Coronavirus shutdown cripples Therukoothu artistes

They will have to wait one entire year if they have to get busy again, but there is no assurance that they would get so many offers next year and Covid-19 threat and the subsequent lockdown have made the future of the dying art form itself look bleak.

The period of three months ­ March, April and May (Tamil months Masi, Panguni and Chithirai) is the time when Therukoothu artistes would be fully occupied as there will be a lot of temple festivals in Salem, Namakkal, Erode and Dharmapuri districts. "For the rest of the year, they will be doing odd jobs in the farms as nobody will give them a permanent work claiming that they will be irregular and will not show up if they get an offer to stage a play.

Also, the offers would be minimal during the other months and one cannot depend on them. So, their livelihood revolves around these three months. With whatever they earn from the festivals, they will plan their next year. But the lockdown has crippled all their hopes," said Sankagiri Rajkumar, a movie director from the family of Therukoothu artistes.

While Rajkumar’s grandfather Muthusamy, who is 84 now, is known for playing Lord Krishna, Muthusamy's younger brother Duraisamy, popularly known as Chettipattu Chinnavar, has been instrumental in keeping the art form alive and passing it on to the next generation even in the age of millennials. Rajamanikkam, Sabarirajan and Siva are disciples of the duo who play the lead roles in Therukoothu plays, predominantly parts of Mahabharata.

Though Rajkumar has directed a movie titled Vengayam, he is actively into reviving the art form and presenting it to the present generation.

He himself played the lead role of Nandivarman in the play titled Nandikalambagam which was staged in the city last year. "Only in the last few years, a lot of youngsters were attracted towards Therukoothu and we managed to stage Therukoothu abroad last year," he said.

Rajkumar said though the government has given Rs 1,000 to folk artistes through the government welfare board, it did not benefit those who have not registered with the board. "Provisions should be made to make sure all struggling artistes should get that compensation. In the long run, the government should make avenues for folk artistes to stage performances round the year as it for the love of it that they want to keep the art form alive," said Rajkumar.