there waikom mohammad basheer was smoking beedi And Mangosteen was sitting on his chair under the shade of the tree. Beside him was his favorite gramophone. The iconic image of the beloved writer of Malayalam literature, often referred to as Beypore Sultan, was recreated during a play in the US. MathilukalkappuramWhich was premiered in New Jersey.
The Chicago-based Art Lovers of America (ALA), a group of literature lovers in the US, was keen to stage a play during the second edition of the literary festival organized by the association. He contacted playwright and director Pramod Payyannur who wrote MathilukalkappuramInspired by some of the author’s popular works. Pramod is the director of childhood friend, Screen adaptation of Bashir’s novel of the same name.
a scene from a play Mathilukalkappuram
Photo Courtesy: Pradeep Chellappan
Mathilukalkappuram (Beyond Walls) weaves together characters and tidbits from the author’s popular works to shed light on his life and creative journey. The play goes beyond Bashir’s stories and portrays the essence of his life and personality.
“MT Vasudevan Nair Sir was so pleased with our effort that he agreed to read a message on the importance of Mathilukal and Bashir, which preceded and concluded the play. We also managed to include litterateur ONV Kurup sir’s tribute to Bashir. It was a poem ‘Soja Rajkumari’, written in the days after Bashir’s demise, which was recited by Kurup sir in his own voice,” explains Pramod.
a scene from a play Mathilukalkappuram
Photo Courtesy: Pradeep Chellappan
Pramod tells that Bashir was a freedom fighter who started walking From Vaikom in Kottayam district to participate in the Salt Satyagraha. “He was a humanist; The Sufi philosophy he followed included nature and its creations. His deep concern for the environment and ecosystem is evident in his works.
The playwright chose some things from Bashir’s works like Mathilukal (Inspired by his stay in captivity and his romance with a female prisoner named Narayani, whom he had never seen but only heard of), Mother And premlekhanam,
Pramod explains that Bashir’s language, grounded characters and deeply human stories created a universe of love and unity.
Pramod Payyannur Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
“As Sehgal’s melodious song ‘Soja Rajkumari’ echoed on the air, the audience saw Bashir in jail while his favorite song played on the radio. He also saw her before her release from prison and her farewell to Narayani, whom he had never seen because of the wall separating the prisoners. He throws her rose on the wall. At the end of the nearly 90-minute play, we also see a lonely Narayani waiting for Bashir and her emotional words,” says Pramod.
He says that the characters in the play were umma (mother), a warden, prisoners and policemen Mathilukal And so on. The play blends local customs, folklore and music to travel through time into the magical world of Bashir. Apart from verses by Changampuzha and Kumaran Asan, songs by the author’s favorite singers Sehgal and Pankaj Malik were included in the play by composer Ramesh Narayanan, who composed the music.
“Bashir’s grief when his comrade is taken to the gallows was visualized with the help of the poems in Kumaran Asan’s ‘Veenapuvu’. To reflect the spirit of the freedom movement that inspired them, spirited songs of that time in Tamil, Kannada and Hindi were also played,” says Pramod.
Pramod says that it was the technology, creativity and dedication of the cast and crew in America that helped him stage the play.
Since Pramod lived in Thiruvananthapuram, the initial reading and rehearsal of the play was done online. Work started in September. Most of the actors were employed and hence could start rehearsals only after work. “It was about 6 in the morning in India. I would wake up every day to chat with him during his readings and rehearsals. The actors also lived in different time zones in America. It was a challenge we accepted,” says Pramod.
a scene from a play Mathilukalkappuram
Photo Courtesy: Pradeep Chellappan
Alan G. John and Kiran James played the writer Bashir and Bashir in prison respectively. By the first week of November, Pramod went to America to work with the troupe. He recalls that rehearsals in New Jersey, where the play premiered, were held in a lakeside hall. Once the technicians became excited by the team’s hard work and dedication, they voluntarily increased their working hours to support the artists.
a scene from a play Mathilukalkappuram
Photo Courtesy: Pradeep Chellappan
He remembers being given a standing ovation when the curtain fell on the play after its New Jersey premiere on November 16. The audience included writers and poets like Balachandran Chulikkad, Shobha Tharoor Srinivasan and Sunil P Elayidom. It was also staged in Seattle.
Pramod says the play is likely to be staged in Chicago, Atlanta and Houston in the US, as Beypore Sultan erases regional and time barriers to attract the new generation.
published – December 04, 2024 03:47 PM IST
