Kaushik Bose’s play questions the very foundations of motherhood, parenting and whether defining gender by biology is the true dharma. By Muskaan Sharma
Ancient Indian mythology has an androgynous deity by the name of Ardhanarishvara, a complete being composed of both male and female halves. No less than Shiva is represented as manifesting this form. Basically such depictions were meant to convey how God exists in this intrinsic condition where both male and female are equal and interchangeable.
This concept is explored further to explain the existence of souls as neutral energies that do not conform to size, age or gender. They adapt to the body or the vessel they contain themselves in and it may change as the soul is eternal and body is mortal. In simpler terms it means that the body may vary but the soul inside each and every human is the same.
The existence of such deities and concepts in mythology are crucial in understanding the way we project socially constructed definitions of gender in today’s world. The current concept of gender and gender roles has developed in some way or the other from ancient mythology but still fails to understand the universality of the human body and mind that is not strictly limited by social constructs.
These gender roles become pivotal in defining the lives of all, men and women alike. They become the definition and the limitations of their being. Gender discrimination continues to be an enormous problem within our Indian society. The evolving system of social constructs served to drastically devalue the role of women and position them as inferior to the men. An emergent phenomenon is the growing flexibility and changes in the gender roles of men and women.
Breaking this social norm of today is another story in the Hindu mythology dating back to the time of the Mahabharata. Mythologist and author Devdutt Pattnaik’s book based on this story, The Pregnant King, talks about Yuvanashva, the ruler of Vallabhi, who got impregnated by a magical potion and bore his child inside his body. Perhaps the earliest references to ectoplasmic pregnancy. Being a man, he faced the stigma of carrying a child in his body. His manhood was questioned and he was not considered fit to be king. Pattnaik’s book draws close parallels between the stigma associated with being a parent in that age and in today’s world where men are still not considered fit to be the only parent of a child. A single man in India is not eligible to adopt and father a kid. This raises question on why parenting is considered to be the job of a single genderIJ
Pattnaik’s book envelopes the feelings of parenthood without labeling them as gender-specific. Yuvanashva considered himself as the mother and nurturer of the child but sacrifices this right to avoid the stigma his child would face by the world of being born out of his father. This shows the genderless nature of parenthood where sacrifices are not the responsibility of the mother but are equally shared by the father.
Theatre director Kaushik Bose, whose play Flesh is based on Pattnaik’s book, talks about the contemporary relevance of this story. “Yuvanashva’s quest for his identity and where it leads him is the highlight of the story. But it goes beyond just that and essentially tells a human story which explores issues of gender and sexual identity. Yuvanashva’s journey highlights the gender issues subtly,” he says.
The play questions several issues like whether a man who delivers a son can be called a mother, whether the role of a woman should only be defined by her biology, whether the “principles of life” or Dharma can make room for all – man, woman and everything in between. It highlights the differences between the lineage of men and women. It reiterates how a man's lineage is his blood and a women's lineage is her flesh that produced the seed of the man. The play questions the concept of dharma and adharma to explain the flexibility of dharma and the wrongful rigidity pushed on to individuals by the custodians of a dharma. It talks about morality being subjective and the truth being contextual. Through the changing roles of Yuvanashva as a mother, as a king and then a father, Bose projects a fluidity in characters as they appear equal on the stage and resonate the concept of a neutral and genderless soul.
According to Bose, any work of art has the potential to bring about change or at least get people to talk and think about critical issues. “As people, we are comfortable exploring the unknown or the unfamiliar through mythology and fiction. So it is a great way for people to deal with gender and sexuality related issues that generally scare us. It plays an important role in improving our understanding of the issue,” he adds..