Tram Arts Trust (IN)

An object theatre performance with traditional dolls and clay telling the story of the land of their origin. In the dangerous and magical land of Sunderbans – the vast forested delta area in West Bengal (eastern India) and Bangladesh where great rivers combine and split before merging into the Gulf of Bengal, a region of extreme ecological and environmental vulnerability – living is about a fragile balance between land and water, forest and field, domestic and wild, human and human, human and non-human, calm and storm. As each stakes claim, as each encroaches upon the other’s space, how does life manage?

Stories and beliefs form essential anchors for the people of Sunderbans, with the ”Bonbibi” legend looming large in the popular imagination. Bonbibi is said to have come to the “Land of the 18 Tides” to help the people, the tigers, the deer, the crabs, the trees _ all beings that cohabit the land. But, only if we agree to her terms. And when she looks away, devastation follows! Episodes from this legend as well as everyday aspects of Sunderban life are depicted by the traditional and contemporary doll-makers of Sunderban.

“Maati Katha [Earth Stories]” brings these dolls – originally used for worship, child’s play and display – into the theatre, combining these art and craft traditions with contemporary object and material theatre practices. With its work, which has been shown at festivals in India and abroad, Tram Arts Trust raises awareness of experiencing ordinary objects as carriers of memories, stories, and living cultures.