CHEVVAI DHOSHAM - A TAMIL PLAY (NADAGAM)

When i heard that Indus creations are back this year, i booked tickets for their play this past Friday. This is our second time going to theatre to watch a play. We got hooked the first time, you can read more about it here(by the same team , called Chidambara Ragasiyam). So naturally we weren't second guessing ourselves this time. The play was in Tamil(my native language) and i was looking forward to it.

Play was conceived and executed by Indus Creations. Its a team of volunteers in Seattle who in addition to their full time day jobs, run this show every year out of sheer passion for theatre, art and music. And i have to talk about their goodwill. All the proceeds from the show are donated to a charity of their choice every year. This year they chose ASHA for education, and we couldn't be more proud to have made a contribution.

We reached the venue early and were looking to buy some refreshments. But then they offered rose milk and pakoda as complimentary. I squealed with joy on seeing the rose milk, its been years since i have had one, so worth it. These guys know how to make their audience happy, thanks people.

Picture from my Instagram stories

The title of this year's play was "Chevvai Dhosam" and if you hail from Tamil Nadu you would assume its about marriage, horoscope, and the matchmaking process in India. I had the same notion. The play started with introducing the main characters of the play, and for a second i thought i was right with my guessing. But then in the next scene they just bowled us over with an amazing twist, that it was rather about a mission to Mars(Mars is called as "Chevvai" in Tamil). Unexpected twist, entertaining characters, special effects, comedy, this show had it all.

Play giving the horoscope, matchmaking vibes here

I have to talk about the stage setting in this show. When they opened the screen to reveal the space ship set, i was just awestruck. It was amazing, i can't even fathom how they pulled it off with such perfection. Probably thats where their engineering and artistic mind came together. They went to great lengths to surprise the audience both with the concept of the story, and the setting. And we totally were.

And then bam, this! Just brilliant!

Only thing i would like to point out that didn't get my vote was the sriram character doing all sorts of mimicry. He is super talented(got to give him that), but they should have focussed on the story instead of displaying his talents. I thought that this play was not the stage to portray mimicry. There were already two characters(Rockstar Ravikanth and Thagitathaa nandha) perfectly mimicking certain real life characters, we didn't need more was my opinion.

All these people coming from one corner in a country like India where people are more focussed on STEM courses and career, showing such amazing talents in art made me so proud. Ithu namba style Broadway! :)

I know they will be back with an even better concept next year, and i most definitely know that T and I will be there to watch it. I said it last year, and i will say it again, do give plays and theater a try if you get the chance. You won't be disappointed. If interested, you can catch this particular play on tentkotta.com.

Thanks for reading. xo, Hems

P.S Not a sponsored post, writing it on my personal interest to spread the work these people do.