The lives of the 'others'

    July 16, 2012
    By Pallavi Verma

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/tabloid/potpouri/lives-%E2%80%98others%E2%80%99-985

The staging of the play Being Eunuch by Nishumbita on Friday began with one of the characters addressing the audience, disguised as the narrator.

As he disappeared into the wings, the auditorium was stormed by half a dozen eunuchs asking everyone for money!

As it turned out, the surprise visitors were actually young men dressed as eunuchs enacting characters from the play. There was a detailed depiction on the life of eunuchs, their community practices and their customs. It showed how relationships develop even when there is no possibility of sexual activity.

Absorbing play
Gudipoodi Srihari

http://www.thehindu.com/arts/theatre/article3657432.ece

Nishumbita, a theatre group run by Holagundi Rammohan in Hyderabad is known for producing Hindi, English and Telugu plays - all high standard productions that draw audience in considerable numbers. Generally they pick novel themes with a social purpose. This time they chose a bold theme of Transgenders , ending with a plea to make place for them in society. How a person with certain traits gets converted into this 'third gender' and the problems that arise among them are tackled in the play 'Being Eunuch'. Scripted in Hyderabadi Hindi with a mix of Urdu, it was staged at Ravindra Bharati last week.

The story is woven around a group of transgenders (eunuchs) in an Akhara, led by Shanno Naik who is also addressed as 'Amma'. Their names are peculiar like Bijli, Katrina, Preeti, Rani, Chenni, Chameli and so on - all with individualistic traits.