JEDDAH, 26 May 2007 — Life is a journey in search of truth and the Malayalam play “Melvilasam” (Address) by Soorya Krishnamurthy was an attempt to uncover that truth and, along the way, expose injustice.
The play, a critique of selfishness and the Indian caste system, was staged recently in Jeddah and Dammam. The performance, organized by Soorya Sargam, the Saudi chapter of the India-based Soorya Stage and Film Society, drew large crowds of Keralite expatriates in both cities.
“I am extremely happy with the encouraging response of viewers in the Kingdom,” said Krishnamurthy, who also directed the play. “They watched the drama with pin-drop silence from beginning till the end.”
Melvilasam, which is based on the short story “Court-Martial” by Swadesh Deepak, has been performed in other countries before reaching the Kingdom.
The performance in Dammam has been the 111th staging. The play is about a low-caste soldier Sawar Ramchandar who is accused of murdering his superior officer. The 90-minute show is an attempt to highlight subtle shades of truth and a search for the real address of one’s own soul.
The play begins with a poem by V. Madhusoodanan Nair, which wonders whether Mahatma Gandhi was, after all, just a story or a dream. The poem speaks of the realities on the ground in India compared to Gandhi’s lofty ideals of equality among people and non-violent dissent against injustice.
The one-hour play was emotional and active with the judge in the soldier’s trial exploring the shades of gray that exist between truth and lies. The judge cannot decide whether or not to spare the life of Ramchandar. The defense of the soldier poses the question about a man’s breaking point when they reveal that the man Ramchandar killed had abused his mother.
“This again proves the love and respect for mother, which is part and parcel of the culture of every Indian,” said Krishnamurthy. Instead of a musical score, the sound of a typewriter is maintained throughout the court proceedings to remind the audience of the judicial bureaucracy and the often-banal nature of injustice.
“I have used only natural sounds. Since the play builds up to the disciplinary action against a soldier, the sound of a typewriter, which was used during the court proceedings, has been maintained in the background. The typewriter was also used as a tribute to Poojapura,” he said, referring to his muse for the play, his late friend Gopi Poojapura, a former bench clerk in the Indian Army.
Event organizers say this is the first time an expatriate-produced drama has been publicly held in Saudi Arabia and the credit goes to Dr. Abdullah Al-Saihati, chairman of Saihati Group and chief patron of Soorya Sargam, and Rafeek Younus, the organization’s president and chief organizer.
“As long as I live I will extend my full support to Soorya Sargam and its activities,” Saihati said over the loud applause of the audience, while opening the Soorya Drama Fest 2007 in Dammam.
Saihati, who visited Kerala in 2005 as chief guest of the Soorya Festival, commended the Soorya Stage and Film Society for its efforts to promote Indian culture around the world.
“There are many similarities in Indian and Arab cultures,” said Saihati, a prominent businessman in the Eastern Province.
While recollecting the memorable experiences he had during his last Kerala visit, Saihati praised Indian expatriate workers in general and Keralites in particular for their contributions toward the Kingdom’s development. He noted Soorya Sargam members’ ability to organize events in a professional and disciplined manner.
Ammu, a young girl, is one of the main characters of the play. Ammu plays the adopted daughter of Ramchandar. Her appearance at the end of the court martial is a treat that the audience enjoyed. Alisha, daughter of Younus and a former student of International Indian School, Dammam, performed the role of Ammu commendably telling from the way the audience reacted to her presence.
“Don’t kill my father. I have nobody else,” she tells the military court judge. Alisha’s presentation of Ammu pleading for her adopted father’s life was so touching that it brought tears from the eyes of many viewers.
The play is a tragedy. In the end the judge orders Ramchandar hanged. But the play leaves the audience with the same feeling of the ambiguity of justice when the judge salutes the condemned soldier in appreciation of truth and justice even as he sentences him to the gallows.
Krishnamurthy called upon artists to fight injustice and immorality though their work.
“An artist is different from an ordinary person,” said the director. “When he sees injustice and inequality he reacts through his works. His reaction may not bring too much of a change, but even if it makes a little change his purpose is served.”
Soorya Sargam President Younus told Arab News that the reaction to the play has encouraged the organization to bring more Soorya programs to the Kingdom in the future.
“We are ready to deliver in order to come up to our people’s expectations,” he said.
He thanked the Saudi authorities and chief patron Saihati for their continuous support to Indian cultural programs.
“This will take Saudi-Indian relations to new heights,” he said.
Srijith Kumar, Soorya Sargam’s Jeddah-chapter president, said he was thrilled that the organization was able to put on such a good drama in the city.
“We were able to gather an elite crowd to watch the play,” he said, thanking all organizations for making the Jeddah event a huge success.
