Turning the spotlight on Queens of India

When Vikram Sridhar recently attended a programme on women empowerment at the US embassy in Mumbai, he observed that there were a lot of untold stories of heroic women. “Barring Rani Lakshmibai, I don’t think any of us could come up with names or tales of Indian queens. It’s not that there weren’t any others. It’s just that we were busy glorifying their male counterparts. Our society has turned a blind eye to the stories of many valiant queens that we have been oblivious to for generations. Even the ones that have been documented are perhaps restricted to a line or at the most, a paragraph in history texts,” begins Vikram.  

Vikram’s upcoming session in the city, titled, Ranis of India, that will be held at Backyard on February 10, will bring tales of Indian women, who broke the shackles society bound them with and blazed trails for others to follow suit. “It’s not just queens I’m going to be talking about. There will be tales of women from the puranic times to the contemporary society. They could be entrepreneurs, social workers and educationists among others,” adds Vikram. 

The Bengaluru-based storyteller adds that this is also an attempt to break stereotypes associated with successful and powerful women. “While male leaders are allowed to have complex personalities, powerful women are often summed up by hackneyed stereotypes that undermine them and their power. Be it Jayalalithaa or Sonia Gandhi, there are so many stereotypes attached. Even in popular culture, we show women in power or women who’ve achieved something as arrogant or a misandrist. These are dangerous notions about female success and they seep into the collective subconscious. This is one area that needs to be addressed given the kind of times we’re living in. We never show the struggles, the battles they’ve had to fight to get where they are; their administrative prowess or the ability to manage finances,” adds Vikram who also co-owns Tahatto, a popular theatre company.   

While most of Vikram’s sessions have been for children, the upcoming session is for adults. “Children are like a clean slate. They absorb what is taught to them and only speak the truth. It’s quite easy to convey a thought or idea to them. Whereas, adults come with prejudices and preconceived notions. It is they who need storytelling sessions more than the little ones. They’ve forgotten how to listen, agree to disagree and have a dialogue. So, this year my focus is going to be on bringing adults back to storytelling,” says Vikram. 

Speaking of queens of India, we can’t help but ask about Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmaavat which stirred a hornet’s nest. Do such incidents limit or instill a certain fear in storytellers like him who challenge popular opinion? 

“Like I said, we’ve forgotten how to hold a civil conversation. Storytelling is all about perspectives. You can’t expect everyone to look at a certain issue through the same lens. When you don’t agree with what is being portrayed, sit and hold a discussion. That’s precisely why I encourage people to share their opinion after my shows. Dissent is good as long as it doesn’t violate the security or freedom of others,” he concludes.