Shame through the ages

A still from the play

In a play, Cast Off All Shame, which returns for a public show after an eight-month hiatus, Bhakti poet Janabai is in a modern-day radio station. The host is missing and she must take charge of the show on air. She receives four calls during the span of the show - from Devi from Bareilly, Uma from Ahmedabad, Ambika from Kerala and Mehrunissa from Delhi. While Devi has struggled with shame from her early years resorting to cosmetic surgery in the process, Uma has dealt with taboos around menstruation all her life. Ambika a feisty travel blogger, is slut shamed and trolled and Mehrunissa, a stand-up comic, can hardly talk about the things she wants to on stage. Janabai on the other hand only knows Bhakti poetry. Over the 80-minute runtime, poetry by her and from her contemporaries finds relevance in the lives of these modern women.

In a similar way, director and performer Ulka Mayur found convergence when on one side she was reading blogs on body shaming by modern women and the Bhakti poets. "It was like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle finally fitting together. Over the ages, women have been talking about the same things," she says. Mayur spent the next five months in research finding these connections. She followed this by penning down 20 such stories that were both personal and humourous. She chose four of these stories interspersing them with poetry by Janabai, Karaikal Ammaiyar, Soyarabai, Avvaiyyar, Akka Mahadevi, and Lal Ded from the Bhakti Movement. "While I studied several poets, I chose poetry that found resonance in these stories. For instance, Karaikal Ammaiyar's poem speaks of body shaming and fits seamlessly into the contemporary narrative," says Mayur.
Mayur plays each of the characters and moves from one role and setting to the next. A rendition of a poem by Janabai serves as an original soundtrack. "I've been told its devastating and hopeful at the same time. And yet the tone is that of humour," says Mayur.

On March 6, 6 pm to 7.30 pm
At Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum, 1 A, Rani Baug, Dr Ambedkar Road, Byculla East.
Call 23731234
Free

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