4/2/2019 History lesson to stingray puttu, TN’s Urur Olcott Kuppam Vizha redefines what art is

History lesson to stingray puttu, TN’s Urur Olcott

Kuppam Vizha redefines what art is
The festival, which promises to erase boundaries, has delivered on this for three years in a row, and
the fourth edition is already seeing an interesting line-up of events.

Anjana Shekar Monday, February 05, 2018 - 15:12

At 8.00 am on a Sunday morning, a crowd gathers close to the Ellaiamman

Kovil in Urur Oclott Kuppam.
The stage, in this case the performance space, is still being set, tightened with
screws and rods by the performers themselves, very close to the redesigned
fish-market.
A skeletal steam locomotive takes shape and a car parked next to it doubles up
as the sound system.
This is the Urur Olcott Kuppam Vizha, which promises to celebrate oneness
and has delivered on this for three years in a row. The fourth edition of the
two-day festival – celebrated on February 10 and 11 – is seeing a number of
interesting events organised in the lead up to it.

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4/2/2019 History lesson to stingray puttu, TN’s Urur Olcott Kuppam Vizha redefines what art is

Prabhu from Parkour Circle explains that the space we are gathered in was
earlier cleared of debris and garbage, and levelled with a layer or rubble by the
fishermen from the village and volunteers.

Picture courtesy: Facebook / Urur-olcott kuppam vizha - celebrating oneness

“For almost 80% of the people who came to help clean up or those who’ve
come to watch the show, it was their first time. The idea is to break
preconceived notions that the village could be a dangerous place. The events
are well-thought out in that regard,” he says.

Glimpses from Parkour performance

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4/2/2019 History lesson to stingray puttu, TN’s Urur Olcott Kuppam Vizha redefines what art is

“And when classicised forms come into shared space, they sort of erase the
barriers,” adds Satakshi Nandy, a movement artist and a performer at the
show.
Lead by Prabhu, the team that performed on Sunday had a mix of performers
– a ninth standard student, an artist, a movement-artist and a dancer, among
others.
The piece in itself was a combination of parkour and theatre, with jumps, flips,
movements and actions. A stark contrast from the usual parkour that comes
across as an adventurous activity-sport, this piece was a mellifluous
combination of varied elements, balanced perfectly on the flexibility of the
performer.
“Traditionally, parkour is performed anywhere in the city and we are used to
cleaning our performance spaces. And that is what happened here as well.
Usually, people assume that parkour is a very physical sport and has people
jumping and leaping from buildings. So the general perception is that the
performer has to be physically fit. That is not parkour. There’s a creative side
to it. We’ve tried to add the performance aspect to our piece. Parkour is
playing by each person’s strengths and you cannot teach everyone the same
movements,” explains Prabhu.
“You live through the idea here. As a dancer, when I look at it objectively, the
whole philosophy and the principle of the form is about adapting to your
natural surroundings. And unlike other traditional art and dance forms, it
does not have an elitist attitude of a studio approach. The bond you form and
the way you understand and help each other train is what parkour is based
on,” says Satakshi.
She adds that this performance is not the most conventionally super-hyper
masculine form that it is projected to be, intimidating women: “If you were to
watch videos of parkour performances online, you’ll find that the basic
vocabulary disregards the female anatomy. But here it is more inclusive of the
individual, irrespective of their body types.”
Titled ‘Indian Steam’, the hour-long performance had people coming from all
kinds of backgrounds to watch it. Parkour in its most elemental form
promotes such interactions in society, explains Prabhu. The routine had James
Bond, cowboys, chases and plenty of slapstick.
The parkour performance was followed by an interactive, music-infused
history session on the village. The fishing hamlet, one of the oldest settlements
in the city, has been pushed in on all sides by human encroachment.
Did you know that Urur had a Village Officer (VO) assigned to it in the past?
A beautiful miniature of the village had been created on cardboard and the
village elders spoke about their trips to the sea, their religious beliefs and the
landmarks that defined their village.

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4/2/2019 History lesson to stingray puttu, TN’s Urur Olcott Kuppam Vizha redefines what art is

Storytelling session with the model

“We have no religion and all gods are one for us fisher folks. And so we pray to
Naagoor Aandavar before we begin our voyages to the sea,” explains one of
them.
It was a whole other experience for those gathered to listen to the textured
notes in his rendition of ‘Naagoor Aandavare, nambi vendinene’.
“Close to the Kanni Kovil was huge expanse of pandanus forest
(taazhakaadu) that was later removed fearing prickly thorns. The sand itself
shone like silver,” one of them said.
“Right here is our mentor and guide, Arunachala Chettiyar’s palace,” he said
pointing to a big building on the model. “It now lies abandoned and I have
memories of playing inside as a kid.”
It is evident, as is the story with every urban space, that the village too has
undergone a sea of change. Its limits, now restricted to a few kilometres, have
been diminished further by the setting up of places like Thalapakatti.
People now gather around the table set-up with a stove and neatly lined bowls
that contain spices. The much-awaited cooking show by Muthulakshmi follows
the story session. Spicy Thimila Puttu (stingray steam cake), prawn gravy and
dried fish are prepared one after the other and devoured immediately after by
the crowds.

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4/2/2019 History lesson to stingray puttu, TN’s Urur Olcott Kuppam Vizha redefines what art is

Picture courtesy: Facebook / Urur-olcott kuppam vizha - celebrating oneness

“I run a tiffin centre along with my husband close to Thalapakatti on the main
road. It’s called Kumudha Tiffin Centre, named after my daughter,” says
Muthulakshmi, who was born in Kalpakkam village. The show has helped
Muthulakshmi gain some recognition and she hopes it will help with her
business as well.
“I was very shy about cooking in front of people, but when the newspapers
wrote about me, I felt encouraged,” she smiles.
The eclectic mix of events has been carefully curated, deftly mixing culture
with social issues, thereby allowing the neighbourhood reap its long-denied
benefits.
“The whole idea was to make the market area a cross-cultural space and to
help break pre-conceived notions that such places are dirty and people there
are unapproachable,” says Niveditha Louis, one of its organisers.

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4/2/2019 History lesson to stingray puttu, TN’s Urur Olcott Kuppam Vizha redefines what art is

Redesigned fish market

“Last year, we had a similar story session, but this time we made the locals
narrate them. As you can see, it gives the story a whole new perspective. I'm
also happy that the cooking show has been so well received,” she adds.
Sundaramoorthy, a long-time resident of the area, shares that the festival has
indeed helped his village gain the attention it lacked thus far.
“My village has been ignored and hidden for years. This vizha has helped us
gain some attention as a result. People from outside have come to visit our
area and, as a result, we've been able to represent and put forward our woes to
them,” he says.
As a part of the vizha’s success stories, the village will soon get its drainage
lines fixed to benefit close to 700 people in the neighbourhood.
In its four years of existence, the cultural program has been a revolution not
just for the villagers. It is evident in the way people have wiped away social
boundaries, at least during the period of the vizha.
Varied art forms rubbing shoulders and introducing new perspectives is its
inherent vision that has helped reap multifold benefits for the community and
its people.
The vizha began as a platform to bring to the public art forms that were, up
until then, shackled in sabhas, enjoyed majorly by elitist crowds. And it has
since been breaking down the wall, one brick at a time.

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