‘Mathilukalkkappuram’, premiered in the US, celebrates the life and creativity of Vaikom Mohammed Basheer
There was Vaikom Mohammed Basheer, smoking a beedi and sitting in his armchair beneath the shade of the mangosteen tree. Beside him was his favourite gramophone. The iconic image of Malayalam literature’s beloved writer, often called the Beypore Sultan, was recreated in the US during a play Mathilukalkkappuram, which was premiered in New Jersey.
The Chicago-based Art Lovers of America (ALA), a bunch of literature buffs in the US, were keen on staging a play during the second edition of a literary fete organised by the association. They contacted playwright and director Pramod Payyannur who wrote Mathilukalkkappuram, inspired by some of the popular works of the author. Pramod is the director of Balyakalasakhi, the screen adaptation of Basheer’s eponymous novel.
A scene from the play Mathilukalkkappuram
| Photo Credit:
Pradeep Chellappan
Mathilukalkkappuram (Beyond Walls) wove in characters and nuggets from the author’s popular works to throw light on his life and creative journey. The play went beyond Basheer’s stories to portray the essence of his life and personality.
“MT Vasudevan Nair sir was so pleased with our effort that he agreed to read out a message on the significance of Mathilukal and Basheer, which preceded and concluded the play. We were also able to include literatteur ONV Kurup sir’s tribute to Basheer. It was a poem ‘Soja Rajakumari’, which was written during the days following Basheer’s passing, which Kurup sir had recited in his own voice,” explains Pramod.
A scene from the play Mathilukalkkappuram
| Photo Credit:
Pradeep Chellappan
Pramod points out that Basheer was a freedom fighter who had begun walking from Vaikom in Kottayam district to participate in the Salt Satyagraha. “He was a humanist; the Sufi philosophy that he followed embraced Nature and her creations. His deep concern for the environment and ecosystem is evident in his works.”
The playwright chose nuggets from Basheer’s works such as Mathilukal (inspired by his incarceration and romance with Narayani, a woman prisoner he had never seen but only heard), Amma and Premalekhanam.
Pramod points out that Basheer’s language, earthy characters and deeply humane stories created a universe of love and oneness.
Pramod Payyannur
| Photo Credit:
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
“As Saigal’s sonorous ‘Soja Rajakumari’ filled the air, the audience saw Basheer in prison, even as his favourite song plays on the radio. They also saw him before his release from prison and his farewell to Narayani whom he had never seen on account of the wall that separated the prisoners. He throws her a rose over the wall. Towards the end of the nearly 90-minute play, we also witness a lonely Narayani waiting for Basheer and his soulful words to her,” says Pramod.
He adds that the characters in the play were umma (mother), a warden, prisoners, and policemen from Mathilukal and so on. The play fused local rituals, folklore and music to travel in time to Basheer’s magical world. In addition to verses of Changampuzha and Kumaran Asan, songs of Saigal and Pankaj Mullick, the author’s favourite singers, were melded into the play by musician Ramesh Narayanan who composed the music.
“Basheer’s grief as his companion is led away to be hanged was visualised with the help of Kumaran Asan’s verses from ‘Veenapoovu’. To depict the spirit of the freedom movement that had inspired them, rousing songs of the period in Tamil, Kannada and Hindi were also played,” explains Pramod.
Pramod says it was technology, creativity and the dedication of the cast and crew in the US that helped them stage the play.
Since Pramod was based in Thiruvananthapuram, the initial reading of the play and rehearsals were done online. The work began in September. Most of the actors were employed and so they could begin rehearsals only after work. “That was around 6am in India. I would be up every day to interact with them during their readings and rehearsals. The actors also lived in different time zones in the US. It was a challenge that we accepted,” says Pramod.
A scene from the play Mathilukalkkappuram
| Photo Credit:
Pradeep Chellappan
Alan G John and Kiran James played Basheer the author and Basheer in prison respectively. By the first week of November, Pramod left for the US to work with the troupe. He recalls that rehearsals at New Jersey, where the play premiered, were held in a lakeside hall. Once the technicians were enthused by the hard work and dedication of the team they willingly extended their working hours to support the cast.
A scene from the play Mathilukalkkappuram
| Photo Credit:
Pradeep Chellappan
He remembers the standing ovation the play got as the curtain fell after the premiere in New Jersey on November 16. In the audience were writers and poets such as Balachandran Chullikkad, Shobha Tharoor Srinivasan and Sunil P Elayidom. It was also staged in Seattle.
The play is likely to be staged in Chicago, Atlanta and Houston in the US, says Pramod as the Beypore Sultan erases regional and time barriers to charm a new generation.
Published – December 04, 2024 03:47 pm IST
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