Several years after O.V. Vijayan penned his magnum opus Khasakinte Ithihasam (Legends of Khasak) with the scenic Thasrak village as backdrop, its 205-minute-long theatre version would be staged in Palakkad during a three-day literary festival beginning April 29.
The play will be staged at Government Victoria College here. Though the organisers initially thought of using the premises of Njattupura, the rustic building in nearby Thasrak where the novel’s protagonist Ravi taught children, for staging the drama, the venue was later shifted to the city for audience’s convenience. However, a literary pilgrimage, cultural meet and interaction with artists in the drama would be held at Thasrak.
“All arrangements have been completed for making the Thasrak festival a historic event. The response from the public has been enormous,” said organising committee chairman M.B. Rajesh and general convener A. Anil Krishnan at a press meet. This is the first time that the drama by Deepan Sivaraman, which won much critical acclaim, is being staged in Palakkad.
Thasrak and Vijayan
Gramaya, a collective of old students of Palakkad Polytechnic, is organising the programme, which will help improve the literary pilgrimage prospectives of Thasrak. The Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi and O.V. Vijayan Memorial Committee are also involved in the conduct of the three-day festival in which the role of Thasrak in shaping the career of the cartoonist-turned-writer will be explored. Cultural Affairs Minister A.K. Balan will inaugurate the festival.
Located in the middle of vast stretches of paddy fields, Thasrak had metamorphosed into Khasak in the acclaimed novel, published first in 1969. It has had over 50 reprints.
Two years ago
It was two years ago that Deepan Sivaraman, theatre director, scenographer, and associate professor at Ambedkar University, rendered the Legends of Khasak in theatrical form. The director, who has designed and directed more than 60 performances for various forums in India and Europe, staged it in different parts of the country under the banner of KMK Nataka Samithy of Thrikkarippur in Kasaragod district.
