In the ideation stage for a new play, director Meenambalam Santosh happened on the germ of an idea—a theatrical on Malayalam itself. Digging up the roots of the language from historical narratives, this director of the Thiruvananthapuram-based Aksharakala troupe figured that the tale of his mother tongue is best
told through the life of the father of modern Malayalam.
“Ezhuthachan’s story is of relevance today as he tried to isolate pure Malayalam from Sanskrit and now we’re having to do this from other invading languages like English. There’s no objection to learning English, but a Malayali should know what cheru (mud) and nellu (rice grain) means,” says Santhosh, whose fears of the language abandoning the land and its people triggered the creation of the professional play which has now expanded into a movement involving a multitude of public figures and laymen themselves.
The language canopy
What’s awe-inspiring about the magnitude of the project named Ezhuthachan is that there are 141 artists who paved the way for this collaborative product. “We had plans for a few songs and approached celebrated composer M Jayachandran, whose offer to do it for free made us think about expanding the scope of the project,” says the multiple Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi award-winner.
Thus the script written by Muhad Vembayam came to include creatives by 19 poets (think the likes of Sugathakumari and Sachidanandan), 25 music directors (including M K Arjunan and Ousepachhan), and a roster of 25 singers (featuring names such as K S Chitra and Vidhu Pratap).
The dialogues, written in prose, are interlaced with poems and interestingly includes language oaths penned by luminaries like O N V Kurupu and M T Vasudevan Nair. Santhosh reveals that the selfless contributions of the art community (most artistes offering services without any remuneration) are what kept the idea afloat.
Making of a movement
Proving its mettle, the play has traversed Kerala’s landscape with over 100 shows. Going beyond the traditional concept of a theatrical, the team behind Ezhuthachan is involving local crowds to evolve the showcase into a medium for language promulgation. Their Mathrubhasha Pracharana Nadakayathra has received an affable welcome in the towns and villages in northern districts including Kasaragod and Kozhikode since last month.
“We use video and audio recordings to teach locals what their part is. For example, children are involved in enacting a scene where Sugathakumari’s lines “Malayalam ente ammayanu (Malayalam is my mother)” is read out as an oath, thereby instilling in them an affinity for their mother tongue,” says the 54-year-old. Reluctant on approaching sponsors—who, in his opinion, always want to push personal agendas—the team is currently working on the logistics of the Kochi sessions.