22.06.2010
Today, I had the opportunity of witnessing three great plays at Koothu-P-Pattarai (KPP).
They were staged on the terrace of Mr. Na. Muthusawmy’s house in Virugambakkam.
They three plays were essentially glimpses into human foibles and the peculiar motives that prompt homo sapiens to behave the way they do.
The setting was stark and minimalistic. It consisted of a dark cloth as backdrop with doors on either side. This acted as a cover for the actors as they walked in and out of the stage through these doors. On stage were three square platforms and two door frames which were used to create the various scenes. The doors acted as points of discontinuity, helping the audience to make the mental transition from one space to another: from inside to outside; from the open fields into a small room; from one room of a house to another and so on. The absence of walls and windows also provided a cross sectional feel and the audience could get a voyeuristic titillation that is essentially due to the involvement without participation. This was especially so in Aatramai by Ku. Pa. Raa the play which was used to announce the Trio.After all, human beings are deeply curious about the personal affairs of other people. While some accept and articulate this need, most suppress and conceal it while gratifying it in other legitimate ways!
The first play was Prasadam by Na Muthuswami. A policeman needs five rupees to celebrate his baby daughter’s first birthday. His wife has made the arrangements for everything but, he needs five rupees for the incidental expenses. Normally, he would have collected this from any casual offender of the rules. Unfortunately, the citizens refuse to disobey the law! He curses them for their extraordinary compliance. Finally, he pounces on the Archakar of the Krishnan Temple on the River Bank. The poor Brahmin, while posting a card, has pulled out a letter sticking out of the over-stuffed post box. The letter is adressed to the DSP.Thinking that he would put it in the main post box, he reaches it, when our policeman catches him in the act and, for want of a better victim, threatens to drag him to the police station in public for “enquiry” unless he gives him five rupees.
The gradual transformation of the priest through various emotions is a treat to watch. He moves from abject terror and fear of shame to crying, pleading, determination to face any consequences and finally indignation and belligerence when he learns the true motives behind the Constable’s duty consciousness. The protagonists keep staring into each others face, their faces screwed up in rage when both of them simultaneously burst into laughter at the essential humour in their behavior. The audience too joins them in the uncontrollable laughter. The play reaches its finale when the priest learns the reason why the policeman need five rupees and voluntarily “lends” him the amount with a friendly command to bring the baby girl to the Krishnan Temple on the River Bank for special pooja! This is human nature transcending nationality, color and creed. These are tales of
“normal” human beings living out lives of quiet desperation, corrupted by the society around them and corrupting it in turn. But, they are also capable of great insight and acts of friendship and love having their source in the well-springs of compassion and empathy. The essential goodness of human nature triumphs in the end. This is the rough hewed wood of human motivation, raw and unvarnished where the grain is still clear and visible.
Continued in next Blog
