When it comes to S.K. Pottekkat, novelist and travel writer, the people of Parayancheri, his own neighbourhood, do not mind chipping in efforts and rupees. In 1994, they raised funds to put up a statue of the writer at the junction of S.M. Street, on which he had based his novel Oru Theruvinte Katha .
Twenty-two years down the lane, they have funded the production of a play based on the same novel. When ‘Oru Theruvinte Katha’ would be staged at Government Higher Secondary School in Parayancheri on Saturday, it would be a proud moment for every person in this locality, whose determination to not let SK fade into oblivion has succeeded.
The mega novel is being adapted into a play by noted actor-director Vijayan V. Nair.
Incidentally, this is Mr. Nair’s 100th play as a director.
The plot of the play is being unveiled in a format different from that of the novel. “ Oru Theruvinte Katha is not a story with many emotional scenes. But for the dramatic effect we have made some additions that show complete justice to the novel,” Mr. Nair told The Hindu here on Wednesday.
Unlike the novel, SK makes an appearance in the play, at times as an observer and at other times as a narrator. He gels some of the scenes together. Out of the 60-odd characters in the novel, around 25 make an appearance in the play. The play will be staged on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of Chandrakantham Samskarika Vedi, a cultural organisation founded in memory of SK.
“The seed of this play had been in my mind for the last three years. I wanted an open space for the staging, where I could set up the street. But the demonetisation destroyed all our plans. Those who had agreed to sponsor backed out and we had to crowdfund the whole thing. As a result, the play had to be restricted into a smaller canvas,” Mr. Nair explained.
Tribute and protest
The play is a tribute to the writer and also a sort of protest against the authorities who have turned a blind eye to the writer.
“The S.K. Pottekkat Cultural Centre is the only memorial for SK here that has any sort of involvement from the government. But it is run using the local development funds of our MLAs and MPs,” said P. Divakaran of the Chandrakantham Samskarika Vedi.
Mr. Divakaran said that repeated pleas to take over ‘Chandrakantam’, the Jnanpith winner’s house, were neglected by the governments.
“We want a proper memorial fro our writer in Kozhikode, his birth place,” he added.
