Enjoy an extended Margazhi art feast in February too. And for those who missed out on some of the Carnatic concerts during the kutcheri season, here is Varnakalanjiyam, a novel six-day event (February 1-4 and 8-9) from Tamil Nadu Eyal Isai Nataka Manram is sure to regale you with folk and classical art forms at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in Mylapore.
Having visualised a concept with an aim to make folk and classical arts popular among the general public, the manram had no hesitation in selecting the epic Ramayana for its theme-bound programme. But this programme will be quite different from the ones being staged at Kalakshetra — the various genres of Tamil art will be performed by eminent artistes on diverse subjects (or features) drawn from Ramayana, says Chitra Visweswaran, member secretary, TN Eyal Isai Nataka Manram.
“Please don’t mistake this event as another one staged in a classical format. Yes, of course, the audience can expect similar entertainment, but here we have an amalgam of folk, classical genres taking up a noble feature (or trait) from Lord Ram’s epic on each day for performance,” explains Chitra. No subject or sub-theme of Ramayana will be repeated and the carnival will kick off with a Villupattu from Subbu Arumugam.
On the second day, the dying-art of leather puppetry also called thol paavai koothu will be staged by Seethalakshmi. “Bommalattam is fading into oblivion. And we are trying to revive it through these events,” says Chitra. The manram, a unit under the department of art and culture, is getting annual grants from the government apart from supplementary aid approved by the State Assembly. It is being organised as a part of fulfilling its mandate to nurture folk and classical arts of Tamils. “We will also come out with five publications this year from grants in order to transmit and disseminate art forms to the next generation,” she adds.
Giving us a peek into the programme format of Varnakalanjiyam, Chitra says six genres are handpicked to extol the virtues of Ramayana in their unique styles of presentation. “If you look at the schedule of events, there is amazing variety on all six days. After puppetry, there is pattimandram followed by harikatha by
B Suchithra on the following day. A novel concert by vocalist Vijay Siva with a visual presentation on the nine moods (navarasa) of Lord Rama will be a grand finale of sorts to Varnakalanjiyam,” she explains.
With the able support and grants from the state, the manram has been reaching out to folk artistes in Tamil Nadu. Nearly 8,000 indigent artistes are given `1,500 per month as part of a welfare scheme. “This year, we are adding 500 more artistes to the list. In another scheme, we have given `10,000 per family as a token amount,” she explains. “Varnakalanjiyam will move to districts in its second phase which will be rolled out soon with a new theme and another set of artistes.”
The Eyal Isai Nataka Manram sends cultural teams to other states too as part of reviving and encouraging traditional art forms.