“What’s your name? “ “I am hungry”
In a devastating and indiscriminate campaign of violence, houses, shops, and commercial establishments collapse in a country. The war kills innocent people in large numbers and a few flee from their home country. Just imagine, if you were one of them, your language would certainly get reduced to a mere one word ‘Pasi’ (hunger). It is what a starving child utters when a photojournalist enquires about it when the war comes to a temporary halt.
“What’s your name? “
“I am hungry”
“Where are your parents? “
“I am hungry”
“What are you doing here? “
“I am hungry”
“Are you hungry? “
“Yes. I am hungry”
The child’s understanding of the lensman’s last question is clear, just because it contains the word “hungry”
This scene appears in “Pasi” (hunger), a modern Tamil play, based on writer Andanoor Sura’s short story which was staged by Aaaniver Padaiparangam on Saturday evening in the city. The dramatis personae, who are mostly children and amateurs, marked a niche for themselves with their exceptional performance in the 35-minute play.
The play opens after the screen unfolds a raging inferno in the scenes of war. Following the airstrikes that destroy homes and skyscrapers, in the dim, blue light appears a “prophetess-like” woman, who discovers the origin of hunger in her loud monologue. Played by writer, and storyteller Nancy Komagan, the character cries on the dais:
“Hunger - the reality, which cannot be ignored by any creature, was born at the moment when all creatures appeared on earth. Hunger…hunger…hunger… The wars, which are waged to conquer countries and capture power, leave the descendants of the defeated starving. Now they move to seek food and shelter”
Innocent people of the war-ravaged nation, migrate to neighbouring countries and get accommodated in refugee camps. Of them, an Eelam Tamil woman, carrying her baby in her arms, begs for milk.
For a while, the play is peppered with some satire too, when a man from the rural pocket of Coimbatore humorously asks about the “loss” of 1,00, 000 votes in the Lok Sabha election 2024. He beckons someone named “Ganesha” and asks him where those votes were! In his typical slang of Kongu Tamil, he too refuses milk to the begging woman. She turns down everything including a hundred-rupee note that is offered to her. She is rather adamant in her stand repeating that she wants only some milk for her child. At last, she does get it from a Brahmin family in return for her work of sweeping the floor. As the refugee woman leaves the place after receiving a sachet of milk, an orthodox, elderly woman from the Brahmin family wants the floor cleaned further since she believes that it turned impure by the visit of the ‘ugly’ alms seeker.
The play shifts to the next scene. A soft lullaby floats in the air. The poor mother pours the milk around her baby which is lying under a skeletal, withered tree.
Did the Eelam Tamil refugee beg the milk just to feed her child?
Scripted and directed by A.J. Selvin, the play had the actors Karpagam, Priyadarshini, Preethi, Pradhiba, Gnanakumar, Siddharth, Louis John, Sridhar, Ramesh Radhakrishnan, Thanvika, Diya, Prajna, Pugazhiniyan, Barani, Ilaya Bharathi, Sara, Yazhini and Pradeep,
While Nancy Komagan penned the lyrics, Angayarkanni, Joslin, and Gnanakumar performed them. While the music composer was Master Isan, Sheela and Ashraf Ali were voice-overs. The master of the ceremony was Sooriya Gandhi, and the stage coordinators were Sahana and Robinson. B.B Ramani of Tamil Nadu Art and Literary Association, Poet Odiyan Lakshmanan, writers Andanoor Sura, Amarantha, Pamaran, Karim, and senior journalist K.S Velayudham were present at the function.
“What’s your name? “
“I am hungry”
“Where are your parents? “
“I am hungry”
“What are you doing here? “
“I am hungry”
“Are you hungry? “
“Yes. I am hungry”
The child’s understanding of the lensman’s last question is clear, just because it contains the word “hungry”
This scene appears in “Pasi” (hunger), a modern Tamil play, based on writer Andanoor Sura’s short story which was staged by Aaaniver Padaiparangam on Saturday evening in the city. The dramatis personae, who are mostly children and amateurs, marked a niche for themselves with their exceptional performance in the 35-minute play.
The play opens after the screen unfolds a raging inferno in the scenes of war. Following the airstrikes that destroy homes and skyscrapers, in the dim, blue light appears a “prophetess-like” woman, who discovers the origin of hunger in her loud monologue. Played by writer, and storyteller Nancy Komagan, the character cries on the dais:
“Hunger - the reality, which cannot be ignored by any creature, was born at the moment when all creatures appeared on earth. Hunger…hunger…hunger… The wars, which are waged to conquer countries and capture power, leave the descendants of the defeated starving. Now they move to seek food and shelter”
Innocent people of the war-ravaged nation, migrate to neighbouring countries and get accommodated in refugee camps. Of them, an Eelam Tamil woman, carrying her baby in her arms, begs for milk.
For a while, the play is peppered with some satire too, when a man from the rural pocket of Coimbatore humorously asks about the “loss” of 1,00, 000 votes in the Lok Sabha election 2024. He beckons someone named “Ganesha” and asks him where those votes were! In his typical slang of Kongu Tamil, he too refuses milk to the begging woman. She turns down everything including a hundred-rupee note that is offered to her. She is rather adamant in her stand repeating that she wants only some milk for her child. At last, she does get it from a Brahmin family in return for her work of sweeping the floor. As the refugee woman leaves the place after receiving a sachet of milk, an orthodox, elderly woman from the Brahmin family wants the floor cleaned further since she believes that it turned impure by the visit of the ‘ugly’ alms seeker.
The play shifts to the next scene. A soft lullaby floats in the air. The poor mother pours the milk around her baby which is lying under a skeletal, withered tree.
Did the Eelam Tamil refugee beg the milk just to feed her child?
Scripted and directed by A.J. Selvin, the play had the actors Karpagam, Priyadarshini, Preethi, Pradhiba, Gnanakumar, Siddharth, Louis John, Sridhar, Ramesh Radhakrishnan, Thanvika, Diya, Prajna, Pugazhiniyan, Barani, Ilaya Bharathi, Sara, Yazhini and Pradeep,
While Nancy Komagan penned the lyrics, Angayarkanni, Joslin, and Gnanakumar performed them. While the music composer was Master Isan, Sheela and Ashraf Ali were voice-overs. The master of the ceremony was Sooriya Gandhi, and the stage coordinators were Sahana and Robinson. B.B Ramani of Tamil Nadu Art and Literary Association, Poet Odiyan Lakshmanan, writers Andanoor Sura, Amarantha, Pamaran, Karim, and senior journalist K.S Velayudham were present at the function.