The presence of a race that is not generally considered ‘Indian’ in mainland Indian spaces
often conjures up micro-aggressions (which are often prejudiced) in the majority and which
progresses into a superiority complex, and thus it further alienates the minority, almost as if,
the minority has to fit in a certain ‘box’ to exist in these kind of spaces. Why does anybody
have to normalize their existence? The main question the choreographer tries to explore is
how does a body that is subjugated to so much of bigotry responds? The most stable thing
about any culture is considered to be its instability, so why fix it and name it? What happens
if the State decides to change the culture and claim it? Does anything exist as it appears to
be? The work looks at this process of assimilation like the process of abrasion, culture being
scrubbed ‘clean’ and made presentable and how every part of this ‘culture’ that appears to
belong to us, actually does not exist at all. This piece uses a folktale as a metaphor and tries
to investigate the preconceptions and the bias evident in the populace.
Choreographer/Performer: Aseng Borang
Visual Artist: Venas Thokchom