The defining
trait of author, activist, and architect Vandana Khare's persona is her
ability to articulate, precisely and purposefully, what she sees through the
world around her, including the personal and political doublespeak of people,
as also their showcased (and briefcased) agendas. She plots the three-dimensional contours of societal hypocrisy way
better than the quintessential feminists endorsing ludicrous black and
white claims like "Women are better leaders as they are intrinsically
virtuous and conscientious unlike men."
Khare
with daughter Mukta
To cite a prominent
case in point, note how she astutely sums up the different takes on sexuality,
ironically in a staple media interview soaked in paste-up pleasantries.
"While the
mainstream media unleashes sexuality as a filthy collage of gaudy images, commoners prefer to talk about their sexual orientation, desires, attitudes and
behaviors in hushed tones, bogged down by traditions advocating water-tight
concealment. And then we have the NGOs and healthcare activists who limit
themselves to the controversy-free aspects of safety, hygiene, and sanitation,
largely to shun the greater responsibility of condemning the hypocrisies
engulfing sexuality and gender bias. No wonder, only confusion can loom large
in this clumsy environment which acts a deterrent to prevent the natural urge
across all age groups to speak one’s mind.”
Here's another pithy
observation in one of her highly incisive papers:
“Feminist
literature and discussions with many crusaders taught me how political insights
can help you defend yourself in personal situations, but it took me as many as 25
years to gain some proficiency in this vital skill. After the awakening, there
was no looking back. Even the seemingly trivial issues of day to day life, I
sought to fit in broader frameworks of larger truths. For instance, one fine
day, I finally cut my hair short, what had been an act of unthinkable defiance
for a long time. It finally dawned on me that a matter of convenience need not
bow down before regressive diktats. More
important, my insolence was not accompanied by the usual pang of guilt this
time around.”
In the context
of her play “Aata Tuzhi Paali”, she explains what theatre means to her:
“I find a
play essentially a weapon of mass destruction – a potent tool to explode
societal myths and misconceptions. Menstruation, a purely biological cycle has
been needlessly likened to a stigma, something to be suffered in silence. No
wonder, a popular sanitary product is named ‘Whisper’. This play taught me how
even the girls from remote and rural areas wish to share their mini trials and
triumphs, provided a conducive environment is created for them to break free of
their inherent inhibitions.
“What is personal is political in the same
breath, life has taught me the hard way,” says Khare as she looks back in time
with a discernible oven-fresh detachment in this freewheeling tete-a-tete.
You have
traversed diverse spheres - whether architecture, advocacy, arts, or activism.
How was the experience? did you find a few of them more invigorating than the
others?
It's not easy for me to address this question. Honestly, I never
planned any of my shifts. As one thing just led to another, I never took stock
of the pros and cons of my vocational choices. Post my 12th standard results, I
chose architecture inviting the wrath of my family folks. I completed my
education surpassing umpteen hurdles, but in 1998-99, after a good 10-12 years
of practice, I embraced the world of social development for good, in what was
very tough decision then. I had some theatre experience amid a background of
feminist movement. Besides, I had a flair for media analysis. Armed with these
assets, I joined hands with a prominent media organization to analyze textbooks
and conduct gender training.
After a successful stint, I moved to another set up, this time
into development media training. In the four years I spent there, I did way
beyond my contractual obligations which helped me become a people's person. The
firm closed down eventually but a bigger opportunity with an independent
research organization welcomed me with open arms. Though I did not have any formal qualification or training in either
research or sociology, I successfully implemented a pilot project
involving 100 children. Subsequently, this project, which employed
research as a methodology, spanned almost seven years, involving about
500 children each year.
I relished this pilot project opportunity end to end, but little did I realize that my
success had added to the growing insecurities of the institute director. Before
I could add two and two together, she swung into action and engineered my
unceremonious exit. This setback though painful was fortunately short-lived. I
joined UNICEF soon after and this was the time I staged Yonichyaa Manichyaa
Guj Goshti (YMGG) - a Marathi adaptation of the Eve Ensler's episodic play
The Vagina Monologues. (For more on YMGG, refer to https://www.mumbaitheatreguide.com/dramas/reviews/11-marathi-play-review-yoneechyaa-manechya-gujghoshti.asp#
Coming back to your question, I thoroughly enjoy acting in this
play; I experienced a deep sense of exhilaration, which I had earlier sensed
only while conducting training programs. Perhaps it was the common factor of
'performance', albeit in different forms, that touched my soul in both
capacities. YMGG was a bigger challenge no doubt, since I also was the producer
and director. By this time, I also realized how I intuitively integrate gender
issues into all my work (YMGG audience must have noticed my penchant for sure)
which probably is a self-springing source of joy for me, even though I always sought
happiness in everything I did and hence found work at every decisive juncture.
I am, by my very nature, wedded to change. I can't stick to one role for more
than 6-7 years. And yet, I can't tell with certainty whether I would have been
happy or not, had I stuck to architecture.
In your quest to bring about social change, did you at any point
feel you were left with little time to foster your individual skills and
competencies or pursue your interests and passion areas?
From 1994 till 2007, I had absolutely no time for films or
plays. From 2009, I became very busy with YMGG. So, paucity of time was a
recurring feature of my schedule for long. Now that the lockdown has forced me
to spend all my time indoors, I occasionally do abstract painting. To an extent, I
have tried to pursue my interests, but yes, many of my aspirations never found
the light of the day, for instance script writing and producing films. But now,
I have lost interest in both.
Your commitment to activism must have surely fetched you a mixed
bag of bitter-sweet experiences. Which of them shocked you the most - good and
bad both?
I suffered on both counts. I really don’t wish to recollect
anything unpleasant at this moment. I would only focus on the heartening aspect
of remembrance – how virtually unknown people came to my rescue in times of
crisis. Such pleasant shocks fuelled me with hope and energy at critical
junctures.
A
workshop in progress
Looking back,
do you think a fine balance between architecture and activism would have helped
your cause better, especially from the financial perspective?
I did feel I was
missing the action on the architecture front during the initial days of my
shift in favour of a career in social development. However, I got stuck in a
litany of survival struggles in my chosen sphere and the longing for my past
stint sort of gradually faded away.
The world has
evolved beyond recognition – yesteryear parameters, policies, and ideas are
now defunct vs. the world may have changed but people, and their vanity,
prejudices, grudges and insecurities are very much the same – which of these
feels closer to the truth in the context of your work?
Our worlds are
always evolving, and yesteryear values never become redundant overnight. In
fact, change itself is so elusive. Like how things change before our eyes, even
we change, both knowingly and unknowingly. Since power structures and
relationships are themselves susceptible to change, the raison d’être of people
affinities, prejudices and insecurities is essentially mutable. In that sense,
the root cause can get uprooted to be replaced by new triggers.
I always
presumed some of my associates would always stand by me come what way, but they
changed their stance by 360 degrees, and a few of them even brewed a lot of nuisance
value for me. Conversely, some of the folks who ridiculed me back then developed
a new found affinity for me over time. Several of them proactively contacted me
and expressed their solidarity. I myself have evolved over time, thanks to
scores of blunders that have left me wiser by the day.
VANDANA KHARE – BIOGRAPHY IN
BRIEF
·
Associated with various NGOs
in Mumbai and Maharashtra ( UNICEF,PUKAR, Akshara, Vacha, Avehi, Media Matters,CEHAT to name a few)
for conducting Gender Trainings and Cultural intervention projects related to
Gender, Sexuality and Critical Analysis of Media (2000 - 2016)
·
Producer and director of
Marathi adaptation of ‘The Vagina Monologues’
·
Worked as an Architect with
Architectural firms in Mumbai and Nashik. (1988 -1998)
·
Published over 250 articles in
all leading periodicals and newspapers in Marathi regarding various aspects of
Gender and Sexuality.
o “Navjyoti Sahyadrichya” (Marathi &
English) – Documentation of the
struggles in lives of 12 rural girls who have received Navjyoti award from
UNICEF.( 2012)
o "Paach Prashn , Shambhar Uttare"
(Marathi) - The book based upon my
experiments to use documentation as method of social intervention (2005)
·
Recognition
·
Laadli Media Award for Marathi Article 2015 -16[For Best article in Marathi
newspaper]
·
A small grant fellowship from OpenSpace, Pune (2010)[ For project on Gender
and sexuality]
·
Learning fellowship by PRAVAH, New Delhi.(2005)[ For writing book
"Paach Prashn , Shambhar Uttare"]
·
SARAI fellowship , New Delhi (2002) [ For project on Gender &
Architecture]