Silence gives voice to Partition stories of an unheard generation
DASGUPTA REVEALS HOW ACTORS WERE MOVED TO TEARS DURING PLAY’S REHEARSALS
AUTHOR and journalist Kavita Puri’s award-winning BBC series and accompanying book, Partition Voices: Untold British Stories, about those who survived the brutal and harrowing division of the subcontinent in 1947, has been adapted into a play called Silence.
Written by Sonali Bhattacharyya, Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti, Ishy Din and Alexandra Wood, Silence follows Mina, a British journalist, who – tired of the UK media’s silence on Partition and Empire – wants to write about Indian and Pakistani migrants from that time.
The title of the play is derived from Puri’s book which opens with the author’s father breaking his silence of 70 years to talk about his experience of Partition. Sujaya Dasgupta plays multiple characters in the play, all third-generation British Asians learning about the horrific chapter in Asian history from their parents and grandparents.
Dasgupta, whose previous shows included Shadow and Bone, Press and Casualty, described why it was an important part for her. “I was born in India and arrived here when I was really young. My grandparents’ generation, they’ve all sadly passed away now. So there was never an opportunity to talk to them about Partition – because it’s not easy to talk about for anyone,” she told Eastern Eye.
“It was important for this to be put on and for everyone, from any walk of life, from any background, to come and see it. The most common thing I’ve heard is ‘we didn’t know about this, we have not learned about this, we’re not taught this in schools’.
“And we, as the cast, felt the exact same way. That’s what drew me to this play.”
Silence hears from the generation who witnessed events that led to the migration of 12 million people, and according to estimates left 200,000 to two million people dead and 75,000 women abducted and raped.
Dasgupta said these events caused ‘inter-generation trauma’, so the play also hears from second and third-generation British Asians about Partition and its impacted on their lives.
“There’s not a lot done, definitely not in the theatre format, that deals with Partition, especially what happened subsequently, of the people affected by it and who then moved to the UK, what their life was like here… the trauma they endured, how they dealt with it and how it was passed on to generations. Not only that, but how this is very much British history and it’s never talked about.”
Dasgupta also revealed the play was an emotional experience for the cast and the actors often broke down upon hearing Partition stories.
“It was very difficult. We all got teary, cried almost every day. It was a lot to take in, it was very overwhelming.
“For a lot of us, it was the first time we could freely talk about our heritage, our shared trauma of what our grandparents, parents went through. It just felt like such a safe space.
“It was wonderful to be able to bond with everyone. And we’re so lucky to have a loving, supportive, generous cast. If someone is having a particularly hard time dealing with a scene or the stories, we make sure they’re okay – either if they want to be left alone, or by letting them know we are there for them, or by giving them a hug or having a chat.
“It was intense. But it also raised a lot of questions. Every day I would go home and think about it and ask myself these questions. I’d have discussions with my parents. It opened up a new form of dialogue with them. I talked to my partner about it… the effects of everything that happened in India and how it’s filtered down and affects us now.”
Dasgupata found that Partition affected many British Asian families, whether they witnessed it first hand or not. She is a Bengali and her family are from Kolkata in east India. Though they were not directly impacted by Partition, many saw the horrific aftermath.
“My mum recalled that my grandma, who grew up in Delhi, didn’t see firsthand the effects of Partition, but she
would hear crowds of people and men chanting, ‘kill the Muslims’. She heard the violence; they weren’t allowed to go out on the street during that time.
“One family member – after watching Silence – told me it brought back memories of his uncle narrating his experience of Partition, how he had to run from East Pakistan (in Bangladesh), to Kolkata, and when he crossed the Howrah Bridge, he could see dead bodies floating down the river. “It’s so horrific to hear. But these traumatic events are just never heard of, they are never talked about.”
Why is it that Partition isn’t mentioned in the British media? Dasgupta said it was because of ‘shame’.
“It’s incredibly important for people to hear about what happened and how it shaped not just modern India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, but also how it’s made modern Britain. “Britain today is how it is because of the British Raj in India. British people need to hear this part of history that isn’t talked about,” she said.
“There could be a number of reasons why it’s not spoken about. The wrongdoings, the chaos, political upheaval and the devastation afterward, it perhaps comes from shame – to have this very bloodied chapter as part of British history. It’s probably not easy to talk about, but it is so important to know that Britain is as it is today because of the British Raj and the colonisation of India.”
■ Silence will be on at the Tara Theatre until Saturday (1)