‘Nava’, directed by Sharanya Ramprakash, tells the stories of 9 urban transwomen through the 9 rasas (Navarasa). In this performance, the 9 transwomen, who have never been on stage before, bring their bodies, voices, and stories, deliberately silenced and willfully ignored to reclaim their rightful place – the centrestage. The performers take the stage to explore the Navarasa boxes and through their performance, unbox, expand, challenge and defy fixed notions of what constitutes the Navarasa and who can be its Nayakis. Veena, Chandri, Shanti, Prarthana, Jyothi, Sandhya, Swetha, Purushi, and Thara share with you a different kind of Navarasa. Chandri’s Abhbuta is about how she wore a saree for the first time. Shanti flips our understanding of Bhibatsa with a story of how she crawled through a sewage pipe to come out clean on the other side. Prarthana tells you her secret to Shrungara, Thara makes a journey to meet her son and discovers Karuna, while Swetha explores a memory of her childhood friend. The performers tell stories, sing, dance, laugh, regale, provoke, and challenge you.

‘Nava’ is funded by the International Relief Fund for Organisations in Culture and Education 2021 of the German Federal Foreign Office, the Goethe-Institut and Ranga Shankara and supported by the India Foundation for the Arts, BNP Paribas India Foundation, and G5A forum.

Language: Kannada (With English Summary Titles)

Duration: 75 minutes

Age Limit: 8 years and above