Historical Drama Ponniyin Selvan staged in Chicago

Chicago IL: Chicago Tamil Sangam proudly staged Kalki R. Krishnamurthy’s magnum opus “Ponniyin Selvan” Tamil Drama on May 4, 2013 at Oswego East High School Auditorium, 1525 Harvey Road, Oswego, IL at 4.00 PM.

It was a magical night indeed, bringing to life King Rajaraja Chola and his dynasty that ruled in the 10th century. With 40 artists, 50 stage props, over 150 lighting clues, countless hours of practice sessions, and a team of dedicated volunteers made this event a grand success. Over 900 people attended this outstanding production and applauded the effort of the entire team.

The arduous task of writing the script condensing the story of over 2400 pages to a three hour play was penned down by Bagirathi Seshappan of Abirami Fine Arts, California. Auditions were conducted for the more than 40 characters on September 8, 2012. The artists were judged for appearance and Tamil speaking skill in order to stay true to Kalki’s portrayal of the characters. Some of Chicago’s well known Tamil drama artists, Chandrasekhar, Ranga, Mani, Vidya and many more are part of Ponniyin Selvan.

Shobana Suresh, Kalai Somu and Kamala Babu designed the costumes adhering to the original illustrations of Artist Maniam, when the novel came out in the 1950s. Ganapathy, Ravi Kumar, Varadheesh, Sriram, Prasad and team designed the stage props that showcased the Tenth century Chola kingdom.

The show’s publicity, fund and coordination of activities were done by CTS President Mr. Aravazhi and Vice President Mr. Somu.

Kalki’s historical novel Ponniyin Selvan revolves around the Chola dynasty during the tenth century. Paranthanga Cholar descended from the royal lineage of Suryavamsam’s Cibisakravarti, Manusakravarti and Karikalan. His eldest son Rajathityar dies in a war without ascending the throne. The middle son Kandaratithar governs the kingdom. Being an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva, he directs his wife Sembiyan Madevi to raise their son, Maduranthagan as a devotee of Shiva and abdicates the throne in favor of his younger brother Arinjayar and his heirs. Arinjayar’s son Sundara Cholar ascends the throne and appoints his eldest son Adithya Karikalan as the Crown prince. As Maduranthagan matures, he wants the kingdom for himself. Meanwhile, Pandiya loyalists under the leadership of Ravidasan try to eliminate the Chola lineage. Who ascends the throne? Will the saboteur’s schemes succeed? This in essence is a brief synopsis of this story.

On this special occasion, a souvenir book was published containing congratulatory messages from Past President of India, Dr. Abdul Kalam, Literary personality Dr. Adbul Khader, Tamil Poet Jothi Perumal, Sri Kalki Rajendran, and the famous Tamil Debater S. Raja.

The Chicago Tamil Sangam proved that nothing is impossible, when hard work and effort is put in to achieve success. Kudos to all the artists who sacrificed countless hours of their personal time to ensure this project was executed flawlessly.