Meet Sasikala, a teacher from Coimbatore who blends social science with street drama
COIMBATORE: Education is not just about learning from textbooks. It is also about developing social awareness, questioning injustice and shaping responsible citizens. At the Government Higher Secondary School in Kalveerampalayam in Coimbatore, one teacher has been doing exactly that by using street theatre as a tool to teach students about society.
T Sasikala, the 49-year-old teacher who has been working at the school for 17 years, has helped students learn about social issues through street dramas performed at the Kalai Thiruvizha organised by the School Education Department. Over the past four years, her students have consistently performed well in the state-level competition, winning first prize three times, including this year, and second prize once.
Though Sasikala teaches Social Science, she gradually took on the role of a theatre instructor to train students in street drama. Speaking to TNIE, she said her interest in drama began during her school days. While studying in Class 9 at Nehru Government-Aided School in Perambalur, she used to watch drama rehearsals and music performances held during annual day celebrations, though she never participated in them.
“The school also taught us the value of ‘Service to Mankind’, which inspired me to become a teacher,” she recalled. She later joined a teacher training institute in Karur, where she finally had the opportunity to perform literary drama on stage.
After starting her teaching career in 1999, Sasikala began sharing her interest in arts with students by preparing them in poetry, songs and dance for Republic Day, Independence Day and annual day celebrations. At the Kalveerampalayam school, she also served as the Junior Red Cross (JRC) counsellor, organising parade practice and taking students to competitions.
A turning point came in 2022 when the School Education Department introduced Kalai Thiruvizha to provide students a platform to showcase their talents. Art Resource Persons (ARPs) were appointed to teach art education, and artist Chandramathi was assigned to the school. Sasikala was deployed as the coordinator.
With limited time to prepare for the competition, Chandramathi suggested presenting a street drama. Though Sasikala had no prior experience in street theatre, she had knowledge of literary drama and decided to write the script herself.
“In the first year, based on current issues, I created a street drama titled Which is Injustice? with four concepts — caste discrimination, abuse of girls, human sacrifice and deaths due to manual scavenging — for a 30-minute performance,” she said.
She wrote the story, dialogues and songs for each concept. One song addressing caste discrimination went:
Aathiyil Saathi Illai
Aandaavanum Vaguikkavillai Pathiyil Vanthathadaa Saathi – Aathu
Paadaiyilum Pesuthadaa Neethi….
(There was no caste system earlier; God did not create any caste divisions. The caste system entered society later. Today, even in death, people are buried in separate burial grounds based on caste. Where is the justice in this?)
After the script was prepared, Chandramathi trained students of Classes 9 and 10 in acting, dialogue delivery, voice modulation, facial expressions and other performance skills. Sasikala observed the process closely as students learned with enthusiasm.
After clearing the block and district levels, the team performed at the State Kalai Thiruvizha and secured first place in the street play category.
In the second year, when no artist was appointed, Sasikala decided to train the students herself. She sought guidance from Chandramathi and conducted practice sessions in the evenings, on Saturdays and even during examination holidays.
The students once again won the first position with a play titled Morality, covering issues such as women’s education, child marriage, leaving parents in old-age homes and food adulteration.
From the third year onwards, the school sent two teams — one from Classes 9 and 10 and another from Classes 11 and 12 — with plays based on environmental protection. Both teams secured second place at the state level.
This year, two teams from the school secured first place in the Greenery and Concepts categories.
Sasikala said their plays are often based on real-life incidents and written with original stories, songs and dialogues.
She credited the headmaster, co-teachers, artists and parents for supporting the students. She also dismissed the belief that extracurricular activities affect studies. “It is a myth. These students perform well academically too. Through drama they learn to understand society and become good citizens,” she said.
Sasikala also helped a Class 12 student receive training for a mime event through a professional trainer. The student, N Bagavath Singh, later secured first place in the mime event on the theme of a weaver’s life and received the Kalaiarasan Award, the highest honour at Kalai Thiruvizha.
For the students, the experience has been transformative. Class 11 student S Preethi said that before joining drama she was fearful and unaware of social issues. “Now I feel more confident. Even if I get a new script, I can perform in a drama without training,” she said.
Another student, S Subha Sri, said the drama helped them understand the importance of women’s education, social responsibility and gender equality.
(Edited by Subhalakshmi PR)