By Sujit Bhar in Kolkata
On November 17, Sunday, at Rabindra Sadan, Kolkata’s iconic cultural centre, happened the 100th and final enactment of danseuse and social reformer Alokananda Roy-directed Valmiki Pratibha, Rabindranath Tagore’s eternal rendition of how a dreaded dacoit transformed into a sage. The specialty of this rendition was that the actors were jailed convicts. The particular play was chosen by Roy because of the eternal message it delivers: sinners can transform into saints.
Roy’s recreation of Tagore’s play has been around since 2008, when it was first enacted, completely by inmates of jails in Kolkata and around other areas of West Bengal. The reformative nature of Roy’s art therapy has been displayed on multiple forums and several occasions. As the years passed, the actor-inmates’ team changed as inmates earned their release, many for good behaviour. As of the last show, only one from the 2008 men’s troupe remained. The girls’ troupe, of course, has completely changed. For the men, this is possibly the fourth such team, more for the women inmates.
Roy has travelled the country with this troupe, but not one single inmate—most of them have been hardened criminals—has ever even thought of escaping. So much has been the influence of Roy. What is more interesting is that not a single inmate who has been tutored by Roy, has been associated with her in her art therapy and has been released, has ever returned to the world of crime. They have eked out a living through hard work, have married, raised families, and more often than not, been accepted back in society at large.
While recidivism has been a big and troubling issue with jail systems around the world and especially in India, Roy’s therapy could prove to be that silver lining that systems could adopt and benefit. This was soundly accepted by jail authorities in some states of the US where Roy toured and tutored the inmates on her art and love therapy. Roy’s accomplishment has now become a worldwide phenomenon.
A life sentence
As Roy put it at the end of Sunday’s 100th show, she has now spent close to “a life sentence” with the inmates, and that’s saying something. Valmiki Pratibha has come to an end, but Roy said that she is “not quitting”. She will be involved in many more projects in this field and with the inmates. One expects more extraordinary announcements from her in the near future.
Amid the emotional break-up of the “team”, amid some tears, also came some good news. The entire troupe of inmates was accompanied to the theatre hall by a massive contingent of policemen, but they too had a heart. At the end of the show, Additional Director General of Police of the state, LN Meena, presented the actors with a cheque of Rs 62,000, a small token of appreciation for the work Roy has done and the work put in by the inmates.
And the inmates have worked a great deal. They not only acted, but designed and made their own outfits; under the watchful eyes of Roy, they designed and made the props and all have been done inside the jails. Such has been the tradition of this show by Roy, right from the beginning. That is what is special with what Roy does. She involves each of the inmate-actors in every segment of the production. That also imparts several vocational traits to the inmates.
How it began
For years now, Roy has been using the arts, especially traditional dance and music, to change lives. Be it introducing Tagore to convicts or starting a school for children of female inmates, through her “movement” she is helping them “return to a world they once knew”.
However, the erstwhile beauty queen-cum-dance diva-cum-actor embarked upon the journey of reaching out with “dance therapy” much after she had gained a reputation for being a remarkable classical exponent.
Having learnt Bharatanatyam from Maruthappa Pillai followed by several years of Odishi under the guidance of Sanjukta Panigrahi, she eventually started her own dance school Chandanaloke. Apart from that, over the years, she has toured across India and abroad, enthralling audiences with her spectacular, well-choreographed stage performances.
Back then, she was also being celebrated for her efforts to bring a sense of normalcy to the traumatic lives of those on whom the larger society has given up. “Sure they have committed crimes that need to be punished, but if they wish to change, they should be given a fair opportunity,” the passionate teacher, who is in her seventies now, had told this correspondent.
It was in 2007 that Roy first stepped inside the Presidency Correctional Home (Alipur Jail); she had been invited as a chief guest for the Women’s Day celebrations being held there. “That visit liberated my mind. I was expecting dark, unlit corridors leading to strong metal doors. Instead, as I entered, I saw a nice open space, with some greenery. After the day’s programme, some female inmates asked me if I could teach them dance and I decided to take it on,” she had recalled.
Another thing that had struck Roy—and it is something that actually pushed her to start her work in the jail—was the fact that she “noticed many convicts wandering aimlessly, bereft of anything to look forward to. That saddened me a great deal. It didn’t seem like they believed they had any future ahead of them. So I made up my mind to do something for them”.
Of course, initially, not only was reaching out to the male inmates, in particular, not the easiest of tasks, but getting them to dance, which most of them generally identified as a “feminine activity”, was even tougher.
Roy realised that she had to use a different approach and so she began by introducing them to Kalaripayattu, an ancient martial arts form from Kerala. This difficult, though rhythmic, art form instantly caught their attention and they became open to learning from Roy. From there on, she gradually eased them into understanding dance, and in time, prepared them to perform elaborate dance-dramas.
Her first production with them was Valmiki Pratibha, in which she incorporated Chhau dance movements along with experimental music and rustic vocals.
Staged in 2008, initially in prison and later in public, the landmark dance performance changed the way the people perceived those confined within the prison walls.
Now it has been performed 100 times, ending up revolutionising the lived reality of its actors.
Since this early successful experiment, Roy has presented many more productions with the talented convicts, male and female. As she puts it: “I have adapted and developed many established and traditional dance dramas so that they are appealing to both the performers and the audiences. These carefully selected performances have so far yielded great results, allowing hardened criminals and undertrials to realise their true potential, raise their self-esteem and strengthen their desire to reintegrate with the world outside. Having worked closely with them for a length of time I see the hope in their eyes.”
Now will start another illustrious chapter of her association with the inmates, for whom she is “Misti Ma” or Sweet mother; sometimes, just Ma.
Work with kids of inmates
If Roy has provided a creative outlet to the inmates, then she has even extended her healing touch to their young children, living with them in confinement.
“I observed that kids staying inside the jail premises are very vulnerable. Not only do they come into close contact with people who have been involved in criminal activities, something they shouldn’t be exposed to so early in life, they also tend to pick up the choicest of expletives and bad behavioural traits.
“Essentially, such influences and experiences make up their everyday life, except for the rare occasions when they are allowed to dress up in bright clothes and go out. But where do they go out?
“With their mothers when they are transported to court in jail vans for their hearing. Imagine, for children of those who are already serving their sentence even such an ‘outing’ is not possible. Does a child deserve to be this way? What about their education, sports, recreation? I knew something had to be done,” said Roy. That resulted in a school, Heartprints, inside the jail premises, a unique venture that has received great acclaim.
One hopes her extraordinary work continues through many more years, benefitting those in jails of India.