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Photo: K. Pichumani

CLOSE-KNIT GROUP: Muthuswamy with Koothu-p-Pattarai members at Alliance Francaise.

Muthuswamy can well sound pleased for he and the group have weathered the storms of a difficult voyage.

Koothu-p-Pattarai has fashioned a form of theatre that has had a powerful impact and transformed the contours of presentation and content. It has dealt with contemporary themes using the traditional folk performing art forms of Tamil Nadu and other regions in the country. “To us space, movements and choreography are more important than literary content or dialogue,” says the group. It has been both lauded and criticised for the intense physicality and the acrobatic features of its form, admired as well as censured for the abstract as also the reliance on the traditional Koothu elements which has given it its name.

The troupe has been moulded by several influences — painting, poetry, music, puppetry, yoga, the spiritual, the philosophical, and a variety of martial art forms of the country. The productions have benefited from the expertise of numerous theatre directors.

“It was at the Alliance, the Max Mueller Bhavan and the Lalit Kala Akademi that a few of us, the followers of the New Poetry movement and the contributors to the Little Magazine movement, used to meet to launch Koothu-p-Pattarai,” says Muthuswamy.

After witnessing a performance of Theru-k-koothu by Natesan Thambiran, nothing was ever the same again for Muthuswamy and his friends. “We were astounded and dazzled by the richness of this indigenous Tamil folk theatre form which followed all the traditions of the Indian theatre,” says Muthuswamy.

The man from the village of Punjai in Thanjavur had by then already written short stories, poetry and plays. His writing affirmed the comparative innocence of village life as compared to the urban.

The belief in this innocence has remained an integral characteristic of his works. “My plays ‘Kalam Kalamaga,’ ‘Appavum Pillaiyum’ and ‘Naarkalikarargal’ wafted the aura of Punjai,” says Muthuswamy. His play ‘Kalam Kaalammaga’ swept viewers off their feet. Hailed as the first modern play in Tamil, it evoked comparisons with Ionesco and the Theatre of the Absurd. Grants from the Ford Foundation vitalised the group (“though it also generated controversy like the nuclear agreement being debated today,” says Muthuswamy wryly). By the next three decades, the group had 13 major productions to its credit. It is time now to ask Muthuswamy questions (the replies are not necessarily given in the same order).

The founder-director considers actors’ training and working in various forms as the achievements of KP. About the perceived difficulties in logistics, (the impact of the shift from its self-contained premises in Kottivakkam to Virugambakkkam, on viewers), he wonders whether society is hindering the development of theatre.

About the perceived difficulties in communication regarding the group’s productions, he says, “Critical appreciation will make the actors work more. Delivering dialogue alone is not theatre; it means the viewer is coming to the theatre out of laziness. The actor must discover the nuances of the character; if he fails to put across the character it means he is not putting in enough effort.”

He agrees that pronunciation remains a problem and that may be the reason the number of spectacular productions has come down. But he refutes the charge that short stories staged by the group do not have the same appeal. “No, we have not lost viewers,” he says. As for cinema drawing away many of the trained actors, “How long can you retain the actors?” he counters. “Koothu-p-Pattarai is engaged in street theatre too and in creating awareness on social issues and management training. Regarding scripts, our aim is to introduce Tamil audiences to international theatre.”

To train actors, to create a good theatre in Tamil, to develop the language, literature and culture, and to sustain the organisation – “these were our founding aims and we have managed to do all three. UNESCO has identified it as one of the five learning centres for the theatre and artists from other countries come to train with us,” concludes Muthuswamy.

Koothu-p-Pattarai cannot have a warmer tribute than from Gil Alon of Israel who has returned to direct the group for the third time. “I fell in love with this group when I came here six years ago and did a workshop with them,” he says. “I have met numerous groups around the world. But never have I met one like this which works against all odds — budget wise, circumstances wise and in terms of facilities. The members stay together, eat together and work together. Muthuswamy is a man who has lived a dream for 30 years and living it, made it come true.”

And 10 Short Stories (Tell Tales)

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