mahila Samaj, a Malayali organisation based in Kolkata that is celebrating its 81st anniversary.
Group members interact with villagers in Santiniketan; (right) members practise with props for the play
The organisation was started by a group of women who hailed from Kerala and had made Kolkata their home.
The play called Santhal Hul, written and directed by Ravi Thykkat, has 35 women and children from ages seven to 70 years in the cast.
Apart from the director, a few men are involved in the lighting and background work for the play.
The one-and-a-half-hour play depicts the revolt by the Santhals against the East India Company’s oppressions in Bengal presidency, said Krishna P. Nair, chief coordinator of the play and the secretary of Keraleeya Mahila Samaj, Kolkata.
“When we have thought of dramatising a part of history, it is only imperative that we know about it and talk to people about it. Research and interaction with the men and women of a tribal village only enriched our play,” said Nair, who works in a multinational company.
During the two-day interaction in Santiniketan, the theatre group learnt about the tribal dance, how they earn their livelihood and their way of living.
“They are kind and polite. The women in their families work hard and are equally active as the men,” said Geetha Venugopal, the associate director, who also plays a male character.
The props for the play like the bows, arrows and hammers have been handmade by the group.
The play is in Malayalam with some portions in English. “But our focus is on communicating our ideas to the audience through our acting more than the language,” said Nair.
Last year, Keraleeya Mahila Samaj staged Swarnamaram (The Golden Tree) which upheld the rights and dignity of sex workers.
Rehearsals for the latest play began in February and is now in the final stage. The members practise for a couple of hours every evening. On Sundays, they rehearse for almost the entire day.
The senior-most member of the Samaj, Prabha Menon, 76, makes it a point to travel from Lake Gardens to Behala at least twice a week.
“I am not acting but I am there to support them and sometimes get home-cooked food for them,” said Menon, president of Keraleeya Mahila Samaj.