Stories from the margins take centre stage

Lakshman K P is changing mainstream theatre by portraying stories of Dalit communities, showcasing caste politics, food, colour, music and aesthetics

Lakshman K P was in Singapore, at the Intercultural Theatre Institute (ITI), when Dalit student activist Rohith Vemula died by suicide protesting the University of Hyderabad’s decision to suspend him for raising Dalit issues. The news dealt a lasting blow to Lakshman — he could not bring himself to even finish reading the death note that Vemula left behind. It was just a few days earlier that Lakshman had spent time with the student activists who protested along with Vemula. Memories of his stay in Hyderabad with them loomed large. 

As part of his final year project at the three-year course at ITI, Lakshman returned to the letter, intending to perform it. Having also encountered ‘Ants among Elephants’ authored by Sujatha Gidla during this time, Lakshman realised that his experiences of caste-based discrimination were important and deserved to be told.

Since then, Lakshman has translated oppression and Dalit experiences through eight plays that he has directed and the 25 plays that he has acted in.

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His recent production ‘Daklakatha Devikavya’ is based on an epic poem by K B Siddaiah, a poet and prominent member of the Dalit movement.

The production features the Dakla community, considered the most oppressed among scheduled caste communities. Lakshman uses the Arai and Tamate, musical instruments that are associated with marginalised communities and largely excluded from contemporary theatre.

Tamate players were not seen as musicians or artistes. Instead, they were thought to be fulfilling a caste-based role, even by the participants of the first wave of the Dalit movement. 

By bringing these instruments to the stage, Lakshman has reclaimed the culture, bringing confidence to those who play the instruments as well. Lakshman brings caste questions to the stage by portraying stories of marginalised communities and showcasing their politics, food, colour, music and aesthetics.

The adaptation of ‘Daklakatha Devikavya’ won him many accolades.

Writer and Dalit thinker V L Narasimhamurthy explains how Lakshman, through a feminist lens, questions the instinct to oppress another in ‘Daklakatha Devikavya.’ “Lakshman has explored how women belonging to the Dalit community have to face two kinds of oppression — caste and gender,” he says.

Comparing Lakshman to filmmaker Pa Ranjit, Narasimhamurthy says, “earlier activism in theatre was covert but Lakshman is more open and direct in his productions. There are not many in Kannada who can bring activism in theatre.” 

"When I watched Lakshman’s ‘Daklakatha Devikavya,’ I felt the same amazement that I had felt long ago when I read Abdul Rashid’s stories and N K Hanumanthaiah’s poems,” says thinker and writer Devanoor Mahadeva.

“Ambedkar is my cultural pedagogue. ‘Annihilation of Caste’ has given me clarity in the way I see culture,” he says. The Dalit Sangharsh Samiti has also had a great influence on him.

Life and theatre

Lakshman, who politically identifies himself as a Dalit, was born in Kachanahalli, a village in Nelamangala. Speaking of his time in the village, Lakshman says, “I wanted to get away but now all my imagination comes from there.” He attributes his skill in storytelling to his mother and the people of his village. “They have all influenced me,” he says.

Credit: DH Photo

The recent recipient of the Shankar Nag award from Rangashankara, Lakshman grew up watching drama companies perform mythological plays in his village. He even played a role at the age of 11. 

Among the many reasons Lakshman chose theatre, Dalit Sangharsh Samiti (DSS) played a pivotal role. DSS visited their village when he was quite young — a privileged caste person had cheated his father and had acquired their land.

Of the many songs that DSS publicised, one song that has remained in his memory is, ‘Ambedkara helida maatu, mareyabedi, maretu malaga bedi. Shikshana, sanghatane, horata. Muttinanta moore sutra.’ (Don’t forget what Ambedkar said: Educate, agitate and organise. Three pearl-like formulae.)

When he was 17, a workshop organised by Ninasam at Tiptur changed his idea of theatre. Spotting an advertisement in the newspaper, Lakshman had applied for the workshop. He was fishing along with his uncle at his village pond when he received an acceptance.

The 21-day workshop gave him a glimpse of happiness and an opportunity to star in many plays.

His first play here was an adaptation of Masti Venkatesha Iyengar’s ‘Chikkavva,’ directed by Bhavani Prakash. Lakshman trained himself as an actor. The lead role in an adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s ‘When We Dead Awaken’ by Shankar Venkatesh (2018) brought him recognition as an actor. Lakshman notes that he is largely influenced by the Japanese traditional theatre form, Noh, which is minimalist in its aesthetic and approach. 

Lakshman read extensively about Gandhi to prepare for the role. He even stopped eating meat and fasted for a brief period to get into the character. Though his views have changed since then about this method of getting into a role, “The character has had a great influence on me," he says.

A university

Kotiganahalli Ramaiah’s Aadima, a platform that emerged from the Dalit movement, was where Lakshman’s artistic vision started to take shape. 

He was part of two performances there — ‘Let Polly Thrive’ and ‘Matte Ekalavya.’ Let Polly Thrive was written by Ramaiah and directed collectively. The play is a satirical representation of societal and caste hierarchies in the form of reality television, set in a rural background. The troupe would go to a village and spread the message about the play, performing once every evening, involving the community.

“We collected material from the village to create the set. The next morning, we would go to each house — some gave us rice, and ragi, some offered money and used things. This was our income. This was how we earned,” he says.

“Aadima was a university for me. We would discuss all night about films, theatre, poetry, politics, culture. I was very irritated back then, why are they keeping us awake and discussing all this, but now if you ask me, all these discussions helped shape my whole journey,” Lakshman says. 

Soon after, Lakshman joined Janamanadata, a prominent theatre group in Karnataka. They were known for adapting Siddalingaiah’s ‘Ooru Keri.’ He played a role in an adaptation of A Revathi’s ‘Baduku Bayalu,’ about the transgender community, and once again played the role of Gandhi in ‘Gandhi Ambedkar.’ “While doing all this, I was not consciously thinking about my politics and identity. But I think the journey I was taking designed my art,” says Lakshman. He has also explored modernity and intersectionality in Siddaiah’s poetry.

When Lakshman came back to India after his stint at the ITI, he started to read Ambedkar more intensely. He realised loneliness, an idea that he was drawn to through European absurdist theatre, is not the same in India. “In our country, it is forced, manufactured and created,” he says.

On a personal level, Lakshman realised that apart from a few plays, all the characters that he had been creating and portraying in the last 10-15 years did not feature those who he grew up with, who he shared his life and music with.

“He grasps the aesthetics of the marginalised communities very well. He is both gender-sensitive and caste-sensitive,”  says theatre artiste Du Saraswathi.

“Many people ask me why I bring caste questions to the stage all the time. For me, it is not about caste, these are life questions. Caste is an everyday thing in India. Theatre, for me, should bring life questions to the stage. That is what forces me to tell these stories,” he says.