The patriarchal society has always managed to silence the ‘female-tongue’ by force or by guile. That is why civilisation has forever
unambiguously spoken a male dialect.
What danger lies there in women’s minds, what could have come out of the female-tongue, is a question of conjecture still.
A conjecture of that sort is stimulatingly present in Kolkata-based poet Mallika Sengupta’s Kotha Manobi.
Cultural-wing of multifunctional private organiation Yukta presented the long poem on Wednesday at the National Art Gallery auditorium of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy.
The presentation was a part of the six-day International Women’s Day celebration programme, organised by BSA, which began on March 8.
Eight female artistes of Yukta recited the 1200 line long poem, which consists of speeches of eight historical, mythical and contemporary women characters.
All eight speeches, and narrations, gave voices to silenced female feelings. They express what has been silenced, what has been intentionally kept out of the patriarchal structures of religion, nation-state, society and family.
The first character of the poem is the mythical Dhraupadi whose five husbands could not protect her, and whose poignant cry did not move the society.
Other mythical characters like Ganga, wife of king Shantanu, Madhabi, daughter of king Yayati, historical character Sultana Razia also appear in the poem to express the humiliation they had to undergo only because they are women.
While the characters from myth and history portray the pains of silenced women, contemporary women characters show their constant and continuous fight for individual and collective rights.
Among the contemporary characters is environmentalist Medha Patekar, a pioneer activist of the movement for saving river Narmada.
A contemporary ethnic minority girl, Maloti, also jumps up in the pages and speaks why she went so far to kill her employer-master. A Muslim homemaker, Shahbanu, also speaks of her suffering within the parametres of family.
The poem ends with legendary character Lilaboti turned Khona(one who cannot speak). Society, in full consent with her husband and father-in-law, severed the tongue of the girl who was a spokesperson for many and possessed the courage to tell the truth.
‘The practice of severing the female-tongue and making them Khona has been a cornerstone of male-centric society. Kotha Manobi speaks of and against that’, said Nishat Jahan Rana, who directed the recital.
Besides the director, Shirin Khan Moni, Krishti Hefaz, Shamim Ara Koli, Mushfika Naznin Lucky, Shuvra Das, Fahmida Huq and Mila Mahfuz participated as recitation artistes in the show.
-With New Age input
