Giving in to my desire of striking it rich in the field of theatre, I moved to Coimbatore in the 1960s from my hometown in Thrissur. For, this city had more than 20 troupes then. On March 10, 1967, I staged my first play, Sambandhi Varugirar, literally on the footpath, on Sami Iyer Pudhu Veedhi. It cost me Rs. 30 to stage. Today, I struggle to put together a drama for Rs. 25,000!
Theatre flourished then. We did not have too many venues, but how people flocked to see plays! Most were housefull shows. This, despite the fact men played female characters on stage. But, there's only so much emotion men can bring in. And, so, when I cast Pollachi-based actor, Ramamani, in my play Vaanavil and got her to dance to a duet too, there was much furore. In time of course, women entered the stage.
Among the popular troupes then were Coimbatore Cultural Association, Kovai Recreations, Lakshmi Mills Drama Troupe, South India Viscose Drama Troupe, Kalalaya, Navaratna, FAACT and Coimbatore Arts Academy.
We used to perform in a hall in the basement of Shanmuga Theatre. Purandaradasar Hall was our refuge, though. It had a thatched hall, but was centrally located and you could be assured of an audience. CS and W Mills (Stanes Mills) had a good auditorium too, but reaching it was a daunting task. You had to travel through a lonely stretch, locally called Panankaadu.
Then, there was the Jail auditorium, but it suited the needs of the middle and upper class better, because of the sheer distance you had to walk to get in. The present Kalaiarangam used to be the Corporation office! And so, most of us threw our lot with Purandaradasar hall.
Many stalwarts staged plays in the city — R.S. Manohar, K. Balachander, V.S. Raghavan, Major Sundararajan… They even staged Server Sundaram here. There were many sabhas too, which brought in musicians and theatre persons from outside — Sri Guru Guha Gana Sabha; Thayagaraja Sangeetha Sabha (M.S. Subbulakshmi, Hemamalini and Usha Uthup performed in their concerts!) and Urvashi Sabha, run by Sasi Swaminathan (with plays by Visu and Mouli).There was also Ramnagar Fine Arts, Kalamandir and Janaranjani run by K.N. Subburathinam.
Promoting art
We had many patrons of art — Velumani Ammal of the Ramakrishna group, Kalaimagal Ramanathan, KRS Mani, C.G. Venkataraman, and S.V. Ramachandran. There would be a play every weekend. You had something to look forward to. Yearly theatre competitions and festivals, including one started by novelist Vimala Ramani, were also held.
Theatre was popular in tea estates too, for they did not have access to cinema. But, television, the growing distances and hectic work schedules took a toll on theatre.
When it came to technical help, there was Bab's Flash on 25 Thilakar Street, R. S. Puram. Babu was an expert in flash photography, a novelty then. He would attend most of our programmes, take photographs and drop off the prints — gratis!
After rehearsals near Moonukambam (Gandhi Park) and Nanjappa Rao Chattram (near Big Bazaar Street; at any given time, rehearsals for six plays would be on), we would head to the Royal Tea Stall on D.B. Road (it still exists) for bun and tea.
The R.S. Puram of those days was something else. All we had on D.B. Road was Ideal Lodge, Ideal Café, some ordinary homes, a commercial complex in the form of Ganesh Bhavan (which now houses Ramoo and Co), and, of course, the people who gave life to our plays with their sound equipment —Vani Sound Service.
And, there were no autos; only horse-drawn carts. In fact, from one end of D.B. Road, you could see up to Forest College and Savitha Hall.
The facilities in halls were not great, but we were not deterred, driven as we were by a fierce love for theatre. And, that love was what took us to nearby towns and villages during the weekend to stage plays.
All of us would travel as a family in a bus. And, return late on Sunday night in time to sleepily head to office the next day.
Shivarathri was a busy time for us. Our brief? To stage a play from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. We would jazz up our plays with comedy and music and dance so that everyone stayed wide awake.
I introduced Kovai Anuradha and Kovai Sarala in my plays. They eventually moved to Madras, and stardom.
Running an amateur theatre group was not easy, especially since most people held demanding jobs. Luckily, my wife G. Uma supported me in my passion. Despite the difficulties, what kept us going (many members have been with me through these decades) was people's interest in theatre and the willingness of patrons to help further the art. Today, all I ask is that we troupes be allowed to stage a play! Don't pay us. Just let us get on stage again and keep the fine art alive.
BIO
K S KRISHNAN Born in 1940, this veteran has 50 years of experience in theatre, 44 of them in his Kovai KRS Troupe. He's made 3,000 stage appearances, including in Delhi, Nagpur, Bhopal and Kolkata. He has written, directed and acted over 52 plays, besides producing them. He has been conferred with the Kalaimamani Award, the Nataka Kala Bharathi by Bharat Kalachar, Chennai, and the Nataka Rathna from Chennai Nataka Academy.
I REMEMBER
Once, we'd gone to an estate in Gudalur to stage a play. On our way back through dense forest, the bus battery failed. Travelling without a light was not a happy proposition. And so, two of us from our troupe sat on either side of the bus, feebly lighting the road with our torches!
