Jalam Theater Company, comprising residents of Thuruthippuram, Puthenvelikara in Ernakulam district of Kerala, brings Chevitorma (A Memoir of the Moribund) For Ranga Shankar Theater Festival this year. ‘Chevitorama’ is a practice in some parts of Kerala, where a prayer is whispered into the ear of a dying person who is unable to say it himself. Organizers say the play was conceived as a prayer for a community that was being swallowed by the sea.

Ever since the Kerala floods disrupted its geography in 2018, Thuruthippuram has been hit by tidal waves on a monthly basis and despite the loss of life and property, the phenomenon has failed to register as a disaster with the government and authorities. Its continued regularity meant that residents of the area were unable to rebuild their lives or homes, with any assurance for the future.

The play’s director Srijit Ramanan says, what troubled him most was not only the physical loss, but also the intangible loss. Sreejith recalls, “When I visited this place, it was full of abandoned houses, containing a lifetime’s worth of memories. There were still drawings made by children on the crumbling walls. Toys and other household items were floating here and there.”

He adds, “For all of us, our home is one of the most important factors in life and it is never easy to leave it. These images remained in my mind for a long time.”

Srijit was commissioned by Equinoct, an organization working on climate change, to create community-resilience models, one of which was theatre.

“The initial brief was for a street play, but after my visit I realized it would not have the impact. A unique visual language was needed to reflect the seriousness of their situation; this is how the scenery was developed.”

from the last staging of Chevittorma
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Conceptualized in 2022 and staged the following year Chevittorma This includes residents of Thuruthipuram. “Except a police officer, a school administrator and a few others, all the artistes are daily wage earners. The lives of all of them have been affected by this cyclical unrest.”

The play is performed in water, and when it was first staged, the actors had no idea that it would have such a profound impact on society and government officials. As a result, canals were developed between the sea and residential areas to reduce flooding and now, after many years, small-scale farming has started there.

Sreejit says Equinoct experts and others working on the topic conducted scientific research, community mapping, documentary projects and other initiatives to draw attention to the issue. He believes it was theater that ultimately highlighted the issue.

“Till then, it was not considered a disaster or emergency, no financial or other assistance was given to the victims,” he says, adding, “This has created awareness that similar incidents are happening all over the world and environmental justice is the need of the hour.”

Another positive outcome of this project was the formation of Jalam Theater Company by the people of Thuruthippuram. After its initial staging in Thuruthippuram, Sreejith encouraged residents to form their own troupes and since then, Chevittorma Jalam has been performed at various festivals in other parts of Kerala, Mumbai and Delhi, and now, is coming to Bengaluru this weekend.

Sreejith says that taking the play to different places not only brings immense satisfaction but also has a cathartic effect on the members.

Chevitorma will be staged at Ranga Shankara on October 25 at 7.30 pm. Tickets are priced at ₹300 on BookMyShow.