 Aiyappan & the Magic Horse
Aiyappan & the Magic Horse is a book by P Rajagopal, Hanne M. de Bruin, Evelien Pullens with photographs by Marinde Hurenkamp, Hanne M. de Bruin & Evelien Pullens. 'Mayakkutirai' by P Rajagopal is a playscript in Tamil of 'The Magic Horse', published by Tulika Publishers,
Chennai.
Fifteen-year-old Aiyappan learns a traditional form of folk theatre called Kuttu at the Kattaikuttu School in Kancheepuram. Their teacher has written an unusual play, The Magic Horse, especially for them - about an unusual encounter with two aliens who speak a strange language. Contrasting with the dramatic vigour of Kuttu is a gentle narrative that offers glimpses into the lives and traditions of Kuttu artistes. The rich photographs and the engaging design of the book capture the colours, look and feel of a live Kuttu performance.
Aiyappan & the Magic Horse is the third book in the series, Where I Live. This series explores living traditions and traditional lifestyles in various parts of India, through a study of children in different environments. Presented through engaging visuals and imaginative narration, they offer to children everywhere ways of exploring these worlds and their own.
'Mayakkutirai' is a children's play in Kattaikuttu style. Key themes of the play are the ability to communicate and the idea of self-confidence.
The authors, P Rajagopal, Hanne M. de Bruin and Evelien Pullens, approached Tulika Publishers with the idea. They also had a grant from HIVOS to publish a book on Kattaikuttu. Rajagopal and Bruin run the Kattaikkuttu Youth Theatre School in Punjarasantankal village, 8 km from Kancheepuram. Rajagopal is a traditional Kattaikuttu performer, and Bruin is a scholar in Kuttu. The school gives children regular education as well as training in the art.
The book took over a year to take shape, and benefited from constant and close interaction between the authors and the editors. The book is unique in that it has a narrative as well as the script in English of the Kuttu play, 'The Magic Horse', written especially for children. This is the first time that traditional theatre has been brought to children in a way that will engage them and give them insights into the practice and performance of a traditional art form.
It is hoped that this play in English, as well the accompanying Tamil playscript of Mayakkutirai, will be used by schools and all those working with children, said a spokesperson of the publishing firm.
The book and playscript are being released to coincide with the inauguration of the Centre for Performing Arts and the Kattaikuttu Theatre Festival 2006 at 36 Punjarasantankal village, 631 502, Aiyyankarkulam Post, Kancheepuram District on March 26 by Eric F. Cn. Niehe, Ambassador of the Netherlands.
P Rajagopal was born in the village of Perungattur in 1953. He moved to Kancheepuram to start, together with his wife Hanne M. de Bruin, the Kattaikkuttu Sangam in 1990 and the Kattaikkuttu Youth Theatre School in 2002.
Rajagopal is the principal teacher and artistic director of the school. He is also a well-known Kattaikkuttu actor, and the author and director of new plays. His dream is to create a centre for the development of Kattaikkuttu and a place where different art forms can meet and be stimulated by each other.
Hanne M. de Bruin was born in the village of Kloetinge in 1959. She studied Indology at the University of Leiden, The Netherlands. Her Ph.D. thesis about the Kattaikkuttu theatre tradition was published as a book. As part of her work she translated an all-night traditional Kuttu play 'Kama Moksham' into English. Hanne has worked as a research fellow at several different research institutions in India and abroad. She speaks Tamil and has lived in Tamil Nadu for the last 15 years. Since 2002 she has been working, together with her husband Rajagopal, full-time for the Kattaikkuttu School.
Evelien Pullens was born in The Hague (The Netherlands) in 1963. She is a puppeteer, theatre teacher and author of children's books. She is based in The Netherlands where she works with her own theatre group and has published five children's books of fiction. Since 2003 she has been to India frequently. Evelien has done drama/puppetry workshops at the Kattaikkuttu School, Ninasam (Heggodu) and Rangayana
(Mysore).
Mayakkutirai, a Kattaikuttu play for children, by P
Rajagopal:
'Mayakkutirai' is a children's play in Kattaikuttu style written in 1996 by the actor-director P. Rajagopal. Key themes of the play are the ability to communicate and the idea of self-confidence or 'sakti'. The play narrates the unexpected encounter between two schoolchildren and two aliens who have lost their 'sakti'. In an attempt to recover this vital quality, the aliens and the children seek help ftom animals and humans.
Kattaikkuttu is a highly developed musical and narrative theatre tradition that is alive in the villages of the northern districts of Tamil Nadu. Mayakkutirai was written in response to the desire of a group of young students ofKattaikkuttu for 'a play of their own'. The songs and dialogues of Mayakkutirai are simple and link up with the experiences of young rural children. However, the different layers in the story offer a message to grown-ups also who may interpret the play in their own
way(s).
The Mahaabhutam (or Magician) and the monkey are characters found in traditional Kattaikkuttu plays. The Mahaabhutam wears the traditional wooden kattai ornaments inlaid with small mirrors, such as a crown and shoulder ornaments. He makes his stage entrance behind a curtain that is held up by two helpers. Mayakkutirai also has several innovative characters, such as the two schoolchildren, Mandodari and Taandavaraayan, the aliens Kadak Kadak and Modak Modak, the tortoise and the doctor.
The
Kattiyakkaaran, who is the first character to appear in a traditional play, is the last character to be introduced here. He is also the one who - unknowingly - gives the solution for the aliens to regain their
'sakti'.
Mayakkutirai was first performed in 1997 by a mixed cast of child and adult performers representing the Tamil Nadu Kattaikkuttu Kalai Valarchi Munnetra Sangam (www.kattaikkuttu.org). Young British performers produced their own adaptation of the story, retaining the Tamil songs but replacing the Tamil dialogues with English ones, in 1999, during a summer course in Kattaikkuttu for young people at the Haymarket Theatre in Leicester, UK. The latest versions of Mayakkutirai were performed by three different groups of students of the Kattaikkuttu Gurukulam in 2003 and 2005. All the productions used different costumes, ornaments and props.
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