Subaltern Revisions of the Mahabharata in the Tamil Folk Theatre Bharathakoothu

Abstract

This paper examines the unique folk theatre performance of Tamil Nadu - Bharathakoothu that stages episodes from the Mahabharata. The festival has three parts including ritual, performance and community participation. The festival is celebrated for Draupadi Amman. This worship has been for over a thousand years across more than thirty villages. The substantial aspect of the festival is Bharathakoothu that localises the grant narratives of the epic articulating the subaltern perspectives. Bharathakoothu is highly deviated from the Sanskrit retellings and delicately integrates village rituals, environmental theatre, and contemporary social commentary. It becomes the cultural store house of the Tamil Nadu and challenges the sacred hierarchical knowledge association of the epic. Based on the Richard Schechner’s concept of “restored behavior” the Koothu is analysed. Further, Ranajit Guha’s framework of subaltern expression highlights how the performances address gender injustice, caste undercurrents and everyday rural apprehensions. The study aims to establish Bharathakoothu’s role as both an active site of cultural continuity and reinterpretation.