Interviews Therukoothu in 2005

There was no mike, no stage and no cameras flashing. With vibrant colours, the dancers whirled with ease. Their high-pitch voice could be heard at least 1 km around the performance ground in the night. 

The musical accompaniment kept the audience spellbound. That was the scene at 11 p. m. on January 16 at Nedungunam, a village of about 5,000 people in Tiruvannamalai district, 140 km from Chennai.

The audience comprised mostly elderly men and women. There was a considerable number of youth lingering here and there, watching the performers do their make-up. They also eagerly awaited the arrival of the clown on the "stage" to play pranks and provide comic interludes. There were little children scattered here and there who accompanied their parents because they didn't want to be left alone at home when everybody was watching the show. Also, they wanted to boast the next day that they had been awake the whole night watching a play.

When asked why they had Therukoothu performed on Kaanum Pongal day, the village headman said, "We work hard during the month of Margazhi and women have a lot of work cooking, putting kolam and cleaning the house during Pongal. On the last day of the festivities, we don't have work and we want to rest. Since it's a resting day, we enjoy a show like Therukoothu. That's the reason why we have it on the last day of the Pongal festival."

The Therukoothu was performed by Cheyyar Kalaimamani Vibishnan troupe. They presented Por Mannan Sandai (Warrior King's Fight) or what's colloquially called

'Botharaja Thirumanam' (Botharaja's Wedding). The head of the theatre, Manikkam, is past 60 and has been acting for more than 18 years. Here's an excerpt of the interview ChennaiOnline had with him.

In today's world, entertainment is ruled by cinema. How do you think this folk art survives?

Our art is not affected by cinema at all. It's true everything is turning towards cinema and the small

screen. However, in villages, this art still has its hold on people. After a day's work, they prefer to sit and watch their fellowmen performing simple acts rather than watching larger-than-life heroes and heroines perform incredible adventures. I don't think we suffer any loss at all.

Do you get enough money out of this? Does the government encourage you monetarily?

It's true the income is not that good. We don't get shows all the days. Our art is seasonal. During the months of Thai and Panguni, we have at least 10 shows at a row in three months. Chithirai is another promising month for this traditional theatre. Since we have agriculture as the means of livelihood, we don't worry much about the money. The government doesn't help us in any way.

What's the procedure for a new person who comes to you to learn the art?

We first give him small roles. We see how he performs. We watch how graceful his movements are. We give him very simple roles to perform on the stage in the beginning. That's how we start the practice. Anybody can learn it. Whether he will be accepted or not depends upon his performance. Since the person who comes to learn it does that out of sheer necessity and interest, we don't usually reject him.

Do you follow a written script for your stories? Or do you have only the cultural memories to follow?

We follow the myths as all of us have been told. We follow certain written scripts also. Our group is known for the performance of Kalavai Kumaraswamy's books. We present mostly whatever the audience already knows.

Could you tell us about the cosmetics you use?

The colours we use are home-made ones. Everything is made by us as taught by our gurus. Sometimes we use commercial cosmetics. But that's on rare occasions. We use coconut oil to wipe it off after the performance.

How many hours does it take for the make-up?

We finish our make-up within half-an-hour. The characters which have to appear first on the stage start the make-up first. The rest do it slowly

according to the order of their role needed on the stage. When we are off-stage, we become a part of the choir and sing with the troupe.

The performance lasts 6 to 8 hours. Tell us about memorising the songs, lyrics and the dialogues.

The dialogues and lyrics have become a part of us. We practice it so thoroughly that we don't forget even a line or a word. If at all we make mistakes, it will be only because of a word. We correct ourselves then and there and use the correct word or name as required.

Do you introduce any changes in your script?

We don't do any innovations as such. Since people are always interested in old stories, we don't introduce anything new. They never get tired of the old ways of life. Since they don't prefer a diluted or distorted version, we don't go for changes.

Why don't you have woman actors in your group?

Women usually don't come forward to act. We have never come across any woman who was interested in doing a role in Therukoothu. 

How does the male actor who does the role of a woman feel? Could you describe his behavior on stage as a woman?

We have only one male actor who dons the role of a woman on the stage. The only difference is that he has longer hair. When he's on stage, he walks and behaves like a woman though his voice doesn't sound like a woman's. The audience knows that it's a man and they don't demand that the voice should sound like a woman's. Off stage, he's like any other man.

Sumathi Ellappan

Published on Feb 2nd, 2005