Vithura Sudhakaran
| Picture Credit score: Particular Association
Theatre practitioner Vithura Sudhakaran set off on a journey to Kashmir from Kerala on his motorbike on March 27, World Theatre Day, with an goal to take his play Ekatha, throughout India. At present, he has lined six states — Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan — and will probably be travelling to New Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Kashmir. “I began this journey with nothing however my bike and a need to carry out,” says Sudhakaran.
Calling it Theatre on Wheels, Sudhakaran says the concept is to unfold the enjoyment and relevance of threatre. Encoruaged by the nice and cozy response he acquired from the locations he carried out in, Sudhakaran says: “I used to be touched by individuals’s curiosity in theatre. At some venues, individuals wouldn’t instantly go away after the present. They might hold round, ask questions and we’d have a dialogue. As a theatre particular person, it’s certainly heartwarming to see individuals recognize the artwork type.”
He had been toying with the concept of making a play equivalent to Ekatha for 3 years. The play, a solo efficiency, is a theatrical adaptation of parts from works of famend writers in 12 Indian languages. Placing it collectively took effort and time, says Sudhakaran. With the guildance and assist from Abhilash Pillai, former dean of the Nationwide College of Drama and the director of Calicut College of Drama, and PT Anilkumar, journalist and author, Ekatha was prepared. “They helped me piece collectively related passages from totally different works in numerous languages to create this narrative. Among the authors whose works I’ve used for this play, embrace Kavalam Narayana Panikkar (Malayalam), Na Muthuswamy (Tamil), Shivaram Karanth (Kannada), Rabindranath Tagore (Bengali) and Kalidasa (Sanskrit) to say a couple of,” says Sudhakaran.
The 28-minute play, which incorporates 13 costume adjustments, touches upon matters equivalent to ladies’s security and environmental conservation.
Sudhakaran says he didn’t have contacts in all of the states he was travelling to. “I occurred to seek out some one who would prepare a venue in one other metropolis and it has labored out like a community to this point. I’m amazed on the manner individuals have helped me on this journey,” says Sudhakaran.
Traversing the nation at over 60 years of age, in hovering tempereatures, has not been difficult to this point, says Sudhakaran. “I’m pushed by my ardour for theatre. So, even when the temperature is at 50 diploma Celsius, it has not affected me adversely. I normally begin my journey from one metropolis to a different after a efficiency by 5 am. Some occasions, the venues the place I carry out supply boarding. I’ve additionally slept at petrol bunks. I don’t experience after 7pm. The individuals who I’ve met on this journey have been exceptionally type to me. ”
A retired worker of BSNL, Sudhakaran, has been lively in theatre for over 50 years. Director of Suhruth Nataka Kalari at Vithura, in Thiruvananthapuram. He’s the recipient of Kerala State Sangeetha Nataka Akademi’s Kalasree award, amongst different awards.