The stage, his world

MANY MIGHT have heard the name Ratan Thiyyam for the first time only when they read the frontpaged news of his returning his Padmashri Award (July 21, 2001), in protest against the renewal of the ceasefire against Naga rebels.

To theatre buffs, however, Thiyyam is a name that conjures spectacular visions on the stage. Breathtaking productions like "Chakravyuh" (150 shows) and "Uttara Priyadarshi" (70 shows) have won accolades not only nationally, but also in far-apart venues from the U.S. to New Zealand. "Chakravyuh" evoked the pageant and poetry of Abhimanyu's tragedy, while "Priyadarshi" painted the horrors of the Kalinga war which transformed Asoka, and the destiny of his empire.

Thiyyam made his mark as chairman of the National School of Drama before launching his own Chorus Repertory Theatre, a professional company in Imphal. Belonging to a State where music and dance are still part of daily ritual, Thiyyam was trained in the family art by his dance guru parents. But he faced no opposition when he decided to create a modern theatre based on his heritage. His father had left Manipur to work as dance director in Bombay Talkies, and opened a dance school in Lahore. His advice? In the field of art, you have to be a top-class professional, second- rankers can not survive.

Thiyyam knew that his training in values had much to do with early influences. That is why, he chose to send his daughters and son to study in Chennai. Talking to him on one of his periodic visits to this city was to learn how much he valued the culture of the Tamils. "Many people ask me why I send my children to study in faraway Chennai. I explain that in south India, particularly in Tamil Nadu, I find a healthy mix of the old and the new. My family, particularly my daughters, are not exposed to anything ultra modern. But in Chennai, they feel at home with the classical arts of Carnatic music and Bharatanatyam, and so many art festivals. This city has excellent educational institutions."

A slow speaker, Thiyyam reserves his eloquence for his life's passion. "Theatre poses a daily challenge, infinite possibilities for exploration. If you come to watch a play (resisting the pull of cinema, television and the many new kinds of entertainment springing up everyday), you want something more than a robot game, socio-political comment and aesthetic satisfaction. Theatre must offer a miracle. "Not of the spectacle," he hastens to add. "The miracle must be the meaningful interpretation of reality." He welcomes the support of modern technology. The sensitive director can adapt it to heighten experience.

The practical hurdles seem insuperable. Half a century of freedom has not solved the problem of theatre economics in India. Professional training (in acting, costume-set-light design, theatre music) are not even deemed essential as in the classical arts. The mounting costs of production make it extremely difficult to put up large-scale, world class productions.

"Our Chorus Repertory is strictly professional," Thiyyam declares."We don't believe in people joining us for evening practice. Theatre is a fulltime pursuit." Somehow he has managed to build his own theatre with over 40 professionals, each trained for or his/her role in production. He is convinced that this stress on standards has sustained his company through the years.

Himself a painter and poet, Thiyyam is convinced that language is a poor tool for conveying the connotations it wants to express. Words remain decorative, they do not hit their target: the human psyche. That is why in "Uttara Priyadarshi", he has experimented with nonsense syllables, a cacophony for the devils. "But you know their meaning," he smiles. "Likewise, silence says things that cannot be verbalised. I try to penetrate space with sound." In the process, he has discovered fresh modalities to shape landscape and soundscape. No one who saw his Kalinga war will forget the colossal elephant which led the charge - a whole battle scene simulated with merely six actors! How does he visualise it all? "We can make beautiful pictures. But to communicate meaning we must touch some nerve deep inside you. I try to do that everytime." Anyone who has seen Ratan Thiyyam's work will agree that his magnificent spectacles lead you into the internal struggles of the characters, from the material realm to the spiritual.

GOWRI RAMNARAYAN

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