Stories of bitter life

Facing all odds, they have continued the good fight. Now, it is time for them to showcase their bitter lives in the form of a play. Parayan Maranna Kadhakal or Forgotten Stories, a theatre presentation by a group of transgenders staged as part of the International Theatre Festival of Kerala (ITFoK) here on Saturday, narrates the bitter experiences, social biases, and neglect faced by the community.  The play is a statement, a witness report, or a biography of each and every transgender all over the world. The group was formed under the banner Mazhavil Dhwani Drama Company and students from School of Drama helped them get a professional touch. 

One of the actors, Renju, says though the state government and majority of the public have been showing respect, still there are a lot of things that need to be changed.  

“Here we have transgender people from every corner of life. There are dancers, artists, housekeeping workers, beauticians, Kochi Metro workers and even news readers. We are all facing a bias here. But this kinds of abuse and social bias never had an effect on some of us and we continue to do our jobs. But there are many transgenders who are still living in fear. We would like to dedicate this performance to all of them.” 

The play, which they had already performed at School of Drama, received a positive response.

“We have been abused publicly. Denied shelter, food, and freedom of movement. Even our families refused to recognise us. We are very few in number. We lacked unity at first, but now we have a strong community in the state and would like to thank Sangeeta Nataka Akademi for this opportunity to perform here,” said Sheetal, another participant.

“For Parayan Maranna Kadhakal, there is no script or format. Each of us tried to recreate our experiences,” they say. 

The play is the result of a seven-day workshop, Rainbow Talks, conducted at the School of Drama with the help of professionals here as part of the ITFoK. “Society still says first gender, second gender, and third gender. The discrimination affects us and is a hurdle for our development. We should have the right to choose the gender too. That is what we are trying to say here. I hope in future we are going to get equal consideration and rights,” Renju added.