from the drama oor koodi theer azu , Photo Courtesy: Srinath M

Purchipdai Productions’ Drama oor koodi theer ijhu (written and directed by Nandakumar) takes its name from a popular Tamil proverb – to move things forward, people have to unite. The team presented stories about Azhagar and Madurai Meenakshi temples and Chithirai festival. To bring everyone together, without communal differences, King Thirumalai Nayaka merged the Meenakshi marriage festival and the Azhagar festival into one. Devotees of the deity Karuppan participate in the festival, as the dragon takes permission from Karuppan before leaving the temple.

Use of shadow puppetry in drama oor koodi theer ijhu Was innovative. , Photo Courtesy: Srinath M

The use of shadow puppetry in the play was innovative. The tune of the iconic Malayalam boat song Kuttanadan Punjayile was used for the song Malaya Desam Thottu, when thieves come in a boat to steal an idol. Pictures and videos in the background added to the visual appeal of the play. Props were also used cleverly. For example, each actor had a blue cloth, which was used for several things – water, baby Meenakshi and a garland. The cast (Sahana, Anthony Xavier and Nandakumar) caught the attention of the audience.

unanswered questions

However, some questions remained. The play begins with a disclaimer that it is not about faith. If a playwright feels that devotion should not be depicted in a play, that is fine. But still you cannot give complete details about any temple festival and the Sthalpuran of the temples, whatever it may be. If the idea was to show solidarity during a celebration, the theme could have been explored from a different angle. Do temple festivals promote the spirit of harmony? Of course, they do. But are temple festivals about faith? Definitely. Then came the second disclaimer – this was not a ‘Sangi’ play. What was the need to bring him into politics?

In the introduction we were told that the play was about water. How many times did water appear in the play? Suthapa’s penance is under water. Azhagar crosses Vaigai to attend Meenakshi’s wedding. During the festival people shower water on the python. Based on this, claiming that this play is about water was a bit much. And so, this play does not exactly match the theme of Bhavan’s series celebrating Mother Earth.