ELECTIONS '98
COMMENTARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ARCHIVES

Noted novelist to portray eunuch in Marathi play

The plight of eunuchs, who are ostracised by society for being neither man nor woman, is sought to be highlighted by well-known Marathi writer, Kishor Shatabai Kale, in his play Andharyatra.

Dr Kale himself will play the lead role of a eunuch in an effort to create social awareness and awakening among the third sex.

The play, based on Dr Kale's award-winning novel on eunuchs, Hijara Ek Mard (eunuch, a man), also aims to create awareness about the dreaded disease, AIDS. A black comedy, it gives a detailed account of various traditions practised by the community.

Dr Kale, writer, producer and director of the play, said he was inspired to do the play after coming across an AIDS patient, Ananda, a victim of homosexuality who was robbed of his manhood early in life and constantly tormented by society for having joined a band of eunuchs. However, through sheer grit and perseverance, he managed to overcome the obstacles and even became a police inspector.

The inaugural show of Andharyatra is scheduled for April 23, followed by a series of shows in Bombay's suburbs and various parts of the state, he added. Some 15 upcoming artistes, including ten-year-old Pranali Patil, who plays the role of a child hijara, would perform in the play. It also has at least five traditional Maharashtrian Lavni dances.

Dr Kale, who stepped into the limelight with his autobiography Kolhatyache Por (son of a Kolhati), said illiteracy and unemployment had combined to portray eunuchs as trouble-makers in society.

He criticised society for ill-treating eunuchs, and asked the people to understand and treat them with compassion just as they would any other physically handicapped person. Eunuchs should be provided jobs so that they don't take up begging or stealing, he said.

Dr Kale stressed that the government should work for rehabilitation of eunuchs. They should be allowed to attend regular schools instead of separate educational institutions.

He sought to blame the 'guru' or leaders of the eunuch groups for controlling their life and preventing them from leading a normal existence. After the ritand khacchikaran (castration), novices are taken into the band and given a new name. Abandoned by their own families or forcefully snatched by eunuchs, these victims of circumstance have no other option but to stay in groups and follow their 'guru' who orders them to steal or beg. Through his play, Dr Kale exhorts them to revolt against the status quo and try to lead a dignified life.

Dr Kale has depicted the scene of randvi purnima in his play. On this day, all eunuchs come together to protest against their being born as 'hijaras', and abuse god for the injustice meted out to them.

Dr Kale said so disgusted are eunuchs with their life that on the death of a fellow eunuch they do not cry at all, instead they beat the body with chappals and even spit on the body prior to its burial at midnight.

He said he decided to perform the role of a eunuch in the play himself as he found a similarity between his own story and the life of 'hijaras'. As a child, his mother used to take him with her to dance performances, the famous sangitbari, where he was subjected to child abuse similar to what the eunuchs faced in their life.

In his autobiography, which received eight awards including the prestigious Mukadam Sahitya Puruskar for 1998, Dr Kale vividly depicted the sexual exploitation of female Tamasha dancers and the difficulties faced by him while studying for his MBBS degree.

UNI

Tell us what you think of this report