Tamil folk theatre takes on climate change: A woman's mission to warn about deadly heat

For centuries, Kattaikoothu, a traditional Tamil folk theatre, has drawn its stories from the Mahabharata and other epics, featuring kings, demons, and dramatic battles. But a new production is breaking from that tradition to confront an invisible enemy: extreme heat.

Thilagavathi Palani, a 36-year-old artist from Ranipet, is using the art form to raise awareness about climate change. Her play, Veppathin Veriyattam, tells the story of children struggling to cope with rising temperatures — a growing crisis in Tamil Nadu's hottest districts.

This is not Thilagavathi's first foray into social issues. Over the past two decades, she has staged Kattaikoothu productions on anaemia, leprosy, and gender equality. But the climate-themed play, developed in collaboration with the NGO Asar, marks a new chapter. The troupe, Sri Thilagam Kattaikkuttu Kuzhu, will premiere the show at Vedavalli Vidyalaya in Ranipet on Tuesday, before touring seven schools in Ranipet and Tiruvannamalai — districts that regularly record the highest temperatures in the state.

The production features 13 members, including five professional artists and five schoolchildren trained by Thilagavathi. Involving children on stage, she says, makes the message more relatable: 'When students see performances by children of similar age, the connection is stronger.'

Thilagavathi's own journey into Kattaikoothu was unconventional. Born into a lower-income family as the eldest of five daughters, she learned the art from her uncle, who taught the traditional form. She was the only girl among boys in her village. In 2002, she joined the Kattaikkuttu Gurukulam in Kancheepuram, training under renowned exponent P. Rajagopal. After eight years of training and a two-year apprenticeship, she became one of the first women to perform Kattaikoothu professionally — a tradition that had long been male-dominated. 'It gave me confidence,' she says.

She later moved to Chennai, where she worked with fisherfolk, women, and children, and collaborated with Katradi Trust, founded by dancer and social worker Sangeeta Isvaran. Her work with Asar led to the climate-focused production.

The idea for the play emerged from research material Asar provided on climate change and its health impacts. Thilagavathi says she realized that the examples from around the world mirrored what was happening in her own community. She recalled the widening of the Arcot-Cheyyar Bypass, where hundreds of trees were cut, making the heat 'unbearable'. Around the same time, she read reports linking extreme heat to adverse pregnancy outcomes, and her sister suffered a miscarriage — though Thilagavathi does not directly attribute it to heat, the loss made the issue deeply personal. 'I began thinking about how to portray loss and the human impact of climate change on stage,' she says.

Thilagavathi dismisses the notion that Kattaikoothu is a dying art form. 'That's a misconception, especially in cities,' she says. 'Come to the villages during the festival season and you'll see how vibrant it still is. Kattaikoothu isn't a dying art form. It gives voice to dying discourses.'