By Bharati Sadasivam
The corporation playground on Rukmani Road in Kalakshetra Colony came alive last Sunday evening (Jan.5) with a fabulous cast of puppet characters performing to a delighted audience of dozens.
The dramatically painted puppets – depicting a village headman, municipal official, mother and schoolchildren, local wiseacres – used song and dance, wit and humour to put across socially useful messages on the harmful impacts of plastic.
The performance was sponsored by the Kalakshetra Colony Welfare Association (KCWA) to support the struggling art of ‘bommalattam’, and the artistes trying to keep it alive. It drew a large number of colony residents, and more than 20 students invited from the corporation Gandhigram school, who especially enjoyed the banter between the puppets.
The show was presented by Kalaimamani Muthuchandra Rao, who represents the sixth generation of a family of traditional puppeteers from Kanyakumari. Their small family-run troupe conceives and creates the entire production – script and lyrics, light and sound and the puppets, made from goatskin and coloured with eye-catching natural dyes. The puppet shows are their only source of livelihood.
Moving from mythological stories, they increasingly focus on themes of contemporary importance, like environmental protection, the importance of education, and why it is essential to use helmets on scooters. “We have brought these issues to life in ways that online lessons cannot, especially for school students who have learned a lot from our shows,” says Mr. Muthuchandran, who is the remarkably talented voice for all the puppets in his show.
But it’s increasingly difficult to keep this ancient art form and business afloat. Support from individuals helped them to take their show to 27 schools in Salem recently. “We want to perform in many more places to keep our art alive and earn the money to build a house for our 14 family members in Tirunelveli, where a local patron has helped us to get the land title,” he said during an interaction with the audience after the show.
He said his troupe will be performing at the Mylapore Kapaleeswarar temple and four schools in the city and hopes for more commissions before they leave on January 18.
In an age of ubiquitous video games and non-stop online entertainment, it was a rare treat to experience this timeless art of puppetry in real life and witness the passion and commitment of the artistes. The audience expressed its admiration with spontaneous and generous monetary contributions to help their cause of building a roof over their heads.
The Executive Committee of KCWA requests other resident welfare associations, institutions, schools and interested individuals to do their bit to support this ancient art of Tamil Nadu by organising similar shows.
Bharathi is a resident of Kalakshetra Colony and can be contacted at [email protected].
