|
Music & Dance
Where does theatre stand?
ARS
IN A season deluged with music and dance, drama gains a foothold only in a few sabhas. This when drama forms an essential part of the performing art forms. Iyal, Isai and Natakam make up the glorious triad in Tamil tradition. Then why is it being swept away to the wings during the December festival?
What are the factors that have led to the present scenario? Are rasikas cold-shouldering the art? Does it have to do with the fare put up, the kind of plays witnessed on the contemporary circuit? Or do the reasons lie elsewhere? Have TV serials edged out the plays?
A sprinkling of views from theatre persons, sabha secretaries and connoisseurs:
S.Ve Shekhar: Sabha organisers deserve to be congratulated for sincerely doing their best to promote the art forms during this season, attracting audiences from various parts of the country and abroad. Even small sabhas contribute to the overall success of the season. Sponsorship support is extended more to music and dance. But this kind of support is however, not forthcoming for Tamil plays. I have been putting up plays in December every year since 1985 and they attract a good response from viewers abroad who visit India during the season.
`Cho' Ramaswamy: Staging Tamil plays during the December festival, is only a later day development. The non-inclusion of plays during the festival is no reason for drama to be denied its due attention. Tamil theatre should develop and flourish on its own strength end this cannot be achieved by including it as part of the mela during this season.
Cho Ramaswamy
Y.Gee. Mahendra: There is a surfeit of music and dance in December. Repetition of the ragas and kirtanas in music and tillanas in dance make rasikas long for a change and drama can provide this. Wherever I have performed during the season, I have had full house. After all Iyal, Isai and Natakam comprise Tamil culture. So let us not forget drama.
Sabha Secretaries
Rajagopal — Kartik Fine Arts : We give importance to drama throughout the year. The monthly performance put up by various troupes are quite well attended as we have 800 members. Comedy draws more viewers and the plays of artistes such as Crazy Mohan, S.Ve. Shekhar and Varadarajan are very popular. All good plays however do not reach a wider audience — Koothabiran's recent production was good but it did not draw as many viewers as it deserved. Kartik Fine Arts puts up a festival of plays every summer. Almost 10 new plays are inaugurated at the Sabha then. So we do not feature plays during the season.
Sujatha
Krishnamurthy — Parthasarathy Swami Sabha: We organise plays all through the year. Since the performing space we have for the season is restricted, we are only able to hold music concerts — not even dance programmes. I have been mooting the idea to drama troupes for a separate month-long national festival of plays during June or July. But there has not been a follow-up or response.
Natarajan — Nungambakkam Cultural Academy: We provide a slot for drama during the festival. We feel equal prominence should be given to the three facets of the fine arts. The plays are usually staged at 11 a.m. during the weekend. Productions by Crazy Mohan, Shekhar and a few others are given an evening slot.
We recognise eminent artistes from these three spheres and give them the Kala Siromani award. We are presenting Cho's plays this year. Both old and new plays are organised by us during the season.
The audience which turns up for the plays is quite different from the one for music and dance. Maybe 30 per cent will be common for all three.
"Ponniyin Selvan" ... a bold venture.
Sujatha (writer): The December season is steeped in music. I am not sure if it is the right season for plays. Theatre is practically non existent in the city's cultural landscape. Joke strings are not theatre. There is a small theatre awareness among the snobs supported by High Commissions, Consulates and a few colleges. They are all high brow.
ARS (artiste):When one looks at the December programme, it is indeed mind boggling with so much of entertainment crammed into a space of one month or so. It is amazing that so many cultural institutions get into the act of entertaining people. Believe me, not only for chennaiites but also for all our friends living abroad, who make a believe for Chennai for the season, it is truly festival time! Kudos to the organisers!
A scene from "Kavala Kavala".
In this plethora of entertainment, it is nice to see Music & Dance given their recognition. But whither drama? Why are plays not in the scheme of things in December programmes other than an odd sprinkling here and there.
Why is drama not given its allotted and rightful place? It looks as though traditionally this has been the pattern. Even in the past, great stalwarts, who gave innumerable classics on the stage, like, T.K.S. Brothers, S. V. Sahasranamam, Sivaji Ganesan or Manohar, to name a few, were not given the due place during the festival season.
Y. Gee. Mahendra
Much later, the amateur stage became the hub of entertainment in Chennai, but the December pattern did not change. United Amateur Artistes, under the stewardship of YGP, consistently dished out wholesome entertainment for the stage, but for some reason, was not recognised during the festival. Even Cho, K. Balachander, Major Sunderrajan, T. S. Seshadri, N. S. Natarajan, K. S. Nagarajan, Poornam Viswanathan and many more, who gave great plays, were not given scope.
In the contemporary scene, let's take the case of Y. Gee. Mahendra, S. V. Sekhar and Crazy Mohan. For almost a decade now, their troupes are being regularly and repeatedly invited by fans abroad and from reports, their theatre experiences there seen to be one big triumph! It looks a bit ironical that when these rasikas from abroad throng the city of December season, these troupes and other theatre groups too, do not have the stage to parade their talents.
Recently one found "Ponniyin Selvan" presented by an amateur group a refreshing change from routine fare. But the production did not elicit much response. The December season would actually be an appropriate time for such creative minds to have an outlet. The organisers, who line up quality programmes would win another feather for their caps, if they support bold ventures. Sure, there is room for everybody on the festival canvas!
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Music & Dance
|
