Staging togetherness of Madurai’s Chithirai Tiruvizha

CHENNAI: The month of Chithirai comes with profound festivity for Madurai. The celebration sees the celestial wedding of deities Meenakshi and Sundareswarar, pulling of Chithirai temple car and deity Kallalagar, majestically decked up with fresh floral garlands, taken in a procession, and the togetherness of people, which adds to the glory of Chithirai Tiruvizha.

This age-old celebration is believed to have started in the 17th century. Delving into its rich history, Nandhakumar Vasudevan, scripted Oor Koodi Ther Izhu, a 50-minute Tamil street play, that highlights the rich history of Madurai’s Chithirai Tiruvizha, exploring the vibrant folklore surrounding the festival, and conveying meaningful messages of societal unity, equality, and communal harmony.

“Coming from Madurai, I have been participating in the Chithirai Tiruvizha festival since my childhood. There is a unique nature of this festival where the entire Madurai is in attendance, irrespective of their backgrounds. This makes the festival one of the most important events of south India every year,” Nandhakumar narrates.

Staging the play by Puratchipadai Productions for the seventh and the eighth time, he is also the director, who is acting the part of Thenna, one of the characters. 

Nandhakumar wrote Oor Koodi Ther Izhu last year, based on his extensive field research in Madurai for months.

“The idea came after reading renowned cultural anthropologist Tho Paramasivan’s book, Azhagar Kovil. The research also involves works of writers So Santhalingam, and Chithiraiveedhikaran,” he adds.

Tho Paramasivam had once quoted, “If you have to walk a long distance in the Sun, you take a break in between to drink water, rest in shade, and get yourself rejuvenated for the rest of the journey”. This comes across as the core message which the team of Oor Koodi Ther Izhu are conveying.

Nandhakumar says, “I see festivals similar to this very idea. If human society has to travel a long distance, they need such a break to rejuvenate in the form of festivals. Temple festivals are getting less attention among the younger generation and few festivals also take a biased route in execution. But the purpose of any festival is to celebrate togetherness. We want to reiterate that core purpose without taking a religious or political bias in our story.”

The team, consisting of actors Antony Felix, who plays Manna, and Sahana Sundar, who ace’s the role of Kanna, feels that rooted stories from our land need to be discussed with the coming generations.

“No matter what, every human needs experience and they seek experience from different sources. People love watching sunrise because they trust it gives motivation to start something fresh. People watch the sunset, because it gives us a lesson that everything shall end well for a new beginning. Similarly, festivals are created in every culture to give an experience and representation that we are not alone, and for us to achieve anything, there needs to be solidarity,” he explains.

Mentored under IlulubyMaya initiative by actor Maya Krishnan, Oor Koodi Ther Izhu will be staged on May 12, at 4 pm and 7 pm at Medai, Alwarpet.