A short skit has all the advantages and disadvantages of a short story. A short story writer has the tough job of having to spin a story with a minimum of fuss. The advantage is that he can get to the point straight away, and the impact, therefore, can be tremendous. This brevity should be an advantage for the stage. But when dialogue must convey the mood of the short story in a brief span of time, the burden on the person who does the adaptation and on the cast is tremendous. Komal Theatre’s maiden venture of presenting five short stories on stage was, therefore, a bold attempt.
The evening began with Jayakanthan’s Love Pannungo sir (dramatisation and direction - Ilango Kumanan). Jayakanthan had the unique capacity to present the not-so-popular side of a picture. In ‘Love Pannungo sir,’ a young man, who is looking forward to a romantic rendezvous, turns up at a small eatery run by a Palghat Iyer. Iyer narrates the story of his daughter’s elopement with an uneducated man. Finding her living in abject poverty, Iyer decides to help her, but there is a rider — he should never hear of her again. Heart-broken Iyer then makes his nephew the focus of his attention, determined that he should not succumb to the charms of romantic attachments. The boy, when asked what love means to him, says it is love for his parents and extended family. Jayakanthan did not walk the beaten track and in this story, he shows you that there can be an unsettling angle to a romantic story. When you read a Jayakanthan story, your heart is seared by the power of his words. But Kumanan’s monologue did not quite have the poignancy of the original. Kumanan was also at times inaudible in the back rows, and this was most disappointing.
R. Chudamani’s Bimbam came up next, dramatised and directed by Dharini Komal. Meenakshi is a girl with dreams, aiming to be like the women she has read about. The prospect of marriage leaves her dithering, and she starts making compromises. But she soon realises that she is well on the way to becoming meek like her mother, who traded everything —including her much-loved Sanskrit books — for a marriage. Meenakshi picks up a paper and writes to the prospective groom that if at all she marries him, it will be on her own terms. Dharini as the long-suffering wife of an ill-tempered husband, was perfect with her voice modulation and shuffling, matronly gait. Lavanya Venugopal as Meenakshi, who does not know whether she should be assertive or pliant, effectively captured the dilemma of an aspiring young girl of the 70s, who also wants a happy marriage.
Kalki’s Yajamana Viswasam (dramatisation, direction - Gowrishankar) had the narrator (Pothilingam) telling the story of a faithful watchman, who, despite being dismissed, cannot turn against his former employer. Pothilingam’s narration was so good that it seemed as if one was reading the original story. Through her gestures — a shake of her pallu, a twist of her lips —Swetha as the watchman’s daughter showed her contempt for the exploiting businessman.
A patient in pain, a doctor who makes light of his suffering, an indifferent nurse — enough here to make the patient miserable. Add to that a cot that gets personified, acquires a life of its own and starts giving orders to the patient, tossing him at will. Karthik Gowrishankar’s adaptation of Pudumai Pithan’s Kattil Pesugiradhu was terrific, and S. Srinivasan as the long-suffering patient was a live-wire on stage.
Thi Janakiraman’s Vilayattu Bommai (dramatisation, direction Ilango Kumanan) showed the progressive memory loss of a once-busy lawyer, who, at the peak of his career, used to be surrounded by a bevy of juniors. He is now in the sorry state of being unable to recognise his family. At the heart of the story is the tragedy of aging. So long as things go on well, aging can be spoken of in terms such as ‘graceful.’ But it can be heart-wrenching to see a dearly loved person sinking into limbo. Kathadi’s performance as the lawyer added heft to the gravitas of the theme.
The plays began at 7.30, after an hour of speeches. If speeches are necessary, it is better to begin early. Because of the late start, a chunk of the audience left and did not catch the last two plays.
