'Ponniyin Selvan' by Kalki, a historical fiction in Tamil, is a famous, loved book.
I read it when I was on vacation after my 12th standard exams. I read all the huge 5 parts of the book within 10 days, I think, or could have been a little less or more than that. Well, a teenager on vacation, with nothing else to do, can accomplish that I think. I don't know. My memories are hazy now. It's hard to believe that I had so much time in hand to finish the books in such short period of time. I know I was obsessed, because my nights were haunted by the characters.
It is one of the books that I want to re-read in my adulthood but have not gotten around to it, not completely.
When I was in Madurai for a short visit this year, I had the chance to watch the stage performance of the book, performed by Magic Lantern at the Lakshmi Sundaram Hall, arranged by Rotary Club of Madurai, as a fund raising event. It's a four hour event with a 15 mins break in between.
There was music, singing and dancing. The sound, mic and lighting setup were all done expertly. The music, art and costume design, dance and stunt choreography were all creative and aesthetic. The artists were brilliant, I thought, with proficiency in Tamil, stage presence and command of their character. The funny, adventurous and trouble seeking Vandiyathevan, the shrewd spy Azhwarkadiyan Nambi, the quirky and brave Poonkuzhali, the beautiful and smart princess Kundavai, the remorseful and love struck prince Aditya Karikalan, the mysterious Nandhini - all came alive through their performances. They all captured the essence of the characters in the book.
I thought they had done a pretty good job in condensing the huge book with so many characters and events into a single stage performance. Still four hours couldn't contain all the major events in the book. Parts that happen in Sri Lanka including the ones in Buddhist Monastery were omitted and few more.
I am not sure if it will delight people who have not read the book though. It might be hard to grasp the many different twists and turns in the story without the knowledge of the book. And a certain mystery element that hangs in the book is also lost on stage, as characters have to narrate the events in many cases, but music and the lighting setup make up for it, where possible.
I read it when I was on vacation after my 12th standard exams. I read all the huge 5 parts of the book within 10 days, I think, or could have been a little less or more than that. Well, a teenager on vacation, with nothing else to do, can accomplish that I think. I don't know. My memories are hazy now. It's hard to believe that I had so much time in hand to finish the books in such short period of time. I know I was obsessed, because my nights were haunted by the characters.
It is one of the books that I want to re-read in my adulthood but have not gotten around to it, not completely.
When I was in Madurai for a short visit this year, I had the chance to watch the stage performance of the book, performed by Magic Lantern at the Lakshmi Sundaram Hall, arranged by Rotary Club of Madurai, as a fund raising event. It's a four hour event with a 15 mins break in between.
There was music, singing and dancing. The sound, mic and lighting setup were all done expertly. The music, art and costume design, dance and stunt choreography were all creative and aesthetic. The artists were brilliant, I thought, with proficiency in Tamil, stage presence and command of their character. The funny, adventurous and trouble seeking Vandiyathevan, the shrewd spy Azhwarkadiyan Nambi, the quirky and brave Poonkuzhali, the beautiful and smart princess Kundavai, the remorseful and love struck prince Aditya Karikalan, the mysterious Nandhini - all came alive through their performances. They all captured the essence of the characters in the book.
I thought they had done a pretty good job in condensing the huge book with so many characters and events into a single stage performance. Still four hours couldn't contain all the major events in the book. Parts that happen in Sri Lanka including the ones in Buddhist Monastery were omitted and few more.
I am not sure if it will delight people who have not read the book though. It might be hard to grasp the many different twists and turns in the story without the knowledge of the book. And a certain mystery element that hangs in the book is also lost on stage, as characters have to narrate the events in many cases, but music and the lighting setup make up for it, where possible.
My family hated it. We went to one in Chennai and they declared it was a torture to sit through it.
ReplyDeleteIf you hated it then it would have been one long 4 hrs :)
ReplyDeleteI personally have been wanting to see the book expressed in other forms. I thought there would be a movie or TV series some day.
I was skeptical about this as I am pretty new to the Tamil theatre scene and I was impressed. It is a totally different experience compared to reading the book. It is an exhaustive story to tell on stage. It is a challenge to condense the novel as a stage play. I applaud the sincere effort and the commendable performances.