ALAPPUZHA: For generations of Malayalis, 'Ashwamedham' is more than a play. It is a reminder of a time when people with leprosy were battling not only a disease but also the cruelty of social rejection.
Written and directed by legendary playwright Thoppil Bhasi, Ashwamedham was first staged in 1962 by the Kerala People's Arts Club (KPAC).
On Wednesday, after a 26-year break, the landmark KPAC production returned to the stage, at Mikaas Convention Centre in Kayamkulam's Murukummoodu, under the aegis of the club's cultural forum. The revival has once again highlighted the play's powerful message that 'disease is not a crime'.
The current recreation is directed by Manoj Narayanan.
Sujathan, son of Kesavan, the late artist who had directed the play when it was initially performed, is handling the same role. The story was born out of Bhasi's close encounters with leprosy patients at the Nooranad Leprosy Sanatorium. According to KPAC secretary Shajahan, 'Ashwamedham' materialised after Bhasi visited communist activist Karthikeyan, who was undergoing treatment at the sanatorium.
During the period when the government was suppressing Communists, Bhasi stayed at the facility in exile.
“With the help of then sanatorium superintendent Shankaranarayanan Unnithan, Bhasi learned about the lives of the inmates and witnessed their suffering and helplessness first-hand. What he saw eventually found expression on stage. The play also grew out of a fierce political battle. During 1957-58, a bill was introduced in the Kerala assembly to detain people with leprosy if they were found in public. Bhasi, then a legislator, strongly opposed the proposal, questioning how a disease could be treated as a crime. The bill was eventually withdrawn. Against this backdrop, Ashwamedham was born, turning the pain of a marginalised community into a powerful social statement,” Shajahan said.
The production also occupies a special place in the history of Malayalam film and theatre music. It marked lyricist Vayalar Ramavarma's first association with KPAC. Songs such as 'Pambukalkku Malamundu' and 'Thalakku Meethe Shoonyakasham', composed by K Raghavan and M B Sreenivasan and sung by K S George, Sulochana and others, are still a part of Kerala's cultural memory.
The original cast included K P Ummer, N Govindankutty, C G Gopinath, Thoppil Krishna Pillai, Sulochana, Khan and Leela. For the new generation of performers and audiences, the return of Ashwamedham is a journey back to a chapter in Kerala's social history, and a reminder of how art once challenged society to look beyond disease and see the human being behind the stigma.
Shajahan said the old version of the drama was performed on more than 3,000 stages across the world, including the US, Canada, Bahrain and other Gulf countries. The new version also received immense bookings, Shajahan said. The present cast includes Dr Suresh, Saraswathi, Cochin Hassanar, Vadakkumthala Murali, Binu Soman, Madhu Kollam, Mahesh Palode, Vinod Chettikulangara, Master Agnivesh, Anitha Selvi, Shiny Raman, Karnaki Karunagappally and Pradeep Thoppil.
In 1967, Ashwamedham was adapted into a movie with the same name, starring legendary actors like Prem Nazir, Sathyan and Sheela in lead roles, besides Madhu. Among others. Thoppil Bhasi himself was the writer of the film, directed by A Vincent.
