MADURAI: Elections have set the stage for some song and dance.
Political parties have taken a fancy to innovative ideas to reach out so that they are shown in the best light during the elections. They have roped in the services of Madurai’s fancy lighting theyyam troupe performers to attract crowds for canvassing.
With the campaign gaining momentum, Kerala’s theyyam dance is much in demand across the southern districts. Various parties are increasingly incorporating traditional and visual attractions to catch people’s eye and energise campaign events. Madurai Event teams are at the hub of supplying fancy lighting theyyam and titan mascot performers across the southern districts for attracting crowds during election campaign.
S Ravi Bharathi, theyyam artiste and organiser of fancy lighting theyyam troupe, told TNIE, “My father Ranjeet Kumar is a folk artist, who has a troupe called ‘Mr Mrinda’. I too followed in his footsteps. Three years ago, I went to Alappuzha in Kerala, where I saw theyyam artistes perform during election campaigns. These artistes and their performances got voters’ attention.
Suddenly it struck me – why can’t we do the same here (TN)? And I started giving training to local artistes, prepared the costume required for this traditional art form of Kerala using locally available items. We got a good response during the Lok Sabha elections in 2024. It has set a trend and is now all the rage in this TN Assembly polls.”
He said around 10 male performers are available here. “Male artistes dress up as women in traditional costume, which is 10 kg in weight. So far, we have performed in Dindigul for I Periyasamy’s campaign and in Tiruchy for Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi’s poll trail. Locally, we have performed for all major political parties, including the TVK,” he added.
Siddharth Vibe Event Management founder R Siddharth told TNIE, “Majority of the political parties have booked us for their campaign. They want to engage the crowd, and we deliver the goods. The depiction of Lord Kallazhagar entering the Vaigai River is one such crowd gathering art form.
Another jumbo confetti machine too is very popular. We have 19 types of 10-foot size titan mascots, including gorilla, elephant and bear, for attracting and providing a welcoming environment during election campaign. All these are imported from China.”
MM Events founder M Vasanthakumar said that bookings have significantly increased compared to previous elections, turning this poll season into a busy period for all performance troupes and event suppliers across southern districts. “So far I have received 10 bookings for theyyam. This is the first time we have introduced it in southern districts for poll campaigns to attract crowds,” he said.
P Senthilkumar, organiser for various party campaigns, told TNIE that theyyam artistes performing in a lit costume is the added attraction. They look different and easily capture people’s attention. “In addition, candidate’s name along with party symbol appears during the theyyam dance which indirectly does the canvassing,” he said.