A. Muthu Lakshmana Rao, a 67-year-old ‘Thol pavai koothu’ (leather shadow puppetry) artiste, made an appeal to the government through a petition to Collector on Monday to engage artistes like him to teach the art form in government schools since it would benefit both the artistes and the children.
Mr. Rao, who hails from Genguvarpatti in Theni district and whose family is performing ‘Thol pavai koothu’ for generations, said that while private schools occasionally engaged them, government schools seldom utilised the services of artistes like him for teaching children. He said that learning the art form would improve creativity among the children.
“The Department of Art and Culture (DAC) in Tamil Nadu once in a while organised summer camps for children, in which we are called to teach. However, a regular engagement will help us earn a decent livelihood,” he said, adding that the ₹ 1,500 he received as monthly pension from DAC was his only source of income.
“When I was young, we would be invited by villages for days together to perform at festivals. There was also a belief that if we perform ‘Thol pavai koothu,’ the village will get rains. Today, things have changed. ‘Aadal padal’ (dance and music) shows in temple festivals, television and movies have taken our place,” he said.
Stating that ‘Thol pavai koothu’ artistes generally performed Ramayana, Raja Harishchandra and Valli Thirumanam stories, he said that artistes like him, however, could create puppets and perform any stories. “I hear that the district administration is creating awareness of making the district plastic-free. We can perform on that theme and create awareness,” he said.
