Sukumari Dutta
Indian theater actress, manager and playwright
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Biography
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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
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]