SRMG Creations recently staged a play on Karaikkal Ammayar at Bharat Kalachar. Karaikkal Ammayar is one of only three women Nayanmars, and her story is recorded in Sekkizhar’s Periya Puranam.

The play (story and script: Poovai Dhaya; direction: V.S. Sridharan) differed from Periya Puranam in some respects. In Periya Puranam, Nidipathi, a rich merchant of Nagapattinam, proposes a marriage between his son Paramadattan and Punithavathi, daughter of Dhanadattan, a wealthy merchant of Karaikkal. But in the play, the hero and heroine meet, before the engagement takes place. They argue about whether God exists, with Punithavathi, an ardent devotee of Shiva, vowing to prove God’s existence to the agnostic Paramadattan. The arguments between Parvathi and Shiva were thought provoking. Parvathi wonders why the marriage of Punithavathi should end tragically. She says that men find themselves a new wife at whim, but what is to happen to poor Punithavathi?

The lively exchanges between Shiva and Parvathi were welcome additions, enhancing the dramatic appeal of the play.
| Photo Credit:
JOTHI RAMALINGAM B

The lively exchanges between Paramadattan and Punithavathi and the sparring between Shiva and Parvathi were welcome additions, enhancing the dramatic appeal of the play. Punithavathi does finally prove to Paramadattan that God exists. But Paramadattan is now filled with awe for his wife, because he sees her as divine. He leaves for Pandya Nadu, remarries, and has a daughter, whom he names Punithavath.

In Sekkizhar’s story, Paramadattan, his second wife and child seek the blessings of Punithavathi. When Paramadattan says he can no longer look upon her as his wife, Punithavathi prays to Shiva for a pey uruvam (a skeletal form). Punithavathi, who came to be known as Karaikkal Ammayar, is in fact, depicted as a skeletal figure in bronzes. In the play, however, she asks not only for a pey uruvam, but also for mudhumai (old age). Also, the name of Nidipathi was changed to Sivagnanam in the play. Such liberties should not have been taken with the original story. The comic interludes were pathetic.

S.R.M.G. Creations ‘Karaikal Ammaiyar’ staged at YGP Auditorium, T. Nagar.
| Photo Credit:
JOTHI RAMALINGAM B

Gopalakrishnan as Paramadattan and Vidhyalakshmi as Karaikkal Ammayar turned in good performances. But why was Paramadattan smothered in makeup, with a more than generous daubing of lipstick and rouge? The story of Karaikkal Ammayar could have been handled better.