There was a time when people from a village would gather around in one house to listen to the radio or watch TV. The elderly talk fondly about the bonding and warmth among people while listening to radio shows, a feeling alien to today’s generation.
In a bid to recreate the magic of yore, Haridas Nareeckal came up with a plan. The idea was to conduct a drama fest which played old radio dramas through speakers.
“The fest was an effort to take back people to good quality radio listening that is missing today,” says Haridas, who is a media designer and a visiting faculty at Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham and Sacred Heart College, School of Communication.
The effort is the first of its kind in Kerala and the radio fest was held at Valayanchirangara village in Ernakulam. “I once happened to listen to a radio drama by K.V. Sharathchandran. I was travelling with my friend V.T. Sujith at that time. The idea to do something different with such interesting dramas struck me then. We approached Suvarna Theatres with the idea of a radio theatre fest. The Suvarana Theatres were the pioneers behind the growth of theatre culture in that village since 1975. They agreed and we zeroed in on selected dramas of K.V. Sharathchandran. Finding copies of the drama was quite a task as these plays that were right protected by AIR. We went around asking theatre enthisiasts and theatre actors for it and many of them contributed clear recordings. ,” explains Haridas.
Eight plays by Sharathchandran were shortlisted and thus began the Theatre Fest ‘Kathoram’.
“On August 6, we gathered at the V.N. Kesavan Memorial Library premises and by sunset nearly 80 people gathered there cutting across age groups. Lights were put out and we inaugurated the fest with the play Adayalangal. What surprised us was the pin-drop silence the public maintained in such an open venue. AIR Kochi Station Director Balakrishnan Koyyal, who was there to take part in the inaugural function, told us that he was dumbfounded.”
The fest was held at eight different venues inside the village over the week. Sharathchadran’s plays such as Shantha Samudram, Shathru, Piano, Ente Veedu 2500 square feet, Vithayikunna Upama, Otta, Maya and Hathya wowed listeners. “When we came up with the idea, there were people who backed off. But after the response we received from the first day of the fest, we were approached by many other organisers. It surprised us that at a time when TV and other media rules the lives of youngsters, they took the time and walked into our venues to enjoy radio drama.”
