The hall of the Rasika Ranjana Sabha in the city echoed with the sounds of musical instruments and enthusiastic artistes on Sunday after a year-long hiatus. The hall, which was closed as a precautionary measure against the spread of COVID-19, reopened with the staging of ‘Pavalavalli Tirumanam’, originally written by Sankaradas Swamigal. The resumption of theatre activities at the RR Sabha also marked the beginning of the World Drama Day celebrations undertaken by the Department of Art and Culture.
Under the guidance of the Department, folk artistes from three different styles - street plays, musical theatre, and plays with dialogues – gathered from Tiruchi region and all three styles were depicted in ‘Pavalavalli Tirumanam’ on Sunday evening. A group of folk dancers from Tiruchi who underwent training to perform ‘Thudumbattam’, a folk art form popular in Coimbatore, over the last week, kicked off the evening with an enthralling performance.
Speaking about the reopening, N. Sekar, honorary secretary of the Sabha said that he was grateful to see arts being celebrated again. “Our artists had a difficult time during the lockdown. We had provided ₹ 500 as a compensation to our artists, while some charitable individuals using us as a reference made some donations,” he said. The Sabha had also arranged for making short films of 13 plays, which were screened at the South Zone Cultural Centre, Thanjavur. “The centre provided remuneration to the theatre groups who acted in the films, which helped to sustain them during this difficult time,” he said.
S. Devi, who led the group who performed the Thudumbaattam said that they had resorted to taking up odd jobs during the lockdown. “hey say you can't stop the dancing feet, but the virus really did stop us for a year,”she said.
B. Hemanathan, Assistant Director, Department of Art and Culture, who organised the event told The Hindu that the they had provided ₹10,000 each to 320 artistes in the State to purchase musical instruments. A sum of ₹2,000 was provided to all registered artists of the Folk Artists Welfare Board as a compensation, he added.
Mr. Hemanthan said that the department has created a portal where artists across the state could register, providing basic details including their bank details such that necessary assistance may be given to them.
V. Kalaiarasi, Director, Department of Art and Culture, attended the event and congratulated the artistes on their performance. She encouraged them to keep practising their art and exuded hope of larger footfall of audiences.