Kerala - Kochi   

Reflections on parallel lives

PARALLEL EXISTENCE: Arya Ravikumar and Molly during the rehearsal of `Sadrusavakyangal.' Photo: H.Vibhu

The play Sadrusavakyangal is what Gopan Chidambaran has to return to the insecurities of an untutored childhood he had at West Kochi. He tries to bring to the centre-stage characters and life as he had seen once in the dark side of this largely under-developed part of the world.

There are many parallel, similar streams of lives in this work, which won the Platinum Jubilee award of the Samastha Kerala Sahitya Parishath. Gopan, a faculty member of Department of Ancient Theatre, Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, will present the play for the Bank Employees Arts Movement, Ernakulam at the Fine Arts Hall here on Friday.

Lives of Barbara, called Baro, her mother Maria, the local thug Luca and the old man Michael exist in totally different planes. Baro's visions are treated by the rest as signs of her insanity. Only Michael could associate with this madness to some extent. But still, their parallel existences continue to reflect each other.

Visions of a better life are the motivating force for these characters drenched in the soot of poverty and deprivation. Gopan employs verses from the work of Father Johann Ernst Hanxleden, popularly known as Arnos Paathiri, as yet another parallel stream of narrative.

Gopan and his team had been rehearsing the play at the Mother Teresa Community Hall at Udaya Colony. "This is also my attempt to link to my roots. The culture and lives of West Kochi is my real base and this play attempts to reflect that essence," says Gopan. Arya Ravikumar, who is doing her M.Phil in theatre at the School of Letters, Mahatma Gandhi University, will play the part of Baro, and Molly, Chavittunatakam artiste, will do the part of Maria.

Anand Haridas

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