Performances
A montage of spoken word poetry, storytelling and performance activism.
Afreen Khan talks about Child Sexual Abuse and her story to overcome incidents that have shaped her over years. She narrates the importance of giving the right education to children to help them identify good vs. bad touch. She came into the spotlight when a video of her reciting her poem in an open mic session at Tape A Tale went viral on social media. She uses her own personal experience as a child sexual assault survivor to highlight the alarming statistics surrounding child sexual abuse and the stigma that surrounds it. By attaching emotional connotations to her narrative, she provides valuable insights on how to develop a transparent relationship between a parent and a child so that such situations can be dealt with, before it’s too late. Her poem is essential in understanding that sexual abuse happens even within the ‘“safe” walls of our homes.
‘Dupatta' is an act presented by Stefan Kaye and Afreen Akhtar which celebrates the intimate relationship of poetry and music in the history of art and literature. Stefan composes a piece along with performances by artistes from Delhi’s famous Kathputli Colony to accompany Afreen’s poetry that upholds the emerging subcultural trends while creating a thematic video to showcase their work.
The first version of 'Dupatta' shot at Khari Baoli in Old Delhi.
This spoken word performance talks about the new anti-abortion laws that have been passed in a few states of USA by legislative groups dominated by men. These laws have ensured that a woman is stripped of agency over her own body. While in some states it is now illegal to terminate a pregnancy after 6 weeks, in Alabama, the worst of all, one cannot get an abortion at all. The woman and the doctor can even be imprisoned for life for violating the law.
A dream core video that captures the essence of spring in Delhi and is a modern rendition of Ibn-e-Insha's most adored poem: 'Farz Karo'. The video was conceptualized and directed by Afreen Akhtar.
'Charulata' is a fictional portrait inspired by Sujit Bhattacharya, an artist from Kolkata who left his home and his job as an engineer to explore the realm of art in every way possible. He is a man of routine and is highly inspired by Van Gogh, Satyajit Ray and Shyam Benegal. He has no home to call his own and dreams to have his own studio somewhere in the lanes of Delhi. Sujit claims to have never fallen in love and no face has caught his eye except the face of Satyajit Ray's heroine Charulata who, to him, is the personification of Love itself.