B M Anand Foundation and Jan Natya

B M Anand Foundation and Jan Natya

Manch (Janam), one of the oldest street theatre groups from Delhi, is bringing to Kochi a weekend of street plays on the many faces of dissent and its significance in public discourse, creativity and progress.

Two plays focussing on the rights of the workers and violence on women are scheduled to be enacted in Subhash Park, Marine Drive and various parts of Fort Kochi and Mattancherry, which include some of the venues of the ongoing third edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB), organisers said in a release here today.

The plays are offshoot programmes of the exhibition 'Dissent and Discourse: the Art and Politics ofrebel artist Brij Mohan Anand (1928-1986), which is a collateral project to the Biennaleat Greenix Village Cultural Arts Centre in Fort Kochi.
 

Anand believed that in its hurried attempt to transform itself, India was growing impervious to the voices within, said Shruthi Issac, curator, Dissent and Discourse exhibition.

"At a time when independent, radical thought found few outlets for expression, his works reflect the modern industrial world and serve to hold the empowered perspective and the selective interests served by it, accountable to the broader public.

"I think it is great that Jan Natya Manch will be exploring the notion of the exploitation of industrial labour and gender violence through their plays in Kochi", said Issac.

The drama 'Yeh Bhi Hinsa Hai' (The Faces of Violence) and 'Yeh Hum Kyun Sahein' (Enough is Enough) both in Hindi will be played on January 28-29at various venues, the release said.

The 'Faces of Violence' , which talks about stalking, voyeurism, patriarchy and non-physical forms of violence was first prepared in 2005 and updated after the horrific Delhi gang rape in December 2012, which brought the issue to a head.

The play ends with rape, depicted powerfully but symbolically, with stylised movements.

'Enough Is Enough' is based on the personal narratives of industrial workers in and around Delhi, gathered by the actors It is a juxtaposition of hilarious, over-the-top farce with deadly serious, quietly assertive docu-drama on the work conditions of workers.