Date:14/10/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/10/14/stories/2008101451000200.htm

Karnataka - Mangalore

‘The message is important’

Staff Correspondent

SHG stages street play in protest against Mangalore SEZ

— Photo: SUDIPTO MONDAL

FOR A CAUSE: Farmers and activists in a street play in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s office in Mangalore on Monday.

MANGALORE: There was nothing fancy about the act. There were no flashy props. The women who played male roles did not even think it necessary to get proper fake moustaches — a thick, inconsistent layer of black soot (kajal) did the job for them.

The whirr of the kerosene generator that powered the microphones often muffled the sounds that they were meant to amplify.

And the actors sometimes forgot to talk into the microphones.

A theatre critic would have had a field day picking out technical flaws during the anti-Mangalore Special Economic Zone street play that was organised by a Belthangady-based women’s self-help group, VIMUKTI, on Monday in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s office here.

But not even the uneasy, muggy weather could disturb the audience’s determination to see the performance through as the cast awkwardly progressed from one scene to the other.

“The issue and the message are important to me. You do not need to be an expert to know that these people are not gifted actors,” said Leelavathi (38), a homemaker who seemed a trifle irritated when asked to react to the play while it was in progress.

“Turmeric has made way for fairness creams, kum-kum (vermillion) has made way for sticker bindis, tender coconut water has made way for aerated soft drinks and our farmland has made way for industries… soon we too will make way and disappear forever,” the actors sang even as the crowd cheered, clapped and laughed long at the ironical song.

After the introductory scenes the play ran largely in Tulu, much to the delight of the audience.

In an interview later, the cast revealed that four days is all they had to practice. “The script developed as we practiced,” said Florine Monis (52), one of the actor. She added that since all the women are from farming families they could spare only a few hours a day for practice. “But it was alright in the end, wasn’t it?” she asked.

Padmavati (32), another actor, said that none of the actors have any prior experience in acting. “But it is all for a cause,” she added.