The Purisai Duraisami Kannappa Thambiran Parambarai Therukoothu Manram headed by PK Sambandan is the most renowned among the Koothu troupes of South India. Though based in Tiruvannamalai District, the art and the group have gone places with performances across the globe from Bogota to France, and workshops that have been conducted by Sambandan in countries like Singapore.
Just after performing at the recently held PURUSH Festival Sambandan tells CE, “Local artistes there wanted to learn our style. I spent a few days teaching them. They integrate it with their style or like to perform it exactly the way we do it.”
Working towards preserving one of the most ancient forms of performing arts, the group has had its presence in the city as well. But, the awareness is low, says Sambandan. “When we perform in our village, everyone understands the nuances of the art, as they have grown up watching it. But, in cities, for many it seems to be an exotic form of art.
They don’t realise that watching one performance of a particular show will not be enough to get a grip over the story or the narration. They have to watch it at least four to five times to understand it.” But, he adds that his performances have garnered a sizeable audience every time in the city.
Picking up a theme like Draupadi Vasthiraparanam, the theatre veteran, who has explored stories like Tenali Raman and plays by writers like Brecht and Marquez, says that Mahabharatha can never cease to inspire an artiste like him.
“There are so many angles to stories like Mahabharatha and Ramayana. But for this show, we wanted to present the significant chunk of the vasthiraparanam that determined the fate of both the Pandavas and Kauravas,” he adds.
In keeping with the tradition of the ancient form of art, the group doesn’t have female performers. The theatre veteran adds that taking up women roles makes their work more challenging.