CHENNAI: As an ode to the yesteryear stalwarts of theatre, every year Dharini Komal, director and owner of Komal Theatre, presents five short plays by five eminent short story writers. This year, too, on May 10, she brought to the stage, Sirukathaikal Medaiyil, to celebrate the works of T Janakiraman, R Chudamani, Sujatha, Komal Swaminathan and Indira Parthasarathi with the theme ‘Padaipalikalai Kondaduvom’.
The first play staged was Akbar Shastri, a short story written by Janakiraman. It was about a train journey, where an old man named Akbar Shastri preaches about the value of household medication to his co-passengers. The second play was Bimbam, written by Chudamani, which showcased the dilemma a girl goes through when choosing between a marriage alliance and her identity. The repeated dialogue “Ithu ondrum avalavu periya vishayam illai,” by the protagonist to convince herself of her dilemma of standing for her freedom of choice, leaves us pondering.
Dharini chose Sujatha’s Kalaiyil Ezhunthavudan Kolai, a humorous play on how people’s fears make them overthink and complicate simple things into complex problems. Written by her father, Komal Swaminathan, Manida Uravugal, was fourth in line to be presented. The play depicted the longing of old parents who are yearning to be with their children and grandchildren. The final play of the evening was a short story written by Indira Parthasarathi titled Punarapi Jananam Punarapi Maranam, which displayed the comical situation where relatives and villagers wait for a person on his death bed to breathe his last, and the tricks people play.
On selecting these plays, Dharini says, “There are many reasons; the first is the suitability of a story that can be staged, second being dialogue-oriented and not narrations, and stories that have an unexpected climax. Each short story was for 20 minutes, making 100 minutes of total stage performance by 12 actors, who played 24 characters.”
The challenge faced when staging famous short stories is in bringing out the same essence of each story as it is in the books. "I have picked these short stories with less description and more conversation by adapting it into drama format without diluting the essence and characterisation of the stories," says Dharini. Adding to the emotions and the dialogue was the music by Viishwaajay.
Introducing the cast and crew of each of the plays, Dharini appreciated the support from the technical team. Nalli Kuppusamy Chetti, who attended the event, said, “The last play had an unexpected ending which amazed the course of the scenes that the story had.” The daughter of the 96-year-old writer Indira Parthasarathi was also present to witness the plays.
“Even though I have watched these stories being staged before, today’s performance was first class, making me relive the moment with the storyline,” said Raman, an audience member. Concurring, MP Balasubramaniyan, another theatre buff, said. “Seeing the characters come alive on stage makes me reminisce about the days I read the stories for the first time, and Komal Theater is doing an excellent job in entertaining the readers with visual appeal.”
Post the staging of the play, Dharini talked to CE emphasising why these stories written many decades ago are still being celebrated in today’s time. “The relevance of the story line which is relatable to the current lifestyle of people and the character portrayals in the stories which reflect upon modern situations are the reason,” she wrapped up.