The Ramayana from a woman’s perspective: Gowri Ramnarayan’s play reimagines the epic

The Ramayana, feels author, playwright, and writer Gowri Ramnarayan, is dominated by antheral characters. “When you notation the epic, you deliberation of antheral heroes. If Sita were not Rama’s wife, she wouldn’t beryllium there,” she says, adding: “All the women successful the Ramayana have subsidiary roles. They look and vanish and are reflected done the antheral gaze.” In 2019, Gowri wrote a play featuring six women who play supporting roles successful the Ramayana. Titled ‘What She Said’, it is present acceptable to beryllium staged for the archetypal clip successful Coimbatore.

The play, that Gowri has directed arsenic well, volition beryllium performed by actors Sunandha Raghunathan, Akhila Ramnarayan, and Aarabi Veeraraghavan. It volition beryllium accompanied by unrecorded singing by Srividya Vadlamani, with dependable plan by B Charles, the laminitis of Chennai Art Theatre. “I person written the play arsenic six monologues,” says Gowri, adding that each histrion volition play 2 roles.

How would the women of the Ramayana see the communicative of Rama? This was among the archetypal questions that surfaced successful Gowri’s caput erstwhile she began penning the play.

“This is the archetypal clip I’ve written a play that focuses wholly connected women,” she says: “For the actors themselves, this has been a travel of self-discovery.”

For the story, she has picked six women from “different levels of existence,” representing divers backgrounds and origins. This offers viewers a accidental to instrumentality successful the epic done a antithetic spectrum. For instance, however would it beryllium if the Ramayana is seen from the position of Kaikeyi oregon Urmila? “You would spot 2 antithetic colours,” says Gowri.

Gowri believes that each communicative is implicit lone if it finds its listener. “For the histrion speaking connected stage, the play comes live lone erstwhile determination is simply a listener; a assemblage that volition recognize women’s perspective,” she says, hoping that ‘What She Said’ finds that benignant of a assemblage successful the city.

When the play was premiered astatine the Kalakshetra theatre successful December 2019, it was a “resounding success.” Unfortunately for them, the pandemic deed soon aft and they couldn’t instrumentality it to different parts of the country. “Which is wherefore we are reviving it this year,” says Gowri.

Music volition signifier a important relation successful the story-telling, with Srividya’s unrecorded singing adding to the experience. “What cannot beryllium expressed done words, done the dependable of a woman, volition beryllium said done music,” says Gowri. The play is being staged successful the metropolis acknowledgment to their collaboration with Medai, and the squad is adjacent travelling to Bengaluru with it. Gowri hopes to instrumentality it to different cities arsenic well.

‘What She Said’ is being staged connected February 7, 7pm, astatine Medai The Stage, Clusters Media Institute, 439, Kamarajar Road, Hope College, Coimbatore. Tickets connected Bookmyshow.