Equal Opportunity - Myth Or Reality?

Change should be initiated at home and mothers should ensure that their children grow up with a gender sensitive value system, opined the panellists at a discussion organised by the Times of India (ToI) at Taj Deccan, Banjara Hills on October 15.

The event was a part of the Vox Populi series that the newspaper organised in the city in the month of October, in collaboration with Manjeera Homes. ‘Equal Opportunity – Myth or Reality’ was the overarching theme. Has the legendary glass ceiling really been broken, or are the age old perceptions and traditional mindsets still in place when it comes to the Indian woman were some of the questions that the event tried to address.

Dr. Lavanya Kannaiyan (Paediatric Surgeon), Leena Sil (Senior Consultant, PWC), Chandrima Roy (Chief PRO, South Central Railway), Usha Reddy (Principal, Meridian School), Dr. Alladi Suvarna (Neurologist), Suchitra Ella (Bharat Biotech), Kanchan K Malik (University of Hyderabad) and Anjana Sinha (Inspector General of Police) participated in the panel discussion. It was moderated by the Resident Editor of ToI, Kingshuk Nag.

The discussion was carried out under several sub topics like ‘The superwoman expectation,’ ‘Progressive is loose,’ ‘Single woman still not accepted,’ ‘The new-age stridhan,’ ‘Sexual harassment,’ and ‘The sidelined homemaker.’ While the panellists did not have a consensus on personally experiencing sexual harassment or parents-in-law demanding their salaries, everyone agreed that such things happen in lower classes of the society. They also asserted that evolution was not an overnight process.

A group of youngsters present in the audience gave fresh male perspectives that were much needed to balance the opinions of an all-female panel. They pointed at the direction in which the younger generation is heading by citing examples from their lives – some prompting their homemaker moms to start working and some being proud of their girlfriends who earn more than them.

Mr. Nag, with his witty demeanour, made the event quite a lighthearted one despite the sombre theme of the discussion. Roli Srivastava, a senior reporter at ToI, took the lead in organising the event.

Maya Ravan Enthralls Hyderabad

The glorious mystique of Ramayana unfolded on the dais of Ravindra Bharathi as Shobana and her Kalarpana team performed Maya Ravan on Friday, September 18. The dance musical, choreographed and directed by the veteran actress, made an earnest attempt to skim through the entire scope of Ramayana highlighting the heroism of Ravana, while maintaining a bohemian jouissance and filminess.

Shobana, of course, was the centre of attraction. Although a lack of vigour was visible in her body language, her elegant frame and graceful movements made up for it. Archana Ganesan, who played the part of Sita, earned brownie points with the audience too.

An array of gifted voices lent believability to the mythical narrative. Naseeruddin Shah as Ravan was pure delight. The subtlety with which he rendered Ravana’s passion was out of the world. The atrocious Asura who threatens Janaka to give his daughter’s hand, the coy and love-struck demon who tries desperately to allure Sita, the penanced Rakshasa who confides helplessly in Mandodari – all the moods were safe in his experienced vocal cords. Other celebrity voices that Shobana put to use include Tabu as Mandodari, Rohini as Sita, Mohan Lal as Hanuman, Suhasini as Soorpanakha, Milind Soman as Rama, and Jackie Shroff as Dasaratha.

Maya Ravan boasts of a delectable compilation of music scores for its sound track. Put together by Ganesh Kumaresh, it forms the backbone of this epic dance drama. Tunes with an Arabian hint, Kurunthurai couplets, and soundtracks from the MGR era were all used efficiently to aid the narrative. Narumugaiye from Iruvar, one of A R Rahman’s all-time-bests, used as the signature love track for Rama and Sita, Chentharmizhi from Perumazhakkalam used during the Vanvaas sequence and Chinnamma Chilakamma from Meenaxi employed when Ravana naughtily disturbs Sita in Ashokavan were some of the delightful choices the crew made.

Maya Ravan acknowledges that it is inspired by the Ramayana Series by Ashok Banker. However, one genuine complaint that can be raised is that it did not do justice to its protagonist. Ramayana has enough variations that Shobana could have used to conceptually develop Ravana more. However, she chose to stick to the safe path and did not explore the possibilities that were available to demystify him further.

There were also cries that rose from the puritans that this performance should be bracketed out from ‘art.’ The criticism mainly rose from the fact that the performance was very ‘filmy.’ However, considering that Shobana had never made a claim that it was a pure Bharatanatyam performance, this is not a sound argument.

At one point in the dance drama, Ravana tells Sita, “Dharma can be interpreted differently by different people.” Art, too, can be defined and interpreted in various ways. Puritans may not agree, but Maya Ravan was art in one of the most entertaining avatars ever!

The opulent costumes added a great deal to the visual splendour of the production. Shobana herself had seven costume changes; others also indulged quite a number of times. It was remarkable how the colours of costumes were made to match the mood of particular scenes.