Deccan Herald » Fine Art / Culture » Detailed Story

Presenting the blind and the beautiful

Visually impaired women in India are using theatre to connect with the world around them. Ranjita Biswas finds out more.

On the upper floor of a library in north Kolkata a motley group of women are singing– clear, lilting: and the hustle-bustle of a play rehearsal is in progress. A space is clearly marked off with coir ropes and sometimes the director leads an actor by the arm.

That is when it dawns on you that these women, rehearsing for Rabindranath Tagore's Chandalika, are visually impaired. The story about an untouchable girl who realises her worth as a human being when a Buddhist monk asks her for water, seems to strike a chord. "The religion that neglects and insults me, I don't recognise," is what the chorus sings in the background.

Most of these women are members of the Blind Opera, the only performing art ensemble of its kind in India. The Opera, explains founder-member Subhashis Gangopadhyay, has both male and female members. But this particular production is their first all-woman affair. Gangopadhyay explains that the idea was to encourage greater involvement of women, including women who are not members of the Blind Opera and to involve visually-impaired women from the fringes of Kolkata as well.

The women in this play are of different ages and from different backgrounds; some can see partially, some not at all. Their common bond is a love for theatre and a disability they want to surmount using theatre as a medium. This also gives them an opportunity to express the creativity hidden behind layers of denial and discrimination. Says Alpana Dutta, "I find an outlet here for my pent-up emotions. I was at home after my school finals, doing nothing and feeling hopeless as blindness slowly crept up. Then my mother heard about this group and encouraged me to join. It has been a great boost to my self-confidence."

For director Dola Chakraborty, the experience has been a novel and challenging one. "I hope I have been able to bring these women to a common platform through theatre, where they can voice their inner thoughts, pain and desires, and share their experiences," she says.

The women in the group are mostly from lower-middle class or rural backgrounds, which means they have even lesser access to other outlets of expression. The Opera arranges workshops in rural schools and in the fringes of Kolkata. A movement for empowerment has to come from the grassroots, they believe.

Some of the women in the 'Chandalika' troupe, for example, come from afar– travelling by local trains and buses and returning home late in the evening.

While planning the play, Chakraborty first organised a workshop with about 45 women; those who were not in the main roles were accommodated in the chorus.

Choreographer Poulami Basu says working with visually impaired women for the first time was a great learning experience. "I found it tough to decide how to direct their movements because they have no visual reference. I had to change the whole choreographic design." For example, these women have no reference for mudras (postures) or for taking cues from other dancers. So, the instructor guides dancers with her fingers and then assigns a word for it.

For Gangopadhyay, theatre is a tool of empowerment through drama therapy. "Theatre helps build confidence and the ability to communicate with the sighted world. It also helps blind people feel they belong to the mainstream, a fact that shows in their body language," he says. The Opera regularly gets rave reviews.

Gangopadhyay himself is sighted and was part of a well-known theatre group in Kolkata. He thought of setting up the Blind Opera when he and a few like-minded colleagues conducted a workshop at the Calcutta Blind School. After the event was over, the participants wanted to continue their training in the performing arts.

Gangopadhyay and his friends saw this as an opportunity for social change, and broke away from their regular group to develop the Blind Opera. Launched in 1996, the Opera is a registered theatre group and is paid for its performances. It also receives funding from the Government of India's Education Fund for workshops in blind schools across West Bengal.

Theatre also helps the sighted world connect with the visually impaired; in the process of watching a play, the audience learns to look at the blind with new eyes. This is an important catalyst for social change, Gangopadhyay feels.

Women's Feature Service

On the upper floor of a library in north Kolkata a motley group of women are singing— clear, lilting: and the hustle-bustle of a play rehearsal is in progress. A space is clearly marked off with coir ropes and sometimes the director leads an actor by the arm.

That is when it dawns on you that these women, rehearsing for Rabindranath Tagore's Chandalika, are visually impaired. The story about an untouchable girl who realises her worth as a human being when a Buddhist monk asks her for water, seems to strike a chord. "The religion that neglects and insults me, I don't recognise," is what the chorus sings in the background.

Most of these women are members of the Blind Opera, the only performing art ensemble of its kind in India. The Opera, explains founder-member Subhashis Gangopadhyay, has both male and female members. But this particular production is their first all-woman affair. Gangopadhyay explains that the idea was to encourage greater involvement of women, including women who are not members of the Blind Opera and to involve visually-impaired women from the fringes of Kolkata as well.

The women in this play are of different ages and from different backgrounds; some can see partially, some not at all. Their common bond is a love for theatre and a disability they want to surmount using theatre as a medium. This also gives them an opportunity to express the creativity hidden behind layers of denial and discrimination. Says Alpana Dutta, "I find an outlet here for my pent-up emotions. I was at home after my school finals, doing nothing and feeling hopeless as blindness slowly crept up. Then my mother heard about this group and encouraged me to join. It has been a great boost to my self-confidence."

For director Dola Chakraborty, the experience has been a novel and challenging one. "I hope I have been able to bring these women to a common platform through theatre, where they can voice their inner thoughts, pain and desires, and share their experiences," she says.

The women in the group are mostly from lower-middle class or rural backgrounds, which means they have even lesser access to other outlets of expression. The Opera arranges workshops in rural schools and in the fringes of Kolkata. A movement for empowerment has to come from the grassroots, they believe.

Some of the women in the 'Chandalika' troupe, for example, come from afar— travelling by local trains and buses and returning home late in the evening.

While planning the play, Chakraborty first organised a workshop with about 45 women; those who were not in the main roles were accommodated in the chorus.

Choreographer Poulami Basu says working with visually impaired women for the first time was a great learning experience. "I found it tough to decide how to direct their movements because they have no visual reference. I had to change the whole choreographic design." For example, these women have no reference for mudras (postures) or for taking cues from other dancers. So, the instructor guides dancers with her fingers and then assigns a word for it.

For Gangopadhyay, theatre is a tool of empowerment through drama therapy. "Theatre helps build confidence and the ability to communicate with the sighted world. It also helps blind people feel they belong to the mainstream, a fact that shows in their body language," he says. The Opera regularly gets rave reviews.

Gangopadhyay himself is sighted and was part of a well-known theatre group in Kolkata. He thought of setting up the Blind Opera when he and a few like-minded colleagues conducted a workshop at the Calcutta Blind School. After the event was over, the participants wanted to continue their training in the performing arts.

Gangopadhyay and his friends saw this as an opportunity for social change, and broke away from their regular group to develop the Blind Opera. Launched in 1996, the Opera is a registered theatre group and is paid for its performances. It also receives funding from the Government of India's Education Fund for workshops in blind schools across West Bengal.

Theatre also helps the sighted world connect with the visually impaired; in the process of watching a play, the audience learns to look at the blind with new eyes. This is an important catalyst for social change, Gangopadhyay feels.

Women's Feature Service