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A brave attempt
IT IS an extraordinary tale of devotion. Of a Prime Minister who spent all the money his sovereign had given him for the purchase of horses, on renovating the temple of Lord Siva. He was Thiruvadhavurar, whose mellifluous hymns, luminescent like gems, earned him the name of ``Manickkavachagar.''
One of the four ``Samaya Kuravar'', Fathers of the Faith, Manickkavachagar stands tall among the Saivite devotees. Like Thirugnanasambandhar, Thirunavukkarasar and Sundaramoorthi Swamigal, his life was a ceaseless striving towards the Divine. His ``Thiruvaachakam,'' a treasure book of hymns, reverberates with the chant of ``Om Namasivaya''.
A story imbued with the spirit of devotion does not lend itself easily to dramatisation. For devotion, that sublime quality, so intangible and abstract, is much more difficult to portray than love or courage.
The ``Nadaga Kavalar Theatre Group'' comprising the former members of R.S. Manohar's troupe bravely took up the challenge of staging the tale of the Saivite saint on June 29. The show at the Raja Annamalai Manram was a salute to Manohar, the veteran of historical plays, on his 78th birthday. The event was also a celebration of the 28th year of the founding of this theatre group, formerly known as ``Anjali'', and renamed this year in honour of the thespian who was felicitated that evening. The playscript of ``Manickkavachagar'' was released on the occasion.
At a time when few dare venture into the realm of historicals as it involves much planning, expense and rehearsal, the effort by Nadaga Kavalar group aroused interest and anticipation.
The play was a simple chronological narration of events beginning with the transformation of jackals into horses and the culmination in the Lord coming to the rescue of Manickkavachagar, who takes sanyas and visits numerous Saivite temples, singing the hymns which make up the ``Thiruvaachakam'' Out of 51 decads, 29 were sung at Chidambaram (Thillai).
It was a pleasure to witness a play where the dialogue was in pure Tamil (story, dialogue and direction: Jeevan). Following in his master's footsteps, the director who also played the role of the Pandya king, took the story forward by touching upon the main incidents in the story. The sets borrowed from Manohar's vast storehouse of scenery, were impressive.The costumes, which were pleasing in the initial scenes suddenly turned garish and tinselly. The actors stumbled upon lives but since the dialogue was in such difficult Tamil, one could overlook this. What one could not was the fact that the actors were not up to the task of capturing the devotive spirit. The fault lay perhaps in that they chose a theme which was beyond their capacity to enact. The young actor, Satish, who played the title character (he looked far too young) delivered his lines with careful accuracy. But soon, overwhelmed by the enormity of the role, he lapsed into passive surrender, reciting his lines mechanically.
The live music by Sigamani was in the true tradition of the popular historical and pepped up the action a great deal. Shanmugam as Siva was well cast, in fact very much better than many of the Sivas on celluloid. Some of the other supporting actors also performed well. The scenes were too short and abrupt and the special effects did not stand comparison with Manohar's plays. It would be unfair to compare the students' work with the master's and ``Manickkavachagar'' with Manohar's ``Thirunavukkarasar'' for when Manohar is Appar, the devotional fervour is almost tangible - there is a complete transformation of personality.
With effective editing, better delivery of lines, more rehearsals and involved acting, ``Manickkavachagar'' would improve vastly.
A sincere effort that seeks to rejuvenate the almost extinct historical, ``Manickkavachagar'' deserves encouragement, if for that reason alone.
KAUSALYA SANTHANAM
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