Since ancient times the world has evolved a lot. But certain things such as the way people perceive differences have only regressed in certain spheres. This is best highlighted in the way people treat those belonging to the hijra community in today’s society. Considered auspicious beings in ancient India, today they are treated with so much disgust and disrespect that will make one question the humanity of today’s world. Seven Steps Around the Fire by Mahesh Dattani will make you question this same thing and much more by forcing you to come face to face with the harsh reality of today’s hijra’s life.
Seven Steps Around the Fire: The Life of Hijras
Living a life of irony hijras often become an integral part of celebrations they would never be able to celebrate themselves. Imagine living this harsh irony and instead of getting some compassion all you receive is discrimination, rude remarks and denied justice. The conditions get so worse that nobody even truly bothers whether you live or die. You have to become the only person who believes in yourself and your worth just to get through to the other day. Sounds terrifying, but is actually the reality of the hijras in today’s society.
Popularly believed to be cursed, but truly hijras actually live their life loving themselves wholly. The OGs of #loveyourself truly embody the true essence of resilience. Not getting deterred by how society wants them to live, they didn’t stop until a third gender was created to help them gain the recognition they deserved. They never settle but rather make the whole world understand and appreciate their existence. But just because one is resilient doesn’t mean they never get broken down. Their pains lay hidden in layers of smiles and sharp words. But becomes unbearable to a regular human when it rises to the surface. This pain and agony are explored in depth with situational contexts in the book “Seven Steps Around the Fire”.
Seven Steps Around the Fire: A Closer Look
Centered around the murder investigation of a hijra, Kamala, “Seven Steps Around the Fire” takes us through a melancholic and gruesome journey of two star-crossed lovers. Sadly their fate as star-crossed lovers was sealed by society and not by the heaven above. They took their seven steps around the fire hoping to begin a new journey together. But society was just not ready to accept a love that looks so different from what it was used to.
Their first day together as a married couple became their last. And society didn’t leave any stone unturned in hiding their murder and treating it similar to a cattle’s death. The police who are perceived as the protector of justice for the citizens view them as something less than humans. As Uma Rao, the protagonist, tries to uncover what society desperately tries to conceal, we get to see a lot of gruesome glimpses of the everyday life of a hijra. Capturing patriarchy at its finest, we get to see how it affects not only women but the proud members of the third gender as well. Acting like a true murder-thriller, the book does not give out all the details at once. Each character is revealed as we proceed further into the ongoing murder investigation.
Afterword
A thrilling yet melancholic tale, “Seven Steps Around the Fire” will surely lift the wool around your eyes. It’s a play that will make you feel woke, helpless and charged to act up all at the same time. It vividly captures the lives of hijras and their struggles. Complete with theatrics and raw dialogues this play is not for the faint of heart. But it is rather for those who live for the truth and believe that every life counts.
