MATSYAGANDHI MALAYALAM SOLO PLAY

Matsyagandhi a solo performance was originally produced, written and directed by Sajitha Madathil. In 2012 April it was reproduced with the help of Sajitha and TSSS under the banner of Trivi Art and performed by Shylaja P Ambu.

Matsyagandhi, literally 'the one who smells of fish' is a play that looks at the life and times of the fishing community in the context of globalisation. Narrated in the form of a monologue by a fish vending woman, the play brings to life various issues relating to the ecology and economy of fishing.

It looks at the community life of the fisherfolk from inside a life that is being increasingly marginalised and livelihood made more and more impossible by the spread of disastrous technologies and oppressive economic and social relations. Weaving several contemporary incidents and insights into the narrative, the play throws up several dualities that map her and her folks' marginality - between fish-stink and upper class concerns about body odour, sea water and fresh water, low life on the streets versus safely compartmentalised life of high, the lives of women versus men etc.

In the end, she realises that the malaise runs much deeper and wider. She mourns "Look, this stench does not come from my basket. It's the stench of the sea decaying. It's the stench of the little fishes being slaughtered by the trawler nets. It's the stench of the decaying dreams of matsyaganddhis