Four women, who broke stereotypes and performed the traditionally male dominated art form pulikali, disclose what prompted them to take the historic step.
Divya was then a little girl, going to the school ground with her brother, somewhere in Malappuram. Those were days when it was mostly boys who played in the ground. Even if she stepped out, no other girl would join, and the boys would isolate her. At the local library too, there would be no girls. It’d be all boys and men. But she would still go, purposefully, as an eighth grader, wanting to make a statement, to prove something to that little mind of hers. That feeling of fairness grew up with her, and in adulthood, she found more women like her. Together they formed groups, associations, worked together to bring more women to the forefront. On Saturday, they took another step forward. Four of them became the first women to perform what has been historically a male dominated art form — pulikali. Divya, Vinaya, Sakheena and Rehana painted their faces and bodies to become pulikal (tigers) and dance for hours with men, entertaining the public, on the fourth day of Onam, quietly creating a little history in Thrissur.
“Some of us had formed a group called WINGS Kerala, that stands for Women Integration N Growth through Sports. Vinaya is the president of this group. I am the vice-president. We wanted to bring women to the public space through sports, and have been doing this through volleyball teams, and recently football too. Pulikali happened with the idea that women should not be limited to being just distant spectators any more. People keep complaining it is a man’s world. But nothing would change with whining. You need to act,” says Divya Nilambur, a school teacher. When they approached the Viyyur Desam pulikali team, they were more than encouraging. “They said it was mostly fixed for this year, and three of us could perform.” So Divya, Vinaya and Sakheena went.
Elsewhere, Rehana Fathima, a BSNL employee and model, had also been interested to be a part of pulikali. “I had been asking around for some time. When I spoke to Vinaya and others through a group called ‘Pennu’, they said it might be difficult to get permission this year and we could all go out together and perform next year. Later, I came to know three of them would be performing, through a channel. So I approached the Ayyanthole Desam and asked if I could participate. It was on Saturday morning that they said I could come and in the afternoon when they started painting my face, I was finally sure I could perform.” Rehana, who is also an activist, wanted to pass on a message that there is nothing vulgar about a woman’s body. “It is just like when a man paints his body, a woman’s body is not obscene. In fact you hear that if there is a pot belly you get more space to paint good pictures,” she says.
What came as big encouragement was all the support and appreciation they got from everywhere. “They were shaking our hands, taking selfies with us, patting us,” says N.A. Vinaya, an ASI, who is a founding member of WINGS Kerala. “This is not just an occasion to make others happy, but also ourselves. For many many years, there was this inferiority complex among women because they are kept away from all such public celebrations. I have written in my book that your presence is your protest (saanidyam thanne samaram). Not just in pulikali, be it pooram or Nabi dina rally, we should be a part of everything. And when it came to painting our bodies, we left it to the artist. We had no problem,” she says.
Vinaya met Sakheena for a meeting of Wings Kerala. “I am part of a group called Penkoottu, based in Kozhikode,” says Sakheena, a fashion designer. “When we met members of WINGS Kerala, we realised they have a similar view. Of changing the concept of women becoming mere exhibits. I was really excited and happy to be a part of this. It is the happiness that comes out of suppressing desires for many years,” she says. And that word — happiness — covers all these women had to say through this one bold act that would hopefully send out a message for more women to come forward and do what they wish to do.
