Theatre group ‘Uncurtain’ has been performing their highway play in a number of elements of the city.
Kolkata:
The stigma in direction of COVID-19 has introduced on victims and properly being workers untold trauma in Bengal and previous. Now, a theatre group has taken to the streets – really – to battle in direction of it and make sense of the myths, misconceptions and fake data regarding the virus.
One in every of many worst episodes handed off on July 26 outside a state-run hospital in Bongaon, 70 km north of Kolkata. A Covid affected particular person tried to climb an ambulance nonetheless was too weak to board it. He died trying even as a result of the ambulance driver, completely coated in a PPE go properly with, stood and watched.
Some of us filmed the tragedy nonetheless did not step forward even supposing the particular person’s partner begged and pleaded with passersby for help. She was too frail to hold him into the ambulance. No person from the hospital emergency ward received right here out to help each.
Experiences of such horrific incidents have launched theatre artists out on the streets of Kolkata to attempt to bust myths and dispel stigma about Covid so the above talked about tragedy in no way repeats itself.
One in every of many theatre groups – ‘Uncurtain’ – has been performing their highway play in a number of elements of the city.
Nandita Chanda, an actor inside the play said, “Corona is horrifying, it is a pandemic, we dwell in a pandemic. So Our message is, positive, be afraid, take precautions nonetheless don’t lose your humanity.”
“Theatre’s job is to enter society and raise questions. We’re compelled to do that,” said Saikat Ghosh, the director of the play.
The battle in direction of Covid stigma is being fought in villages too with jatra – a standard Bengali theatre. The complete advertising marketing campaign is steered by Covid Care Group, an NGO of survivors, their households and medical medical doctors.
Dr Diptendra Sarkar of Covid Care Group, who stopped by to see the highway play at Jadavpur 8B bus stand, said, “Further of us have died as a result of stigma than the sickness. The neighborhood is a key to beat the pandemic. Such performs have a major perform in involving of us.”
“We can’t merely sit in a single nook of the room and assume solely medical medical doctors will battle the pandemic. No, the society has to take care of it. The society has to get empowered and aware,” said Satyarup Siddhanta, a mountaineer who’s associated to CCN.
Small crowds acquire at every effectivity which is about 20 minutes prolonged. Prerna Mukherjee, a passerby and a theatre artist herself who was watching the effectivity, said, “This can be very brave of these youthful actors to return out on the highway and perform. One factor so informative. It is really good.”
“Given the size of the difficulty, it’s a small effort, ” said Mainak Ganguly, one different actor inside the play. “Let’s hope people who observed this get the message.”
The play ended with the well-known anthem – We Shall Overcome.
If this play makes even one particular person placed on a masks or help a Covid affected particular person, it’ll earn the applause it is going to get on the end of every current.
