When Vellaisamy, himself a fugitive from the law, wanders into the village of Athipatti, he finds a people who are struggling to survive in extreme poverty, without any water for their daily needs. His bold spirit and conviction that ‘there’s nothing that human beings cannot achieve’ motivates them to take positive steps to improve their own future, instead of waiting in vain for government aid. With a new sense of agency, the villagers unite to solve their water problem—only to find that the authorities don’t approve of such people-led initiatives. The celebrated Tamil play Thaneer Thaneer (1979), which was made into an award-winning film by the same name, explores very contemporary issues like the growing disillusionment of the people with the country’s development policies, showing how they serve the interests of an urban elite. Komal Swaminathan was an eminent Tamil playwright who was also a filmmaker and an editor. S. Shankar, the translator, teaches English at Rutgers University, New York. He has been published widely.
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