The elephant in the room
Pix by Indika Handuwela
“V Day”, the annual let-it-all-out session organised by The Grassrooted Fund took place for the fourth time last week at the Barefoot Gallery Café. The event featured ten performances in Sinhala, Tamil and English all on the theme- “The elephant in the room”-the elephant being sexuality, the role it plays in society and about forced prostitution. Hans Billimoria, Paba Deshapriya and Nilukshi Samdeen were the script writers of the skits which were performed on Tuesday, all having been approved by the Censor Board as suitable for mature audiences.
‘Chain of Fools’ performed by Satya Bhashi was the only dance act of the night, a wonderful well-balanced fusion of western and eastern. ‘Life’s Habit’ by Jaraha depicted the plight of a widow in the North who had lost her husband to the war and had to become an adult entertainer to feed and educate her two young children.
‘No fuss No mess No dress’ was a monologue performed by Viranthi Cooray who brought out the views of a sex worker who has been in the profession for 17 years.
‘You Crane I Crane We All Crane’ performed by Ashini, Udara, Yashoda, Demi and Marlon was about a foreign entertainer and ‘Love Overdose’ was the story of a man whose favourite pastime was to hide behind the bushes on the beach and spy on couples and a particular sex worker.
The voyeur was played by Kapila and the woman by Uda. The next documentary “Natural woman” shone the spotlight on a nightclub singer who was expected to satisfy her customers by more than just singing, this played by Salome and Sameera.
“Casino Kasilla” was about an Indian, played by one of the organizers of the event Hans Billimoria talking to a pimp, Raj asking to provide him with his regular girl “Radika”. Raj is unable to comply unless the usual Rs.50, 000 a night is increased and he says he has her ‘identical twin’ who will serve the foreigner the same way. The drama focused on how girls were being bargained for as if a commodity, not mindful of their needs or dignity but only as a tool of pleasure.
‘Ring my bell’ was another monologue -a Tamil girl, Nilukshi challenging and questioning God after being forced to prostitution. The next drama “He is coming, Are you ready?” had a homosexual theme. Performed by Gehan and Pasan, it brought out the message that money isn’t the only criterion when there’s a chance to experience true freedom.
“Stags don’t howl at the moon” showed a group of young men planning their friend’s bachelor party, played by Anurudha, Dominic, Dino and Ryan.
It was all in all, an illuminating evening of the true stories behind the dark trade of prostitution. While society is quick in judging women who are trapped in this unfortunate profession, the production sought to bring out the reality that these adult entertainers are mothers, sisters and daughters desperately trying to find acceptance as well as a means of income to keep a loved one alive. As one of the characters of the show said, “Everyone talks about me. Why doesn’t anyone talk about the men who come to me?” It leaves us with a question which we are responsible to answer.