Mallika gets into the skin of the good, the bad and the ugly

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HAVE YOU ever cursed the Gods? Of all the valid reasons of cursing the Gods, the most ridiculous would be to complain against a well-meant blessing of the “good self”. However, the ridicule would keep diminishing after the moment Gods meet Ramkali in the bylanes of Old Delhi and blesses her with the virtue of innate goodness after she helps them, giving space for a night halt. Ramkali, a prostitute by profession, is transformed by the dreaded blessing into a woman with “big heart”, full of care and love for everyone around. Misusing other’s moral goodness is a trademark of humans, and Ramkali’s relatives and acquaintances turn out to be no better, arriving in full glory to live off her like a parasite. As a survival solution, our protagonist develops an alter ego, Ramlal. This harsh aspect of Ramkali’s personality knows the tricks and trades of the “not-so-good” world.
Dancer, actor and social activist, Mallika Sarabhai, in all her versatility, functions as a prism to diffract the various shades of “otherwise seemingly monochromatic human personality” in Ramkali, directed by Arvind Gaur. An Asmita group’s production, based on Bertolt Brecht’s The Good Person of Schetzuan, was staged at the Sri Ram Centre in New Delhi from August 14 to 16.
In a world where it is difficult to break through walls, a language that can reach across becomes a requirement. Sarabhai and Gaur, both use the language of drama to communicate the “attitude change” required for preserving human sensitivity. This episode of Greenroom brings forth the relationship between the feminist self of actress Mallika and the multifarious character Ramkali, at various levels.
Over a cup of coffee, looking across at a drizzling Delhi, she defines her feminist self as both Ramkali and Ramlal without the corrupted part. She says, “Brecht’s breaking down of the feminine as ‘soft’ and the strong as ‘necessarily corrupt’ is a Western concept we have taken in the play. The fact that the feminine has to be soft and the masculine has to be hard is a part of the Adam and Eve concept, where Eve was made out of Adam’s rib. For us, the inheritors of Ardhnarishvara, both male and female compliment each other. My understanding of feminism aligns with Draupadi who talks of having a womb and a brain, and using both. The Hindu concept of feminism is shakti. My feminist understanding neither accepts Ramkali nor Ramlal, but Mallika as a person does understand that this is how the world has become.”
Brecht wrote The Good Person of Schetzuan in 1940, but the content is still contemporary. While talking about Brecht, Mallika says, “The issues Brecht raises are deeply ingrained in the human nature and will stay forever. I wonder how he was able to capture essentials which have become completely timeless.”
Gaur, the face of revolutionary theatre of India, finds Brecht close to his heart. “His plays have perfect universal appeal. Some of the questions Ramkali raises are mine, yours and our nation’s at large,” mentions Gaur in ATR, his group’s publication.
The play focuses on the competition for existence between various socio-economic sections of our society. How difficult it is to avoid the evil noose while scaling the stairs of success has been projected on the stage.
Sarabhai, who internalises frustration of Ramlal and Ramkali in absolute terms, when her character breaks down in the end, says she relates to their situation on a day-to-day basis. “How I do stay untainted when everything around me is corrupt. How I do not get envious of someone who does just five per cent of what I do, yet achieves 500 per cent. How do I not get bitter in such situations?” asks Sarabhai, while highlighting the context of Ramkali.
Though the end of the play is left open to interpretation by audience, post production, Sarabhai talks about the solution of reaching the state of non-victimhood within ourselves to avoid Ramlal-Ramkali situations. She shares a cherished memory of her father, the famous scientist late Vikram Sarabhai, who taught her to “refuse to be victimised”. “I was five. It was the first day of my school. In the painting class, I drew an ear upside-down and was promptly labelled a gadhi. Seeing me upset, papa asked me, darling what are you? I replied, a girl. Papa said, if someone calls you gadhi and not girl, then it is that person’s stupidity who does not know the difference. This incident has stayed with me since then. If someone calls you a whore or a bitch, it’s the reflection of their state of being and not the reflection of the reality. The permission to humiliate oneself should be given with caution. We have to reach that state of non-victimhood within ourselves.”
The caste and crew of Ramkali is a combination of artistes from Sarabhai’s Darpana Academy and Gaur’s Asmita. Watching Viren Basoya in Raju’s character and Shilpi Marwaha in Roopmati’s role was a delight. City’s regular theatre buffs can’t ignore the perfection both Basoya and Marwaha portray everytime they are on stage. Though the play stretches at certain points and restates already established statements again and again, at times even losing the beauty of being subtle, the music breaks all the monotony. Music director Sangeeta Gaur steals the show with the simplicity of her tunes, making Piyush Mishra’s lyrics unforgettable for audience.
Sharing her experience of working with Gaur, Sarabhai says, “Arvind is a tough task master. He has a brusk style of working. He is like a dog who will not let the bone go. Though I am a disciplinarian myself, I am more a didi or a replacement mother for my team. But, Arvind won’t let anyone go even with one per cent less. While rehearsing for Ramkali, at times I had to take my team members aside and tell them that you may or may not agree with his style of working, but he is a great director. Everyone needs to go through this grilling. It has done a world of good to my team,” says Sarabhai.
The team spirit Sarabhai and Gaur share comes out of a great mutual respect for each other. Their methods can be different, but in the end, both want to get to the same place.
The vision behind Ramkali reassures the fact that it is difficult to change the direction of the wind, but sails can be adjusted to reach the destination.