Sakubai is a one actor play written by Nadira Zaheer Babbar and played by Sarita Joshi, a Movie and Theatre actor. I watched this play last year and rewatched it a couple of days back. It was as refreshing as the first view of the play.
I did not get to see those other versions; but the one I saw fascinated me immensely. Every first generation Indian settled in America aspire for; while the have citizens of India think of the bai as their entitled help. They become a part of their support system and a network of hired help contact.
In this play Sarita Joshi had done a beautiful tapestry of the Mumbaiwali Bais does this apply to the entire India, hmmm…I would say they are a little different in distinct parts but these bais become a support in times of emotional needs.
She starts out by critiquing the family’s habits then moves on to her past and the better part of the solo act is spent bringing her to the audience’s focus. It is in this section, that you know how she came to be a bai.
You get an idea of her values and her strength of being a strong person to continue with diverse kinds of challenges in life. The portrait of Sakubai slowly appears with each incident that she explains with great descriptive style.
Along the way of various life incidents, she speaks about she also brings about the social values and its changes in the low strata of society. Her husband asks her to get assessed when he is found HIV positive, and he shifts to their village. This speaks for the kind of relationship she shared with him.
Then she moves on to talk about the guest of her employers. She naturally sides the wife of her employer. Kaamvaali bai was always the responsibility of the woman in the family. The female-to-female conversation are not any different all over India.
The play gets to closure with her leaving the apartment to her house. The haggling about leaves and extra duration stays are well woven into the tapestry. The difference being the home help in Chennai doesn’t stay for long they come work for an hour or so and leave. They work for the middle class to the rich, but their timing is different, and the pay scale is different.
But we do have daily home help in India. The system has a life of its own. The human factor is that these house cleaners get into our lives and become a part of the emotional and psychological support, while cleaning the house and being a listening board.
Sukubai Trailer : https://youtu.be/-KZgDzjx1l0
Itinerant Storyteller 