KOCHI: The Kochi Biennale Foundation (KBF), in collaboration with the Kodungallur Film Society and the Bahadur Memorial Trust, will stage the theatrical adaptation of ‘Khasakkinte Ithihasam’, the acclaimed magnum opus of literary giant O V Vijayan.
The production, which will run from April 1 to 3 at the Government Boys High School ground in Kodungallur, at 6.30 pm, is part of a long-running community engagement initiative by the KBF to promote deeper discourse on and greater access to art and culture.
Taking its cues from the groundbreaking 1969 Malayalam novel (since reprinted over 50 times), the play - directed by Deepan Sivaraman and presented by K M K Smaraka Kalasamithi Thrikkaripur - depicts the lives and myths of the imagined land of Khasak, the setting of which much resembles the landscape of North Malabar. The director even incorporates Theyyam - a ritualistic dance tradition from the region.
The story of Ravi, a guilt-ridden college dropout who runs away to the hamlet of Khasak in the Palakkad countryside to atone for an illicit affair, is the central narrative of the novel, but Vijayan explores themes like the points of contact and conflict between a mythic past and a rationalising modernity through his protagonist’s experiences and encounters.
Beyond the existential angst of the protagonist, the play delves deeper into the magical, philosophical realm through its rich assortment of inhabitants - Padma, Maimuna, Allapicha Mollaka, Kuppuvachan, Khaliyar, Appu-Killi, Mungamkozhi - among the other most celebrated of Vijayan’s characters.
“Theatre in Kerala had its roots in the rustic. Before elaborate stage productions and arts clubs, there were the farmlands and woodlands,” said noted artist and secretary, KBF, Riyas Komu.