Chevittorma explores environmental and personal loss on stage

The Jalam Theatre Company comprising residents of Thuruthippuram in Kerala’s Puthenvelikkara, a district in Ernakulam, brings Chevittorma (A Memoir of the Moribund) to the Ranga Shankara Theatre Festival this year. ‘Chevittorma’ is a practice in some parts of Kerala, where a prayer is whispered into the ear of a dying person unable to say it themself. The play was conceived as a prayer whispered for a community that was being swallowed by the sea, says the organisers.

Ever since the 2018 Kerala Floods disrupted its geography, Thuruthippuram has been hit by tidal waves on a monthly basis and despite the loss of life and property, the occurence failed to register with the government and authorities as a disaster. Its unfailing regularity meant the residents of the area were unable to rebuild their lives or homes, with any assurance for the future.

Director of the play Sreejith Ramanan says, what troubled him the most was not only the physical loss, but also the intangible ones. “When I visited this place, it was full of abandoned homes holding a lifetime of memories. Crumbling walls still had sketches children had drawn on them. Toys and other household items were floating about,” recalls Sreejith.

He continues, “For all of us, our home is one of the most important factors in life and having to give that up is never easy. These images remained in my mind for a long, long time.”

Sreejith was roped in by Equinoct, an organisation working on climate change, to create community-resilience models, one of which was theatre.

“The initial brief was for a street play, but after my visit I realised it wouldn’t make an impact. A unique visual language was needed to carry across the gravity of their situation; that was how the sceneography was developed.”

Conceptualised in 2022 and staged the following year, the cast of Chevittorma comprises the residents of Thuruthippuram. “With the exception of a police officer, a school administrator and a few others, all the cast members are daily wage earners. All of them have had their lives upended by this cyclical disturbance.”

The play is performed in water, and when it was first staged, the cast had no idea it would have such a strong impact on society and governing authorities. As a result, canals were developed between the sea and residential areas to reduce flooding, and now, after several years, cultivation has begun there on a small scale.

Sreejith says experts from Equinoct and others working on this subject, undertook scientific research, community mapping, documentary projects and other initiatives to draw attention to the matter. They believe it was theatre that finally highlighted the issue.

“Until then, it was not deemed a disaster or an emergency, with no financial or other assistance rendered to the victims,” he says, adding, “It has created an awareness that similar incidents are happening all over the world and that environmental justice was the need of the hour.”

Another positive outcome of this project was the creation of Jalam Theatre Company by the people of Thuruthippuram. After its initial staging in Thuruthippuram, Sreejith encouraged the residents to create their own troupe and since then, Chevittorma has been performed by Jalam in other parts of Kerala, in Mumbai and Delhi at various festivals, and now, comes to Bengaluru this weekend.

Sreejith says taking the play to different venues not only gives immense satisfaction, but also has a cathartic effect on the members.

Chevittorma will be staged at Ranga Shankara on October 25 at 7.30pm. Tickets priced at ₹300 on BookMyShow.