Sejal Khanna

Dr Indu Jain

B.A. (Hons.) English | Sem VI

259

Discuss the various themes and dramatic devices used in the play "Aurat."

Aurat is a poetic abstraction, realistically encapsulating and sharply etching out vignettes of a
woman's life. -Habib Tanvir

IPTA's theatre movements made an early attempt to improve women's conditions in the socio-
cultural field. Through the constant efforts of various organisations emerged a new theatre
known as the "feminist theatre." It intervenes in societal assumptions about identity, dismantles
binaries, and creates equality as an alternative not only to the male gaze but also to the normative
gaze. Written overnight by Safdar Hashmi and Rakesh Saxena, Aurat, a landmark play by the
Jana Natya Manch portrays what it means to be a working-class woman in India and foregrounds
the co-dependent nature of women's struggles and working-class struggles. Created for the first
North Indian Working Women's Conference in 1979, the play connected with the emerging
women's movement in the late 1970s and early 1980s. With over 2500 shows and translations in
multiple languages, Aurat remains Janam's most successful play to date. Throughout the play,
the deliberate use of metaphors and imagery highlights the hardships of a working woman. The
narratorial voice also questions the linguistic jargon which serves patriarchal hegemony.

Out of all theatrical modes of expression, street theatre has emerged as the most influential one
emphasising women's struggles and showcasing the emerging feminist movements in India. It
was an intimate means of disclosing and connecting the lives of female audiences, as well as
sharing their viewpoint with the rest of the globe. Janam's Aurat successfully portrays topics
such as bride burning, dowry, and wife abuse in the life of a middle-class woman who has no
name, identity, religion or caste, but is only a woman. The play opens with a rendition of the
poem, I'm a Woman, by Marzieh Ahmadi Oskooii. The writers deliberately chose to address the
audience through the words of a revolutionary Iranian woman executed by the Shah of Iran in
1973. Throughout the play, the one thing that remains constant till the end is the formation of the
actors; the woman occupies the centre stage whereas the male actors circle her symbolising the
plethora of identities, responsibilities and hardships a woman is supposed to fit in. The peculiar
position of the woman also symbolises the male gaze describing a way of portraying and looking
at women that empowers men while sexualizing and diminishing women. The abrupt bursting of
the flower-shaped formation could also hint at the "deflowering" of a young woman. The
formation of a circle around the female actor visually reminds us of a flower with multiple petals
around, showcasing its vivacity, but it also symbolises how the girl is inevitably trapped within
the social structure formed by men; be it her father, her brother, her husband or her in-laws. All
these patriarchal figures act as the gatekeepers of the girl's chastity because they link it somehow
with their respect and prosperity in society as if her purity is a prize to be reserved and only
given out to someone who they find worthy. When the girl comes out of the circular formation or
the flower formation, this symbolises a woman's "Deflowering" in the sense that it is only
through the approval of all these patriarchal figures that she is allowed to bloom into a woman.
In the earlier versions of the play, the character of the suppressed woman was played by
Molayshree Hashmi who, quite accurately, brought to life a working-class woman who is
retrenched but finds solidarity and strength in the struggle. The play highlights the many phases
of a working woman: a student who asks if a girl from a working-class family has the right to
education; a married woman who is oppressed at the hands of her husband who is also a worker;
a woman who faces sexual harassment at a job interview; a woman who is arrested for joining a
demonstration against unemployment (Kanika Katyal).

The play also employs a variety of dramatic techniques: the bodies of the characters turning into
props, the actors freezing and breaking the illusion of reality, adhering to particular formations,
speaking directly to the audience and boycotting fancy attires or make-up. One of Sircar's
complaints about traditional proscenium theatre was its excessive reliance on pricey props that
serve no use in the performance. He claims that while theatregoers come prepared to utilise their
imagination and are willing to accept the stage as a stage, sets, props, and costumes are
employed to create the appearance of reality. Thus, the street theatre also came to be known as
"free theatre" in three ways: first, there was free speech, which encouraged open conversation;
second, it was devoid of the trappings of traditional theatre; and third, it was provided to the
public free of cost.

Brinda Karat, a women's rights activist commented, "Aurat spoke in a multidimensional voice
that not only inspired women from the working classes but had a lasting relevance for women's
movements in India and across the world." Through a series of episodes which enact scenes
within a home, at the marketplace, in a marriage, at a college, on the roads, at a job interview,
and finally, in a factory, the play moves from the domestic sphere to the public to show the links
between patriarchy and capitalism, and how the only real challenge to patriarchy comes from
proletarian values. Since her childhood, a woman forcibly remains in a shell created by her
violent and ignorant "protectors" and as she grows up, and moves into the real world, the
gatekeepers of patriarchy keep a watchful eye on her actions and even rebuke her for the slightest
of unconventional behaviour.

Socially relevant theatre and the women's movement began to illustrate the way forward in the
charged atmosphere of the mid-to late-1970s. Theatre allowed for the expression and acceptance
of a lot of taboo issues. Women's issues, in a large way, entered the Indian theatre scene during
the 1980s and 1990s. The play, Aurat, highlights the profiles of working women. On the one
hand, there is evocative imagery of the agricultural fields, and on the other, it also portrays the
plight of a tea plantation worker. In a way, Janam seeks to question the stereotype that women
cannot work with machinery. As the central figure of a woman goes on to pursue her higher
studies, she is restricted by the choice of subjects offered by society. Educational subjects are
predetermined and have always been confined to domesticity. Janam, dexterously, questions the
internalisation of patriarchy in a nonchalant way.