CAMPUS EVENTS CULTURE ADVENTURE MAITREYI GIRLS HAPPY AS PLAY ON MENSTRUATION IS ACCEPTED
Daag-e-Daaman, the play staged by Abhivyakti, the theatre society of the college, overcomes barriers
One still speaks about menstruation in hushhush tones, and buy sanitary napkins in black plastic bags. To break taboo around this natural monthly phenomenon, Abhivyakti Theatre Society of Maitreyi College, Delhi University, came up with Daag-e-Daaman, a play on menstruation. But they were bogged down, when they began sending their entries. But that didn’t deter the determination of these young theatre artists, who went around spreading awareness about their play. And they were much elated, when a youth fest Un-Darr hosted by an NGO Breakthrough invited them to stage their play. Breaking taboos: “When we decided to take up the subject, even our convener subtly advised us not to go ahead with it,” says student, Priyali Dhingra. She adds their play was rejected by various theatre competitions and several societies of Delhi University. “They would refuse it after looking at our synopsis and script.” Convincing wasn’t easy: Organisers were afraid that the play could hurt some people’s sentiments. The students tried convincing the selectors by explaining the context. “In the play, at a point, the goddess is shown with stained clothes. In the end, we also throw a stained cloth on the audience stating that it is our reality,” explains Urijita Bhardwaj, a student and participant. “Uncivilised Daughters, our last year’s production, won several accolades and despite that, we hardly got selected to perform this year. We then started looking for our own contacts and as the word spread, we found acceptance,” adds Dhingra. The bald step: The play’s story is based on widows, who live in an ashram and are not allowed to enter prayers when they’re menstruating. However, Laghvi, one of the widows attends the puja and authorities punish her by shaving her head. “I actually shaved my head for the performance,” says Shikha Dimri who plays Laghvi.