‘NAVA’ by The Aravani Art Project: Bringing Trans Women's Stories to the Stage

In 2019, the Indian art collective The Aravani Art Project came together to create NAVA, an anthology stage play on the lived experiences of 9 trans women who are based in Bangalore. The play’s title and the number of featured stories refer to the Hindu concept of Navarasa, which translates literally as nine (nava) human emotions (rasa). This was done to create a new way of allowing the general public to empathize with transgender people, to advocate for trans rights and also open up public spaces for them. This makes NAVA by The Aravani Art Project echo the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of Gender Equality.

Sharanya Ramprakash, who directed the play, spent over six months doing workshops with the nine participating trans women to rehearse the show and better understand how to convey their stories to the public.

In an interview with The Hindu, Ramprakash shared that, unlike conventional plays with cis actors and actresses, NAVA faced many gender-specific challenges during its six-month rehearsal period. One of the biggest challenges they faced was to find a daily rehearsal space that allowed trans-women actresses. On top of this, this rehearsal space also had to be accessible by public transportation and available at odd hours. This was due to how certain cast members were beggars or sex workers with unconventional work hours. Still, “The only thing that didn’t need any effort was convincing them to be on stage for a play,” said Ramprakash.  

This reality is just one small example of how transgender people in India are ostracized by society. The Indian government's binary view of gender when it comes to their national identity card means that most transgender people are unable to obtain one. In turn, transgender people without the national ID are unable to create bank accounts, secure housing contracts or even receive government aid. Hence, it is important to have initiatives like NAVA, which allow trans women to share authentic stories with the general public, stories that otherwise would have been swept under the carpet.

The Navarasa, which is used as a concept to introduce each individual trans woman's story, further helps people relate to them since the Navarasa represents universal human emotions that everyone feels. As an example, the character Chandri’s story of wearing a saree for the first time is used to convey the ‘Adbhbuta’ of Navarasa, which is commonly known as wonder. Meanwhile, Shanti’s segment about her fleeing through sewage pipes for her life makes audiences understand ‘Bhibatsa’ or disgust.

At the end of the day, as The Aravani Art Project itself puts it, NAVA is a play about empowering trans women. It gives them the space to share their stories on their own terms in a society that has silenced and ignored them for far too long.

Find out more about The Aravani Art Project’s NAVA and their other initiatives by checking their Instagram on @aravaniartproject.