The Madras Players to stage a new play in Bengaluru based on devadasi traditions

After a celebrated Chennai run and a sold-out premiere night at Chowdiah Memorial Hall earlier this year, The Madras Players’ Kamalakshi is all set to be staged in Bengaluru. Written by Sujatha Vijayaraghavan and directed by PC Ramakrishna, it brings forth a rare amalgam of bharatanatyam, carnatic music alongside English dialogue.

The theatre production is set in the late 19th century around the Thyagaraja Temple in Tiruvarur and centres on the life of Kamalakshi, a talented devadasi (temple dancer).

“Kamalakshi is born into a devadasi household — named after Kamalamba of Tiruvarur. By tradition, one of the devadasi girls had to perform the kumbha aarati ritual at the temple for a whole year. The play begins with the year she starts. Sumitra Nitin plays Kamalakshi — a devadasi torn between her spiritual attachment to Lord Thyagaraja and a request made by her mother Parvatham. Sikkil Gurucharan plays Sivaguru — the singer who is the very soul of the temple, carrying the musical parampara of Sri Muthuswami Dikshitar, who also happens to catch the eye of Kamalakshi,” reveals PC Ramakrishna.

The plot unfolds as Kamalakshi undergoes the Pottu Kattu ceremony, dedicating her life to the deity, Lord Thyagaraja. However, she faces intense societal and internal pressure. Her mother, Parvathamma, urg es her to accept a wealthy patron to ensure financial security and status, while a local landlord, Mirasdar Sugavanam, seeks to make her his exclusive possession.

“Fascinated by Sivaguru’s music, Kamalakshi finds herself at a crossroads when she sees a spiritual and artistic soulmate in him. While townspeople recognise the budding bond between them and hope for a marriage between the two to unite their arts, she remains steadfast in her belief that she is wedded only to the divine. However, when the Mirasdar expresses his wishes to take her on the day she finishes her tenure at the temple, it turns a private dilemma into crisis,” the director shares.

This historical drama explores the complexities of the devadasi system, the vulnerability of the women within it and the tension between art and the transactional nature of patronage. What becomes of Kamalakshi and Sivaguru are the questions the play sets in motion and leaves the audience to sit with.

₹500 onwards. April 26, 6.30 pm. At CMRIT College Amphitheatre, Whitefield.