ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI - Gitana Productions has named Rameshwar Das, a priest at the Hindu Temple of St. Louis, to receive their prestigious 10th annual "Extraordinary/Ordinary Person of the Year Award." Rameshwar Das will be honored May 20 during the opening night performance of FAULTLINES, a new original play by Lee Patton Chiles. FAULTLINES focuses on domestic violence of women, particularly in the South Asian immigrant community, and runs through June 5 at the Cardinal Rigali Center, 20 Archbishop May Drive at Laclede Station Road.
Gitana Productions works to increase cross-cultural awareness in the St. Louis region through international music, dance and drama. Gitana's 2011 Extraordinary/Ordinary Person of the Year Award honors a volunteer who reaches across racial, cultural and religious lines to support victims of domestic violence.
"Rameshwar Das is the humblest of men with less than most financially, yet he is always there to help with cases of domestic violence," said Cecilia Nadal, executive director of Gitana Productions. "He works hand-in-hand with SAWERAA, a nonprofit organization that helps South Asian women who are victims of domestic violence. Rameshwar Das helps abused families from both a spiritual and therapeutic standpoint. He is an important example to our community, speaking up on behalf of women and children."
Rameshwar Das currently lives with his wife Bainti Devi at the Hindu Temple after a fire destroyed their home. Several years ago, the couple learned of a severe case of parental abuse and brought the parents to stay in their home. Rameshwar Das gently helped them through the crisis and when they insisted on returning to India with dignity, he gave them money for the trip.
In the U.S., one of every four women experiences domestic violence in her lifetime. The numbers are much higher for South Asian women. This year, several Gitana events will focus on domestic violence in St. Louis' South Asian community (immigrants from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Maldives.
Forty-five to fifty percent of South Asian women, both in the U.S. and in their homelands, are victims of domestic violence, according to SAWERAA, a local organization that empowers South Asian women. And among those Indian women who are abused, 70 percent have attempted suicide.
The problem in the South Asian community is well hidden because victims rarely seek help, are unaware of services available to them and are uncertain about their rights. Culturally, many South Asian women fear bringing shame to their family names or undue attention to themselves as new Americans.
FAULTLINES, which runs May 20 through June 5 at Cardinal Regali Center in St. Louis, follows a new bride as she leaves India, comes to America and becomes a victim of domestic abuse. Isolated and alone with a husband she barely knows, she becomes trapped between the world she knew and her new homeland. Gitana's three previous theatrical productions, also written by Chiles, have been nominated for seven prestigious Kevin Kline Awards.
Gitana Productions, Inc. is a not-for-profit arts and education organization dedicated to increasing cross-cultural awareness and collaboration by bringing international music, dance and drama to the St. Louis community. Gitana events present a rarely seen diversity of international and local artists exhibiting an array of traditional and innovative artistic expressions. For more information, visit www.gitana-inc.org or call Gitana Productions at (314) 721-6556.
Gitana is supported by the Regional Arts Commission, Missouri Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts. |
