Tamil Nadu's Kattaikoothu Play Highlights Climate Change Impact

For centuries, Kattaikoothu, Tamil Nadu’s traditional folk theatre, has brought to life epic tales of gods, demons, and warriors. But in a groundbreaking shift, a new production by the Sri Thilagam Kattaikkuttu Kuzhu is tackling a modern-day adversary: the rising threat of extreme heat caused by climate change.

A Woman Leading the Charge

Behind this innovative storytelling is Thilagavathi Palani, a 36-year-old trailblazer from Ranipet who has spent decades reimagining Kattaikoothu as a medium for social change. Palani, one of the first women to break into this historically male-dominated art form, has previously used her performances to address issues like anaemia, leprosy, and gender equality. Her latest production, Veppathin Veriyattam (The Fury of Heat), explores the human toll of rising temperatures in Tamil Nadu, one of India’s hottest regions.

The play, developed over six months in collaboration with the NGO Asar, premieres at Vedavalli Vidyalaya in Ranipet before touring schools across Ranipet and Tiruvannamalai. These districts frequently endure some of the state’s highest temperatures, making them a fitting backdrop for the production. Palani’s 13-member troupe includes professional actors and schoolchildren, a deliberate choice to make the message resonate more deeply with young audiences. “When students see performances by children of similar age, the connection is stronger,” she explains.

A Personal Connection to the Crisis

Palani’s journey into climate-focused storytelling is rooted in personal experiences. While researching for the play, she recalled the felling of hundreds of trees along the Arcot-Cheyyar Bypass, which she believes has exacerbated local heat levels. Around the same time, she read reports linking extreme heat to health crises, including adverse pregnancy outcomes. The issue hit home when her own sister suffered a miscarriage, a tragedy that made Palani reflect on the human cost of environmental degradation. Though she does not directly attribute the loss to the heat, the incident became a driving force behind her new narrative.

Humanising the Heat

Veppathin Veriyattam portrays the struggles of children in overheated classrooms, women cooking under tin roofs, and labourers braving scorching temperatures. In a creative twist, the play personifies heat as a character, urging the audience to see it not as an inherent villain but as a victim of human-induced environmental harm. “I wanted people to look at heat from a different perspective. I even wanted the audience to feel sorry for the heat, because it isn’t the villain by itself. It is what we have done to the environment that has made it this way,” Palani says.

Revitalising Tradition with Relevance

Far from being a “dying art form,” as some critics claim, Palani sees Kattaikoothu as a powerful platform for addressing urgent issues. “It gives voice to dying discourses,” she asserts. By blending tradition with contemporary relevance, Palani is not just preserving the art form but also ensuring it remains a vital tool for education and social awareness in a rapidly changing world.

The play’s focus on climate change offers a timely reminder of the local and global stakes of environmental neglect, making it a must-watch for communities grappling with the realities of a warming world.

Source: The Hindu