Having written over 60 short stories, most of which have been published in popular Tamil magazines, and four full-length plays, Anand Raghav says it was only natural that he combined both his passions. “Short stories are my first love,” admits Raghav, who is popular for his bilingual play Doosra, which portrays the story of cricket through a 20-year-old sportsman.
The 36-year-old playwright, in association with Tamil theatre group Shraddha, has selected three of his short stories to be staged in the city this week. “The stories deal with three generations,” says Raghav, explaining that the show will have something in store for everyone in the audience. The first play Madi Neruppu, he says, will appeal to an older generation of 60 years and above.
Directed by popular Tamil theatre personality Kathadi Ramamurthy, the approximately 25-minute play is about the effects of urbanisation on the older generation. “It’s about aged parents being left alone by their children who have moved to other countries. It’s not so much about globalisation as much as it is about the insecurities faced by these parents because of urbanisation,” says Raghav, who has also written a book on the comparative study of the Ramayana and its other versions in South East Asian countries.
The second sketch, Irandavathu Maranam, will have what Raghav describes as an “universal appeal”. The story about a son struggling to pull the plug on his father who is on the deathbed, he says this will be the sure winner of the evening. “Everyone will be able to relate with this play,” he says. But it is only when Raghav gets talking about Andharangam, the final play, that he gets most excited. “It’s about a modern day couple. It talks about a unique situation arises for the couple and how in the process of communication after that, they realise that despite the fact that it looks like they’re in love on a superfluous level, they are very distant,” he explains. “It’s a commentary, but not criticism, on marriages these days. It’s a simple show of emotions.”
The biggest challenge in converting the short stories to plays, Raghav says, is that plays are more vocal than stories, “It was quite challenging to dramatise my stories,” he admits.
Though Tamil theatre is quite new to the short play format, Raghav believes that someone has to take the first step to make change more acceptable. “Instead of succumbing to the pressure of thinking what the audience wants, writers should take the chance,” he insists. “We should not be paranoid about not being accepted. It’s the collective responsibility of playwrights to bring about the change.”
The plays will be staged at Narada Gana Sabha between August 2 and 5.For details, call 9840208583.
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