Review

HIJADA (HINDI)

Direction : Saggherr Loadhi
Cast : Zameer Kamble, Santosh Mahadev, Mayur Shitole, Kunal Punekar & others

HIJADA (Hindi) Play Review


Nishtha Juneja



 HIJADA (Hindi) Review

HIJADA, a play, originally written in Marathi, explores facets of the lives of transgender people in India. The play was staged in Hindi at the National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA) on 10th July 2014. The show was organised by HRLN, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) and Labia in collaboration with the Aakansha Rangabhoomi, Pune.

The play dwells upon the lives of six transgender individuals, who have left their families or are forced to leave because they were ostracised. The underlying emotion is the simple fact of how a section of our society is deprived of its identity to the bitter extent that forces these people to resort to prostitution or begging to earn their living. The actors in the play, time and again, stressed on the fact that even they were human beings and deserved equal dignity.

HIJADA

The introduction says that nearly all the incidents in the play are inspired from real life incidents. Saggherr Loaddhii, writer and director, also conforms to the fact that he spoke to transgender communities in Pune and in Mumbai; and Dimple, a character in the play, has also been inspired by a true story. The actors spoke of their individual stories of struggle and hardship and shared painful details of discrimination and injustice. Kiran and Dimple are the protagonists of the play.

The stage was divided into three sections with the left and the middle devoted to portraying the house of the transgender community, fully equipped with a make-up room, a mandir, a chatai and a box to store paan. The right section is set-up as Kiran's home.

The drama is thoughtfully structured into separate scenes with each scene ending with a thought-proving statement or a question. These hard hitting one-liners are supplemented by live music that is touching.

Dimple and Kiran are on the verge of finding their sexuality. Dimple is strong-headed and determined to get nirvana- to get castrated; Kiran on the other hand feels fearful at even the thought of it. While both of them are on their journey of experiencing the first signs womanhood, Dimple stumbles upon a Hijada community in the area. She gets invited for a reet ceremony, an event which marks one year of a transgender person to be accepted into the community. It is then that Dimple finds her place and knows where she belongs. The inmates share their deepest feelings with the head of the Hijada community, fondly called the Guru.

Kiran on the other hand questions the norms of their ways of living. She ponders whether one becomes a woman by just wearing a saree or putting on make-up. She introspects whether she wants to live with the Hijada community and beg for a living.

In the end, Dimple stay back while Kiran returns to live with her mother who eventually takes her back.

Dimple and Kiran's lives are craftily adjusted into the drama. They share a strong bond and become each other's companions. In the absence of a family, the community becomes the family.

The two-hour long play has its share of happy banter and laughter with occasional crying and sobbing. Gurumaa is always listening to problems and offers the best advice. There is also the occasional quarrel between choosing sarees and jewellery.

The costume and make-up artists should be applauded for their contribution. The jokes and punch lines add to this heart-warming story. Last but not the least, the actors are outstanding. All of them deserve a pat on their backs for such a heart-touching performance which moved the audience to tears.

The play is a mix of humour and pathos, of friendship and love, of sex and prostitution, but most importantly of identity and individuality.

*Nishtha Juneja likes to act and write about theatre. Nishtha Juneja is passionate about dance and food and has completed a post-graduate diploma in Journalism from the Xavier Institute for Communication (XIC).


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