by Sachi Sri Kantha; published April 26, 2004
Re-visiting R.K.Narayan’s sketch of ‘The Indian Theatre’
I’m an avid fan of R.K.Narayan. It is a pleasure to read the portrayals of the Indian society (both past and present) by him, which are filled with humor and subtle satire pricking the pompous Poo Bahs. In view of the recently staged Karuna revolt drama, what Narayan wrote about the sutradharas [Sanskrit term for the Director cum trainer] and their crew comes handy for me to present my case. Many in Sri Lanka are aware of who are the sutradharas of the Karuna-Varadan drama, despite the public denials by some who are also major and bit players in the drama.
R.K. Narayan
From a Narayan sketch on ‘The Indian Theatre’ which consists of seven paragraphs, I provide below excerpts from three. His thoughts on sutradhara, tom-tom beaters, itinerant marionette players, ‘shadow’ players and vidushaka (clowns) can be precisely matched in the Karuna revolt drama with living personalities and thriving institutions in Chennai and Colombo. I leave it to the readers to fill in the blanks. To quote Narayan,
“…There are certain formalities which are strictly observed in presenting a play; the sutradhara, most likely the schoolmaster with his face painted and wearing a cloak and turban, enters and offers his salutation to the distinguished gathering, and then he tells them what tale they are about to see and explains its import….All his speech is rhythmic, ornate and musical, and it is more than likely the sound instrument keeps time when he is speaking. There is no such thing as a curtain going up. The village stage has no drop curtain. The characters arrive and depart in full view of the audience, and nobody minds. The ‘Green Room’ is a little away from the stage, and it enables the characters to arrive on the stage in proper style and tempo. The tom-tom beaters drum up a great tempo when a turbulent character takes the stage, and he enters with the maximum noise and swagger. Every character has to dance. In fact there is no drama without music or dance. All the characters have to perform their roles not only through their facial expressions and lines, but also through their dances – the music being soft or vigorous. There are certain conventions even regarding paint and makeup…And the roles of women are always played by men disguised…
India’s half-a-million villages derive their dramatic entertainment from theatrical groups, like the one described above, and these are to be found, if not in each village, then at least in each group of villages. In addition to this there are itinerant marionette players and ‘shadow’ players. The shadow show is performed with semi-transparent leather cut-out figures which are brightly painted; a thin white curtain hangs down before the audience. The cut-out figures are held before kerosene lamps, appropriate dialogue or songs being ‘voiced’ by the various persons behind the curtain, who manipulate the figures. They present mythological episodes generally, and often succeed in producing highly dramatic effects. This kind of company is able to carry its entire equipment in a basket and generally moves about in search of crowded fairs and festivals.” [source: R.K.Narayan, A Story-Teller’s World: Stories, Essays, Sketches, 1990, Penguin Books, pp.110-112]
Presented below is a list of special attractions from the lively Indian theater, which have played in Sri Lanka and its environs for the past two decades. These has been a mix of tragedies, comedies, tragi-comedies, suspense dramas and action thrillers. The sutradharas of the majority, if not all, of these theater attractions are the stinking skunks.
1. the vapid drama of kidnapping of two Ohio natives – Allen couple – in Jaffna by the EPRLF in 1984. One of the stars of this drama was none other than Douglas Devananda, currently serving as a legislator for hire.
2. Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) operations from 1987-90.
3. Showcasing of Varadaraja Perumal, the puppet chief minister of EPRLF for two years and his subsequent dramatic flight to India.
4. Maldives invasion by PLOTE cadres in 1988 and the much-hyped overpowering of Tamil mercenaries by the Indian army.
5. The introduction of listless Tamil National Army (TNA) in 1990.
6. Col.Karuna revolt in 2004.
A handful of readers had requested me to analyze the most recent Col.Karuna and Varadan interview [April 21, 2004] to the ‘Asian Tribune’ website, which began with the pronouncement, “We are very much in Sri Lanka and we will never run away like cowards from this country. We never valued our lives. It is our policies that we value than anything else,” said Varathan, spokesman of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam’s – Eastern group.
Varathan, spokesman of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam’s (LTTE) – Eastern group, when contacted by ‘Asian Tribune’ over the telephone in their make-shift headquarters within Sri Lanka, told that their presence within Sri Lanka and it is not a secret to Velupillai Prabakaran and to his lieutenants in the North about presence in the country.”
One shouldn’t also underestimate the loyal fans of D.B.S.Jeyaraj, a couple among whom have also bothered to forward me this material. For its humor value, I enjoyed reading the day-dream thoughts of Varadan who was speaking from a ‘make-shift headquarters.’ It sounded something like what deposed President Ferdinand Marcos was saying from Hawaii, after his 1986 flight from Manila. Varadan’s bombast does not deserve any serious analysis, since it appeared in the Asian Tribune website, a site which itself is with a credibility problem – like a pawn shop located near the porn theater at the seamy side of the town. Thus, rather than analyzing Varadan’s bombast, I prefer to rip the braggadocio of the Asian Tribune columnist.
Readers would note that the mascot [or is it, the main hand?] of the Asian Tribune website is Mr.K.T.Rajasingham. He is a man of multi-talents, some of which are genuine. Unfortunately, couple of his other talents are shameful, such as his penchant for weather-vane politics and his grandstanding. Here, my comment is based on the reasonable assumption that it was Mr.K.T.Rajasingham who contacted Karuna and Varadan by phone. An example of his grandstanding is visible in the following lines describing the telephone interview:
“Karuna told that he wanted the country and the international community in general and the people of the Eastern province in particular to know that he is very much ‘alive and kicking’and remains in Sri Lanka and will never run away just to save himself. He further explained to ‘Asian Tribune’ the reason why he left the Eastern province and he requested that whatever he speaks with ‘Asian Tribune’ should be treated as ‘off the record.’ ‘Asian Tribune’ has decided respect the request….”
Nothing ground-breaking or sensational had been revealed in this banal notes. If Karuna didn’t mind his life, he should have stayed put in Kudumbimalai Base from April 12th, isn’t it? I, for one, hate this ‘off the record’ strip-tease farce presented by hacks who want to strut themselves to the readers. If what transpired between the hack and the interviewee is ‘off the record’, then why prattle about it openly? If one has something to share with the readers, let the details flow – damn it. If one decides otherwise, why cannot these hacks keep their ‘off the record’ vignettes to themselves.
On the shameful talents of Mr.K.T.Rajasingham, I should know something, among all others. He is one of my kins by blood. To be specific, my maternal grandmother and Mr.Rajasingham’s mother are siblings. His talents (both genuine and shameful varieties) are known in our families and are open secrets in Point Pedro. Though he is estranged from me now, I would provide the readers with a little information which is on public record and which would throw some insights on the personality of Mr.Rajasingham.
The 1977 General election result for the Point Pedro constituency was eagerly waited at our then household in Colombo on July 21st of that year. The results announced were as follows: K.Thurairatnam (TULF) – 12,989 votes; N.Nadarajah (Independent) – 6,419 votes; M.P.Veeravagu (Independent) – 3,065 votes; K.T.Rajasingham (Independent) – 614 votes; and K.S.Muttucoomaraswamy (Independent) – 204 votes. The winner of that election was Federal Party stalwart K.Thurairatnam. Mr.Rajasingham lost that election pretty badly and quite a number of our relatives in Point Pedro did not support his candidacy. What was worse is the fact that Mr.Rajasingham, for the previous seven years or so (from 1970-1977; during the Alfred Duraiappah period) was functioning openly as the SLFP organizer for Point Pedro. Even though he was functioning as the SLFP organizer for years, at the 1977 general election he contested as an Independent!
Mr.Rajasingham in brief, is a failed Tamil politician and this has clouded (and continues to cloud) his opinion on the path taken by LTTE and its leadership. In the 1970s, he chased his political rainbow with the SLFP and fell flat. Thus, he has been particularly harsh on LTTE strategist Anton Balasingham and lately on TULF legislator Joseph Pararajasingham, both of whom were his past contemporaries in the journalism arena. In my assessment, Mr.Rajasingham has developed petty envy on the prominence achieved by Balasingham and Pararajasingham in the political arena, which also clouds his commentaries. Thus, the anti-LTTE opinions which have appeared strongly in the ‘Asian Tribune’ site during the past two years have this envy-component mixed in it. The prominence given to the Karuna-Varadan duo [in the ‘Asian Tribune’ feature of April 21, 2004] is nothing but an extension of Mr.Rajasingham’s disgruntled persona. Since hardly anything of serious nature has been presented by the Karuna-Varadan duo in this particular feature, I dismiss it as the cry (akin to that of barkers at a strip-tease show) of once-powerful individuals who have lost their power base in Eelam.
Even if, Karuna and Varadan have lost their power base in Eelam, it is safe to assume that they have not been abandoned by the stinking skunks [both the Colombo and Chennai tribes], who in Narayan’s terminology are the sutradharas of the Indian theater. Karuna and Varadan are the new actor faces to play the roles, which was once played by the likes of Varadaraja Perumal [of the EPRLF] in late 1980s, to the sutradharas. I’ll let Narayan have the last word on sutradharas and vidushakas. To quote,
“…The theatrical tradition in this country [India, that is] in fact values extreme simplicity of setting and costume…It was not necessary to bring on the stage elaborate realistic apparatus. If Kind Dusyanta came looking for a gazelle it was not necessary to drive a live animal across the stage; the actor by his expression and movement conveyed the effect, aided by the speech of the sutradhara who usually filled up gaps and supplied the links in the story. The sutradhara is still a part and parcel of every drama as is also the vidushaka, or the clown, who continuously lightens the situations with his remarks and innuendoes. Seeing these we have a feeling that the tradition of centuries still runs through the whole activity, though in a subdued form.” [ibid]
In the electronic media, even a clown like a spokesman to expelled LTTE leader may appear to have a larger-than-life image. But in reality, the onus is on the readers to read the fine print. Did any of the readers who accessed the ‘Asian Tribune’ website, bother to read the disclaimer notice it carried? Here are the first three sentences:
“The information provided on this site is offered as-is without warranty. The reader of the information provided by this assumes all risks from using the information provided herein. This site owners, operators, editors, reporters, writers, authors and partners disclaim any and all liability from the information provided herein.”
Sounds to me like the disclaimer notice of a snake-oil salesman.