I CAN DO – Na Mu Karibi

Aditi Panda

Yes, can do it for sure, is the colloquial meaning of ‘na mu karibi’. In fact this is true in the real sense. Today a woman is at par with a man in every sphere and has broken the glass ceiling that was there between them. However even now we hear of the heinous atrocities that men impromptu inflict on women for some trivial reasons. The raise in “Acid Attacks” on women is on a rampant which not only traumatises a woman emotionally and mentally but leaves a permanent imprint on her body, mind and soul.

With a motive of presenting the trivials and tribulations of an Acid victim, the  talented WONDER WOMEN  of Bhubaneswar Revti, Gargi, Sujata, Tanaya, Sucheta, Sanghamitra, Aruna, Annapurna, Sudipta and Rosalin decided  to stage a play, namely,”Na, Mu Kariparibi’ on the 29th of March 2018, Thursday at Railway Auditorium . The play also sends a message that women can do wonders if she decides and touches upon the aspirations, resilience and inner strength of women in their middle age.

‘Wonder women’ is represented by a group of women coming from all walks of life. They are largely working and business women who have found a common platform in expression of their dramatic intent. The play is written and directed by Ms Sujata Priyadarshini who decided to share her deep concern and empathy towards these women who endure so much of suffering and hurt all there life through this play. She feels that, ‘A woman has to go through a lot of violence and abuse in different forms at every step and with immense strength and support from loved ones she bounces back. But these girls who are acid survivors cannot overcome this trauma all their lives.

There is ceaseless pain, a series of operations and after all that the life changes permanently. The motivation for this gross crime is a small rejection or a fight but the repercussion is permanent. This small initiative was our way of lending support to all the acid survivors and to assure them that we are all with them in their struggle to move on”.

The evening started with a melodious music medley of some gifted budding engineers from KIIT after which Ms Minati Pradhan, an acid survivor from Berhampur was felicitated. Minati’s consulting doctor, Mr Choudhury from SCB medical college also was present and updated the augustus gathering on her progress as well as praised her grit and determination to fight the medical battle. He expressed his displeasure by stating that he had treated 26 cases of acid attacks, out of which 25 were woman, which shows the inhuman mindset of our society

Later a mesmerising dance was presented by Aruna Mohanty’s group after which the much awaited PLAY was performed by the talented actors of ‘Wonder Women’. The play ended on a positive note that a woman can do everything and anything if she chooses.

The program was organised in collaboration with the Odisha chapter of Acid Survivors Foundation India (ASFI). They have had been relentlessly working in eradicating Acid Violence from the society since 2010. ASFI acts as a forum for advocacy of acid related causes, endeavours to promote a social environment conducive to elimination of all forms of gender violence and espouses a definite legal basis for prosecution of offenders and prescribes national guidelines for treatment, aftercare and rehabilitation of acid survivors.

The initiative was well appreciated by the gathering and many viewers wanted ‘WONDER WOMEN’ to come up with more initiatives to bring to the fore front more issues from the society with a creatively and subtle approach. ACID ATTACKS are monstrous and inhuman. Please join hands to stop this unforgivable crime and save our women.

(Aditi is a freelance writer and pursues interest in the area of social issues)