Theatre, his forte
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Renowned theatre personality Vayala Vasudevan Pillai begins a new phase in his career.
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I am retiring only from a post and not from theatre: Vayala Vasudevan Pillai
FOR THEATRE practitioners and art aficionados of Kerala, Vayala Vasudevan Pillai is a household name. After more than two decades with the School of Drama in Thrissur under Calicut University, `Vayala Sir,' as he is popularly known, is retiring as director of the school this month.
A brilliant protégé of Sankara Pillai, who was the first director of the School of Drama, Vayala was groomed by the Kalari theatre movement started by Sankara Pillai. Vayala joined the School of Drama as assistant director and head of the department in 1984, after leaving his alma mater, Mar Ivanios College, Thiruvananthapuram, where he was professor of English. Later, he succeeded Sankara Pillai as director of the School of Drama.
Classical form
"For me theatre is as significant as a classical art form, which too must be studied under appropriate guidance. It contains all aspects of arts; music, movement, dance, painting, sculpture and above all, the aesthetics of the entire ethnic heritage around us. A theatre artiste need not be an expert in all these forms but must be aware of its aesthetics, which undoubtedly carves the theatre sense in him," explains Vayala.
During his stint in Thiruvananthapuram, he formed an avant-garde theatre troupe named `Suvarnarekha.'
Artistes like cine star Jagadish, Sreelata and late Alex Kadavil were among his prodigies. Suvarnarekha presented more than 30 plays, including his own works and modern European plays.
Vayala is considered an expert on the plays and artistic life of Irish playwright J.M. Synge.
Fellowships
In 1980-81, Dr. Vayala was awarded the Italian Government's theatre fellowship that enabled him to study theatre at the University of Rome.In 1989-90, he was awarded the post-doctoral Fulbright fellowship of the United States and it helped him do research under none other than the guidance of Richard Schechner at the New York University. He was also a visiting professor of theatre in Meiji University, Tokyo, under the Japan Foundation fellowship and at Paris University.
During the early Nineties, a Sharjah court sentenced him to six years of imprisonment for `authoring the play' `Savam teeni urumbukal' (Ants that feast on corpse), which was presented there for a drama competition. "It seems like a comedy of errors," says Vayala about this episode, as he was not the writer of the play.
A group of Sharjah-based Malayalis, some of them his ardent fans, erroneously used his name for a play penned by Karthikeyan Padiyath.
Vayala has won several awards that include nine State and three national awards. `Viswadarsanam' (1977), `Thulaseevaram' (1979), `Agni' (1982), `Rangabhasha' (1984), `Varavelpu' (1985), `Kuchelagadha' (1988), `The death of Nestling' (1992), `Suthradhara, Ethile...Ethile?' (1993), `Kunji Chirakukal' (1994), `Swarnakokkukal' (1999) are among the well-known plays authored by him.
On retirement
What is his feeling about retirement? "I am retiring only from a post and not from theatre. For me, retirement means cessation of daily trips to the university and nothing else. Writing, directing a play, teaching and guiding students for Ph.D... all these are part of my artistic endeavour as is my social commitments; for me none of these are separable from the other," explains Vayala.
K.K. Gopalakrishnan
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