Man on Boat

Public Intervention

Uzanbazar Ghat, Guwahati

Performed by Mr. Ramu Chowdhury

Assam, 2024

Credits

Script Development and Translation: Sunayana Dutta
Sound Design: Abhijit Chetia Performers: Arundhati Baruah, Gitushmita Lahkar, Nandini Handique, Radhika Goswami, Ruhi Kashyap, Laina Singha and Abhilasha Bharali.
Special thanks to Agora the Space.

Material from the Archives of Tezpur Mahila Samiti, initially digitised by Dr. Hemjyoti Medhi from Tezpur University.

The urban riverbanks of Guwahati are overflowing with temporary communities, who come to the regional capital in search of a better life. The Government remains evasive towards their existence, negating their visibility with beautification drives and infrastructure development along the riverbanks within the city. A blue man on a blue boat stands in front, challenging his invisibility in a silent protest.

Back in 2016, Mr. Ramu Chowdhury used to stay in an unauthorized makeshift settlement with his family of his wife and two daughters. His extended family and relatives were settled in Goalpara, while he worked as a fisherman and a daily wage worker in and around Guwahati.

Unable to buy or rent a house since they had moved in to the big city, and he and his family, along with a small number of people sharing similar stories used to stay in ephemeral neighborhoods built up with makeshift plastic huts raised on bamboo poles, in small clearances along the Uzanbazar Ghat.

For years of living in such manner, they had been perfectly invisible to the city dwellers, their lives conveniently overlooked by the inherent nature of a fast-paced city. In 2018, during the Brahmaputra Ghat beautification project facilitated by the Assam Govt., many of such temporary settlements were cleared along the riverbank following the state’s intention of creating parks and public spaces.

Playing around with the themes of invisibility and silence, we developed the aesthetics of the protest through mutual conversations. The initial amusement from him and his family and the following apprehensions regarding such a performance provided space for critical communication. This created the opportunity for the family to form their own understanding of such a process.