COIMBATORE: War led to descendants of the defeated to suffer from hunger, and search for food and shelter. A Tamil Elam woman refugee begs for milk while carrying her dead baby who died of starvation. At last, she gets a packet of milk from a Brahmin family in return for sweeping the floor. In the next scene, as she sings a lullaby softly, she pours the milk onto her baby’s death bed. When the child was alive, she was unable to provide milk. The least she could do was to pour milk while burying her baby. Pasi (hunger), a 35-minute play based on Andanoor Sura’s short story, depicts the pain of a child’s hunger.
“After watching this, a tear trickled down the cheeks of many in the audience,” Nancy Komahan, a child rights activist, says.
In the 21st century, despite the charm of blockbuster movies and the convenience of OTT platforms, many people still find a unique appeal in street dramas. Though the digital era dominates our daily lives, street dramas, nukkad natak, or patha natika, are still being performed by artists across the country, albeit on a very minor scale.
Under these challenging circumstances, Aaaniver Padaiparangam in Coimbatore presents Tamil modern plays highlighting the social issues encountered by children, women, and the transgender community. The drama club has so far directed three plays. Unlike conventional stage dramas, Aaaniver performances are backed by projectors, background music tracks, and vibrant lighting effects.
AJ Selvin serves as an art director and documentary filmmaker; Nancy Komahan is a child rights activist and a storyteller; and G Gnana Kumar is the organiser of Aaaniver Padaiparangam. Their first modern play was Pattu Kunjam Padatha Paadu Paduthu at Kala Mandram at Velandipalayam on March 8.
“We produced our first play keeping in mind International Women’s Day. We picked three female characters coming from three different social strata—a teacher, a maid, and an actress. In the 15-minute play, the teacher supported her family financially as her husband struggled with alcohol addiction. On the other hand, the maid is underpaid and mistreated by the female homemaker, which makes her feel regret for not pursuing education to live with dignity. Contrary to this, the famous actress lives with wealth and fame but loses an important aspect of life- happiness. She wishes to be an ordinary woman,” says Selvin.
Following the success of their first play, the club initiated Aaaniver Padaiparangam in March 2024. “The success of the play instilled a sense of responsibility inside me, to safeguard the theatrical performances and gave me an aspect to connect with a broader audience,” Selvin recalls.
Their recent play delved with the life on a transwoman, M Sathyasree, who is an artist. For this play, Sathyasree was herself offered the role. She then seized the opportunity to share her journey with the people around. Through her performance, the transwoman portrayed the struggles and discrimination she faced, offering a reflection on the realities of transgender life. The drama struck a chord with the viewers. Sathyasree expressed her gratitude to the members for providing her the chance to tell her side of the story.
The members fund the plays out of their own pockets apart from contributions made by the general public.They added that plans are on to direct more dramas to bolster the rights of children, women, and transpersons in the society. “Tamil Nadu Kalai Illakiya Perumandram is backbone to the Aaaniveer,” Nancy said adding that following the establishment of the troupe, they resolved to focus on the issues encountered by children, women, and transpersons through the medium of modern plays.
(Edited by Srestha Choudhury)
