Direction : Choiti Ghosh and Mohd Shameem Writer : Manjima Chatterjee Cast : Choiti Ghosh and Mohd Shameem
MAATI KATHA Review
How far distant can Mumbai be from the Sundarbans? A few thousand kilometres, geographically speaking. But perhaps the distance between these islands can never be narrowed - when looked at from a subaltern lens. However, a piece of art aims to shatter the ‘otherness' of these 14,000 hectares of mangrove forests.
MAATI KATHA aims to showcase life (of humans and otherwise) in the Sundarbans. This, the play does through multiple narratives cutting across class, gender and religious barriers.
While the two hundred islands that make up the Sundarbans might seem like a complex maze to the uninitiated, the play entertainingly educates the audience about the landscape of these beautiful wetlands through the medium of maati, or clay - moulded in the hands of an actor.
Just as Amitav Ghosh's novel The Hungry Tide reflects the unique geographical and cultural landscape of the Sundarbans, MAATI KATHA too tries to showcase the dangers and beauty of life in the Sundarbans; where deadly tigers, crocodiles and storms can wreak havoc. But also, where togetherness brings courage and comfort to the dwellers.
The word "Sundarbans" literally means ‘beautiful forests' in the Bengali language. These wetlands also boast of a unique geographical claim; these islands lie at the convergence of three rivers - the Ganges, the Brahmaputra and the Meghna River in the Bay of Bengal. However, this geographical identity places it socially and culturally outside hegemonic power structures.
The Sundarbans are a case in point for subalternity. Hence, it becomes very important to note the text of the play in minute detail. Although the play is constructed primarily in English, it does justice to the language of the Sundarbans by invoking traditional song styles like Bhatiyali, Jatrapala, and the Baul and Jhumur tradition.
Just like the language, the geography too here is political. In fact, the Sunderbans are a central character throughout the duration of the play. In a sense then, MAATI KATHA decenters the geographical fixity of theatre and places it right at the fringes of the India-Bangladesh border.
Curated by the Pickle Factory Dance Foundation, Kolkata and supported by the Edinburgh Festival Fringe society, MAATI KATHA has quite a few good things to write home about - from the inventive and politically potent use of the Sundarban dolls, to the diverse narratives that reflect the cultural milieu of these islands. The script seems to drag at a few places, but the performance level is retained throughout by actor Choiti Ghosh.
Even when viewed from a Marxist and feminist critical viewpoint, the play passes through with flying colours.
However, as shining a piece of object theatre it is, MAATI KATHA fails to disprove Gayatri Spivak's rallying cry towards the end of her seminal essay - that the 'subaltern cannot speak.' Perhaps, then, the inanimate dolls used in the play are a perfect metaphor to reflect the voiceless Sundarbans natives - which, although represented beautifully in the play - are yet to occupy centerstage in a theatre, situated on an island thousands of miles away from their own.
*Divyani has worked as a journalist for The Quint, where she was also among the Founding Team members. While there, she also hosted and produced a podcast and fronted several standups. She's also worked for The Times of India group. She's now a theatre and film actor.
