Dancer pays tribute to rural Tamil culture through a theatrical discourse

“I call it a mono-drama because it is a solo presentation that features charming anecdotes and clever songs drawn from Tamil folk poetry, and is presented in a dramatic style with illustrative gestures, entertaining soundscape, and humour. I am both the storyteller as well as various characters in the stories. This project highlights my immense love for the Tamil language, folklore, humour, and theatre, and combines them all with my dance training. It turned out to be a solo work in the true sense of the word because not only did I script and perform it, but also did all the technical work of creating music remix, designing graphics and video editing,” says Ramaa Bharadvaj. 

The theatrical discourse is Ramaa’s tribute to the people of rural culture because, according to her, these common folks are the true everyday artists. “Their songs and poetry were not rehearsed art forms to be ‘performed’ or ‘staged’ for an occasional audience, but an organic integral part of their everyday life. Even though the songs were simple, they carried a generational, collective, experiential, wisdom that was passed on through oral transmission. So, in my presentation, I highlight these aspects via songs and stories that illustrate the imagination, use of metaphors and humour contained in these rural Tamil gems. It is a presentation that can be termed as edu-tainment – education + entertainment,” she adds.