A mathematician’s passion

A mathematician’s passion

SUGANTHY KRISHNAMACHARI

Of Valavan Kumaran, author of ‘Lakshman’s Dream.’

I find that every drama troupe here has a format, a formula. I didn’t want to be strait-jacketed. I wanted to give free rein to my imagination.

Versatile: Valavan Kumaran

Valavan Kumaran loves all classical arts of India. In fact he listens to Carnatic music, when he wants to think of how to go about his next play. “It helps me to shut out distractions and concentrate on my play,” he says.

A French citizen, he left India at the age of 14, and finished his schooling and his University education in France. In 1997, he started his own theatre group in France, and travelled from village to village staging plays. In 2001, he joined the Theatre du Soleil, where he acted in two plays directed by Ariane Mushkin.

Kumaran has a Ph.D in Non-Commutative Geometry from Marseilles University, and he taught there for four years, before he took to full time theatre.

Mathematics and theatre – what’s the connection? “Both are beautiful,” says Kumaran.

Agreed, but Maths has a different kind of beauty. Austere beauty, without the trappings of painting or music, was how Russell saw mathematics. Why did Kumaran prefer the beauty of theatre to the cold and austere beauty of Mathematics? “Even as a child, I wanted to be a theatre person,” he says.

Then why didn’t he join a theatre group early on? “I find that every drama troupe here has a format, a formula. I didn’t want to be strait-jacketed. I wanted to give free rein to my imagination. That didn’t seem possible in any of the theatre groups in Tamil Nadu.”

In a conversation that ranges from Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle and the work of mathematician Alain Connes to Peter Brooks’ plays, Kumaran’s passion for a lot of things is evident. But it is theatre that has a special place in his heart.

Is he happy with the theatre scene in Tamil Nadu today? “ No,” he says. “There is no patronage from the Government. If we have to hire the Museum Theatre for an evening, we have to pay 25,000 rupees. Moreover, here audiences seem to be committed to certain languages. Some will only go to English plays, some only to Tamil plays. Not much importance is given to directing here. I find Indian classical arts moving, but I don’t like drama in Tamil Nadu, whether in English or Tamil.”

Kumaran laments the lack of theatre training in Tamil Nadu. “People think that it is only music and dance that need training, and they assume anyone can act, without training.”

How did he get interested in koothu? Kumaran staged his play “Midnight Traveller,” at the drama festival in Purisai.

“I was not sure of its reception in Purisai. The story is about a young man who dons the role of a woman in a village play. He is mocked and ostracised, and he leaves the village. He travels through India, and meets many women, each of whom touches his heart, and each of whom speaks a different language.” The play had seven languages in it — Hindi, Gujarati, Telugu, Khasi, English, French and Tamil. To his surprise and delight, the villagers liked the play.

His troupe attended a workshop on koothu in Purisai. Later, he met Purisai Sambandam, and was impressed by his method of transmitting the art of theru-k-koothu. It reminded him of his experiences at the Theatre du Soleil, and an idea for a play began to take shape in his mind.

Cheap gimmicks

“Not all performers of koothu stick to tradition. Some of them resort to cheap gimmicks for the sake of popularity. So I wanted to show the dangers to the tradition of koothu, through my play “Lakshman’s dream.’”

What are the gimmicks he is talking about?

“ I’ve actually heard some village artistes use double meaning dialogue.”

Double entendres? “No, ‘double entendres’ as you use it , is not correct French. That is an Anglicised usage. The correct French expression would be ‘double sens,’” he corrects. “ Anyway, to continue, it’s not just vulgarity, it’s the very tampering with the tradition of an art that I disapprove of.”

There are also innovations in Carnatic music and Bharatanatyam, that many frown upon. He might just as well have done a play on any art form. “That’s true. For instance in music and dance, I don’t like fusion. The marrying together of two different art forms is abhorrent to me,” Kumaran shudders.

Kumaran has made Chennai his home. Future projects? Dreams? “I want to do a play based on the Rig Veda. I want to learn Sanskrit and Bharatanatyam. I’m deeply interested in our religious literature and our mythological stories. The Bhagavad Gita offers invaluable lessons on coping with the ups and downs of life.”

Kumaran speaks French, Tamil and English, and that’s the order of his competence in the three languages too, he laughs.

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