Sukumari Dutta

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Sukumari Dutta or Golap Sundari was an Indian theater actress, manager and playwright. She was also known as a kirtan singer.

Biography[edit]

Sukumari Dutta in 1910

Dutta’s mother brought her to Calcutta in order to be trained as a vaishnav singer. She would later be described as remarkable singer and dancer.[1] She became one of the first four women hired to be an actress by the Bengal Theater.[2] This theater was noted for being the first public theater to employ actresses to act in female roles instead of male actors impersonating women.[1] She later adopted the name Sukumari after she successfully played the heroine in Upendranath Das’s Sarat-Sarojini, which was performed at the Great National Theater on January 2, 1875.[1] It was the name of her character in the play.[3]

In a published biographical sketch, Dutta is said to have married Goshtobihari Dutta,[1] a respectable and middle class husband from Bengal.[4][5] This was an arranged marriage made under the Native Marriage Act III of 1872, which allowed mixed-caste and mixed-faith marriages in India.[1] Goshtobihari also acted in Das’s Sarat-Sarojini.[6] Dutta retired from acting after their marriage.[7] During her time, actresses were ostracized because they were also considered prostitutes.[1] Goshtobihari, however, deserted her, prompting Dutta to come back to theatrical performance. It is said that he followed Das in England after the latter fled India due to his anti-Raj sentiments.[1] Dutta was left to raise their daughter.

Career[edit]

Dutta’s career highlights included performances for the roles, Bimala in Durgeshnandini, Rani Oilobala in Purubikram, Birajmohini in Surendra-Binodini, Girijaya in Mrinalini, Malina in Asrumati, and Surjamukhi in Bishbriksha.[3]

She was also identified as a kirtan singer. Kirtan is a form of singing where marginalized women sing religious songs.[4] She also managed the all-women “Hindoo Female Theater”, which was active during the early 1880s.[1] She also co-wrote the play, Apurba Sati Natak (The Unvanquished Chaste Maid), which was published in 1876 and performed at the Great National on August 23, 1876.[1] This play, which is about the tragedy of a prostitute’s daughter, is said to be a mirror of the author’s life, particularly her marriage to someone who belong to a different social class.[2]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Smith, Bonnie G. (2008). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Women in World History. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. p. 120. ISBN 978-0-19-514890-9.
  2. ^ a b Gooptu, Sarvani; Pandit, Mimasha (2023). Performance and the Culture of Nationalism: Tracing Rhizomatic Lived Experiences of South, Central and Southeast Asia. Oxon: Taylor & Francis. p. 161. ISBN 978-0-367-63978-5.
  3. ^ a b Murshid, Ghulam (2018). Bengali Culture Over a Thousand Years. Niyogi Books. ISBN 978-93-86906-12-0.
  4. ^ a b Dutt, Bishnupriya; Munsi, Urmimala Sarkar (2013). Engendering Performance: Indian Women Performers in Search of an Identity. SAGE Publishing India. ISBN 978-93-85985-79-9.
  5. ^ Kannabiran, Kalpana; Singh, Ranbir (2008). Challenging The Rules(s) of Law: Colonialism, Criminology and Human Rights in India. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications India. p. 33. ISBN 978-81-321-0027-0.
  6. ^ Bhattacharya, Rimli (2018). Public Women in British India: Icons and the Urban Stage. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-0-429-01655-4.
  7. ^ Sahni, Rohini; Shankar, V. Kalyan; Apte, Hemant (2008). Prostitution and Beyond: An Analysis of Sex Workers in India. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications India. p. 333. ISBN 978-81-7829-784-2.
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