William De Oliveira - Experiences from 'Bhopal'

I went to school in India. Goa was my home till the age of 12 until we moved to the UK. However, I did not know about Bhopal then because nobody spoke of the disaster. It was at an  A-Level sociology class in London that I first heard about the disaster. It is not a surprise that Bhopal was mentioned during a discussion on Marxism, the woes of capitalism and profit driven corporations. In any case, it seemed that the disaster had more of an impact over here than it did in my Indian home-state.

Apart from the hour-long A-Level class, I had never thought about Bhopal. I learnt then that something leaked somewhere and scores of people died, but I did not know about the consequences suffered by those affected, even to this day. Taking part in this play opened my eyes to injustice; it opened my eyes to the impunity of corporations and disregard for those who must suffer through no fault of their own. The play also got me thinking about the nature of activism today. Standing on stage as Andrew Liveris, I began to get an insight into the other side of the fence: the side where those in power sit, the side that activists point their fingers to.

In the play, my character - Liveris, was confronted on stage by what I perceived to be a “misinformed” Sarah who couldn't understand that Dow was not involved with Union Carbide at the time of the crisis. Sometimes, people in power are just that: people in power. Their status does not make them guilty by default.

It got me thinking, would I buy something that was involved in the killing of thousands? The answer would probably depend on the circumstance. And if my answer was yes, that should not make me guilty too. I would expect to be judged on how the new acquisition works under my ownership. Hence, I can see why the CEO of Dow would see Sarah as a nuisance.

Having said that, I do still believe in taking responsibility even if not directly guilty. Maybe, activists should relent from pointing the finger and concentrate on convincing Dow to be their partners in delivering justice to those who were wronged.

Jon Heggestad - Experiences from 'Bhopal'

When I met Sudhir Selvaraj in the fall of 2013, we were both studying in London and were surprised to discover several mutual connections relating to Minnesota- the state where I had been born and raised and where he had done his undergraduate studies. It was only a month or two later that Sudhir told me about his play, We All Live in Bhopal, and asked if I would be willing to participate in a reading of it.

At our first read-through the script, I joked that I had been typecast for my role as the American, Michael Parker. This was funny today to me at the time, and I made a few remarks about wanting to play the part of someone else, like Champadevi Shukla. Through being involved in the production, however, I realized how little I actually knew about the Bhopal incident, becoming uncomfortably aware of the rather ugly irony in my playing the part of this American.

To some degree, I think that it's impossible to escape the stereotype that as an American, ethnocentrism will attribute to one of my many flaws. My country is large and riddled with problems, and it's often hard to see whats happening outside of our borders, even when it's so intrinsically tied to us. I'm not writing this down as an excuse or in hopes of being pardoned for my ignorance, but only as a means to highlight the importance of projects like the one Sudhir has chosen to tackle. This sort of education is exactly the answer to the apparent indifference shown by so many like me. Through this creative production, he's aimed and achieved a literal stage by which he has captured a moment in history that ought not to be forgotten, even when (especially when) large players are actively trying to "move on" from it. More than remembering, he has actively informed many like me, and succeeded in igniting an appeal to justice and human rights. For that, I'm not only thankful for this production, but for being able to work with Sudhir - a man who is aware of his gifts and of how he can best use them.

My experience taking part in We All Live in Bhopal was informative on so many levels, and hearing the updates from Sudhir as he continues to produce his play around the globe is truly inspiring.

Manu Varkey - Experiences from 'Bhopal'

As a young person, only 25 years old, I have heard accounts of many life changing events that played out before I was born. From old magazines, conversations with my elders and the Internet I have read about and vaguely pieced together a history shaped by these events. From hijackings to sport victories, assassinations to revolutions the ramifications of many of these events are still felt to this day. There is one picture however, that is seared into my brain, a photo that I happened to chance upon many years ago while rummaging through my Father's collection of newspaper clippings. A photo that still gives me the chills when I think about it, of an infant half buried in the earth, his eyes dead blue and staring out into the world that he was cheated out of, his lips parted and frozen by the rigor of death. "Bhopal", they said when I asked. "That was the Bhopal gas tragedy".

Then in November 2014 I heard about a play reading that had something to do with the tragedy. Without even asking for too many details I said I would like to attend; Honestly, I was just excited about being a part of a theatre production. At that first meeting I remember walking in on a circle of people sitting around and talking to a Man and Woman. The two spoke of Bhopal, of conspiracy, of murder. They spoke of Union Carbide India Ltd, of the Government of India and their apathy. They spoke of Sathinath Sarangi, Rashida Bi and Champadevi Shukhla, people I'd never heard of. The two who'd come to speak to us were from the Chingari Trust, and also from the ICJB (the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal) and talking with them gave us a lot of grounding for the work we were trying to do.

In the course of our practice sessions our group of actors came together. We were teachers, students, IT professionals, entrepreneurs and activists. Some of us had dabbled in a little bit of theatre, for other it would be their first time on stage but David Selvaraj (our director) and Maliha Ibrahim (our producer) held us all together. We learnt our character's lines, we learnt their stories and over time we learnt, in some small way, what it might have been to be ‘Sathyu’, Champa Devi and Rashida Bi. All the while we were becoming more aware of the damage that can be done when a corporation with no soul is in cahoots with a government without a conscience.

I played the character of Sathinath Sarangi. Sathyu was a PhD Student when he first heard about the leak and he dropped everything to go to Bhopal, where he has stayed ever since to help with the relief effort. I got a taste of his fire through the script itself but then I also had the good luck of meeting him in person. That meeting is something that I will always remember and it went a long way in helping me empathise with him. What I personally took away from the play and my involvement in it was the feeling of being a part of something that happened during my father’s time. Topics like these somehow don’t come up in regular conversation and so to learn about something as important as this, made me feel like I was a part of a thread in the expansive tapestry of a collective Indian sentiment.

In total we did seven shows, all over Bangalore and each time it was amazing to watch the audience involve themselves in the discussions after each performance. It seemed everyone had something to say about the issue. We have had, at every venue, elderly people recounting where they were when the mishap occurred all the way to youngsters getting agitated when they heard, sometimes for the first time, about how our government allowed Anderson to go free and tried to play down the incident. It seemed like the play, and the tragedy in general, really touches something in people.

As silly as it sounds, at the end of it all I felt like I grew up a little. I told my friends about the play I was working on and they came and watched it and then they told their friends about it. I loved that they were as interested in learning about this bit of our history as I was. I think this production was important because it not only helped remind those who had lived through that time, it also engaged the next generation so that they may learn something from a disaster of this magnitude.

Editor's Note : The Renegade Arts and Theatre Society is currently running a crowd-funding campaign for the next two weeks; Please consider making a donation to help the people in Bhopal.

You can read more about it here : http://bitgi.co/bhopal2014