Prime South: Tidings From The Southern States

Chennai has been through many changes. From a small fishing hamlet of Chennapattinam to the first headquarters of the East India Company and donning a new name, Madras, only to revert to its pre-colonial name, Chennai. While the return to the original in nomenclature was an easy task, there are many aspects of this southern metropolis that have been lost forever in the tide of change. Choreographer Chandralekha has documented the changes and has recorded the bygone era in her book "Rainbow on the Roadside".

Born in Gujarat, this modernist among the Indian dancers has made Chennai her home for the last five decades. What makes her book tick is the conscious self-referentiality, the subjective-self which is embedded in the narrative, which helps understand the contours of change. As Chandra herself mentions one change which is beyond redemption is the human relationships. Says she: "In a world of constant bustle and rush, time and relationships are institutionalised, packaged, computerised, marketed and consumed to their decimal limits."

This prose-poem, a term she uses to describe her writings, was first serialised in the Illustrated Weekly of India in the late ’60s as Kamala. The narrative, which oscillates from Chandra’s point of view and the subaltern Kamala, is a celebration of womanhood. A celebration not in a romantic sense, but from a highly sensitive point of view. The conclusion says it all:

"the sprawling village
that was Madras
has receded in time—
Kamala is a memory
Of bygone neighbourhoods and
rice fields
Of bygone villages in the heart of
the city—
Kamala has receded in time
only, she returns everytime
I try to recognise
The woman I am today."

A storyteller is never circumscribed by the medium. He survives in any medium and makesevery new medium his own. K. Balachander, who started his career as a theatre personality,has been communicating for the last 35 years through various media.

Ever since his directorial debut in 1965 with the Neer Kumizhi (Water Bubble),he managed to survive every change that has faced the film industry. The shift from blackand white to colour, the shift from low-budget to high-budget, or the threat from cable TVand 59 satellite channels has not stopped this incorrigible teller of the tales ofmiddle-class plight.

The man who has many firsts to his credit and who had introduced most of the Tamilstars, including Kamalahaasan, Rajnikanth and Sridevi, is making his hundredth film.Featuring the new heart-throb R. Madhavan, Parthale Paravasam is a tale of love.And most of the Balachander’s fans believe that this would outdo his Ek Duje KeLiye, which introduced Kamalahaasan to the national audience nearly two decades ago.

These kids, and there were about a million of them, were reminded of the verse,"Water, water everywhere, Not a drop to drink" from the Rhyme of the AncientMariner, to galvanise support for conservation of water bodies. Drawn from 650 schools,they’ve signed on a gargantuan Britannia scroll, pledging their commitment toprotecting water sources.

The programme was organised by Britannia Industries along withSanctuary Cub Magazine.

It tingled the tastebuds, provided a platform for some aggressive marketing and hardsell.More than that, the unique event showcased the history and tradition of Hyderabad.Daawat-e-Mehfil, the three-day biryani festival organised by the city’s Amrutha Castle hotel, was all about explaining the "taste of Hyderabad". It brought alive the Nizami culture as varied aromas wafted through the air to the accompaniment of live ghazal concerts among many other things.

Chef Moyeed, the man behind the show, waxing eloquent on his preparations, was at handwith the details— he claimed there are more than 36 different kinds of biryanipreparations. The variety of biryanis served at the festival was also mind-boggling—Kachi Gosht Ki Biryani, Jinga Biryani, Murg Methi Biryani, it was all there. No wonder someone was heard burping with satisfaction: "Kya biryani thi miyan AmruthaCastle mein!"

K.P. Kumaran has been in hibernation for twelve long years. He has now resurfaced with Thotram, a lyrical gem inspired by the folk ballads of Kerala and continues his preoccupation with feminist issues. The film is about the struggle of a peasant woman trying to protect herself from the evil designs of a feudal lord. She is eventually burnt at the stake. If the film appears to evoke the passion of Joan of Arc, it is no accident. Like the Maid of Orleans, Kumaran’s protagonist is deified through her martyrdom and assumes an avenging angel’s status. The director uses the ritualistic dance form of Theyyam to effect this transformation. Thotram is the background hymn recited during the performance of Theyyam, which also signifies the peasant woman’s canonisation by fire.

Ever been lifted up in a hot-air balloon or dreamt of hiking through the Amazonianrainforests? Over a sultry early-summer weekend, National Geographic made all that andmore possible for a surging crowd of Bangaloreans. The three-day pure adventure package ona 35-acre plot in the city’s Palace Grounds simulated the real-life adventures thatare telecast on the Adventure One programme every Monday. And what a blast it turned outto be. From kayaking, to rope walking and rock climbing, there was something for everyone.The mega-adventure show came free of cost to all participants.

At an age when he ought to have been in school, Kushal Kumar was away, staging a show"Take Off", perhaps, as a means to conceal his agony—physical andpsychological. The 30-odd sketches he drew were the ideal anodyne in the days when he wasisolated from his friends after a kidney transplantation. All of them have a common motif,an aircraft that mirrors his ambition—to jockey with the controls of a flyingmachine. All the sketches were sold after the show to help raise Rs 70,000, a fund hisfather P.S. Kumar says will help in the costly (Cyclosporine tablets costs anywherebetween Rs 7,000 and Rs 20,000 a month) post-operative medication for another six months.Kushal, meanwhile, is busy doing sketches for his second show, this time round on fishes,scheduled to be held in neighbouring southern states, later this year.

Mohanlal’s infatuation with the classics continues. He’s now mouthingSanskrit verses for his role as the epic character Karna in Kavalam NarayanaPanikker’s Sanskrit play Karnabharam, to be staged at the nsd festival inDelhi later this month. He had to cope with Kavalam’s innovative theatre style, whichinvolves martial art poses and be able to do justice to all the dilemmas of Karna’slife.