Theatre Bonds War-Affected People
By Renuka Senanayake
BATTICALOA, Sri Lanka, Apr 17, 2001 (IPS) - An annual theatre festival in this north-eastern Sri Lankan city is helping bond local communities affected by the 18-year-old ethnic conflict in the Indian Ocean island nation.
The plays are staged by the Eastern University of Batticaloa, located in the city of that name, some 303 km north-east of the capital city Colombo.
A five-day theatre festival organised by the university late March, brought together academics and villagers -- a process that is also helping break down social barriers.
Once an exclusive university production, the festival now involves local communities.
"The need to involve the community in the festival has arisen because of the war. The villages have no space for such performances now," says S. Jeyashankar, who teaches in the university's Department of Fine Arts.
Batticaloa is close to the war zone in Sri Lanka's north and east, where Tamil Tiger rebels are demanding a separate home for the nation's minority Tamil people. Their violent campaign has claimed tens of thousands of lives.
The highlight of the festival this year was the staging of 'Ravaneswaran', based on the great Indian epic Ramayana.
However, unlike the original epic, which has its cultural roots in north India, Ravaneswaran portrays the demon king Ravana who ruled Lanka -- present day Sri Lanka -- in a sympathetic light.
The centrepiece of the Ramayana is the battle between the Hindu prince Rama, who symbolises good and Ravana, who personifies evil.
The Eastern University production was, however, based on a version of the Ramayana, which is popular in southern India, where the original epic is believed to have racial overtones.
Some scholars argue that the clash between good and evil in the Ramayana actually depicts the culture clash between the Aryan invaders of India and the original Dravidian inhabitants of the subcontinent.
The alternative version portrays Ravana as a tragic hero. Known as Ravaneswaran in south India, the demon king of Ramayana is shown here as a scholar and a king who is even respected by Rama.
The play is also a revival of 'Koothu', a traditional folk dance of Batticaloa. The drama is set to the 'Vadamodi' style of the 'Koothu' dance.
"I have tried to emphasise the struggles of Ravaneswaran. This part also shows the foolhardiness of war and moreover, that once trapped in war, honour and pride takes precedence over reason," says Professor S. Maunaguru, writer and director of Ravaneswaran.
"Two forms of Koothu are traditionally performed in Batticaloa. The 'Vadamodi' style shows influences from (India's southern) Karnataka (state), while the 'Thenmodi' shows influences from Tamil Nadu (in southern India and close to Sri Lanka)," he explains.
Koothu was found in the northern Jaffna peninsula region too. However, this has hardly survived there, its demise attributed to colonial British occupation. It is today often found in church pageants and is not performed as part of folk theatre.
"The reason Koothu has remained in Batticaloa is because modernisation has been slow in Batticaloa," says academic Kandiah Shriganeshan.
The drama festival was also representative of the different communities living in and around Batticaloa -- the Tamils, the Muslims, the Burghers and plantation workers of Indian origin.
The festival opened with a village theatre group staging the 'Parai Mela Koothu' -- the Koothu dance traditionally performed by the Pariyar community.
Sri Lanka's plantation workers, who were brought here from southern India more than a century ago by then British rulers of the subcontinent, staged the 'Kaaman Koothu' -- a traditional play and ritual among the plantation community.
The play shows the Hindu god, Lord Shiva going into a long period of meditation, during which there is no human reproduction on earth. Worried by this, the god and goddess of love, Manmathan and Raththi, try to distract Shiva by shooting flowers at him.
An angry Shiva kills Manmathan. But later, he yields to Raththi's pleas and revives her companion.
A more contemporary play -- 'Inraya Nilal' -- addresses the plight of the plantation community in Sri Lanka.
It tells how the Indian workers were duped by the British with promises of a bright future in Sri Lanka and the hardships they found here.
"This is the fist time in our history that a university has involved us in any activity," says plantation worker S. Prabakiran from Bogawanthalawa.
Four years ago, the plantation workers formed a cultural performance group, which brings together dramatists from the entire plantation.
The festival was first staged six years ago. The event is becoming increasingly popular among the local community.
"Universities are considered spaces for scholars and elite and are often isolated from the community. The cultural festival has helped break down these barriers," says Batticaloa University's Jeyashankar.
"It is now not only a space for lecturers and students but also for the community," he adds. (END)
By Renuka Senanayake
BATTICALOA, Sri Lanka, Apr 17, 2001 (IPS) - An annual theatre festival in this north-eastern Sri Lankan city is helping bond local communities affected by the 18-year-old ethnic conflict in the Indian Ocean island nation.
The plays are staged by the Eastern University of Batticaloa, located in the city of that name, some 303 km north-east of the capital city Colombo.
A five-day theatre festival organised by the university late March, brought together academics and villagers -- a process that is also helping break down social barriers.
Once an exclusive university production, the festival now involves local communities.
"The need to involve the community in the festival has arisen because of the war. The villages have no space for such performances now," says S. Jeyashankar, who teaches in the university's Department of Fine Arts.
Batticaloa is close to the war zone in Sri Lanka's north and east, where Tamil Tiger rebels are demanding a separate home for the nation's minority Tamil people. Their violent campaign has claimed tens of thousands of lives.
The highlight of the festival this year was the staging of 'Ravaneswaran', based on the great Indian epic Ramayana.
However, unlike the original epic, which has its cultural roots in north India, Ravaneswaran portrays the demon king Ravana who ruled Lanka -- present day Sri Lanka -- in a sympathetic light.
The centrepiece of the Ramayana is the battle between the Hindu prince Rama, who symbolises good and Ravana, who personifies evil.
The Eastern University production was, however, based on a version of the Ramayana, which is popular in southern India, where the original epic is believed to have racial overtones.
Some scholars argue that the clash between good and evil in the Ramayana actually depicts the culture clash between the Aryan invaders of India and the original Dravidian inhabitants of the subcontinent.
The alternative version portrays Ravana as a tragic hero. Known as Ravaneswaran in south India, the demon king of Ramayana is shown here as a scholar and a king who is even respected by Rama.
The play is also a revival of 'Koothu', a traditional folk dance of Batticaloa. The drama is set to the 'Vadamodi' style of the 'Koothu' dance.
"I have tried to emphasise the struggles of Ravaneswaran. This part also shows the foolhardiness of war and moreover, that once trapped in war, honour and pride takes precedence over reason," says Professor S. Maunaguru, writer and director of Ravaneswaran.
"Two forms of Koothu are traditionally performed in Batticaloa. The 'Vadamodi' style shows influences from (India's southern) Karnataka (state), while the 'Thenmodi' shows influences from Tamil Nadu (in southern India and close to Sri Lanka)," he explains.
Koothu was found in the northern Jaffna peninsula region too. However, this has hardly survived there, its demise attributed to colonial British occupation. It is today often found in church pageants and is not performed as part of folk theatre.
"The reason Koothu has remained in Batticaloa is because modernisation has been slow in Batticaloa," says academic Kandiah Shriganeshan.
The drama festival was also representative of the different communities living in and around Batticaloa -- the Tamils, the Muslims, the Burghers and plantation workers of Indian origin.
The festival opened with a village theatre group staging the 'Parai Mela Koothu' -- the Koothu dance traditionally performed by the Pariyar community.
Sri Lanka's plantation workers, who were brought here from southern India more than a century ago by then British rulers of the subcontinent, staged the 'Kaaman Koothu' -- a traditional play and ritual among the plantation community.
The play shows the Hindu god, Lord Shiva going into a long period of meditation, during which there is no human reproduction on earth. Worried by this, the god and goddess of love, Manmathan and Raththi, try to distract Shiva by shooting flowers at him.
An angry Shiva kills Manmathan. But later, he yields to Raththi's pleas and revives her companion.
A more contemporary play -- 'Inraya Nilal' -- addresses the plight of the plantation community in Sri Lanka.
It tells how the Indian workers were duped by the British with promises of a bright future in Sri Lanka and the hardships they found here.
"This is the fist time in our history that a university has involved us in any activity," says plantation worker S. Prabakiran from Bogawanthalawa.
Four years ago, the plantation workers formed a cultural performance group, which brings together dramatists from the entire plantation.
The festival was first staged six years ago. The event is becoming increasingly popular among the local community.
"Universities are considered spaces for scholars and elite and are often isolated from the community. The cultural festival has helped break down these barriers," says Batticaloa University's Jeyashankar.
"It is now not only a space for lecturers and students but also for the community," he adds. (END)
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