#4 - Once An Actor, Always An Actor!

In my previous posts, I had written about the struggles and triumphs that SVS underwent as an upcoming theatre artist. While he continued to act with the TKS brothers and slowly rose up the ranks to perform key roles, there was a slow but steady decline in the funds trickling into the company.

Although theatre is art, in the end, it is still show 'business'. Money matters! From the various towns and cities of Tamil Nadu, SVS traveled along with the troupe, incessantly, from 1926 to 1930. While he was used to the nomadic lifestyle, SVS wasn't completely prepared for the experiences of overseas travel and lifestyle.

Owing to the poor response to the dramas in Tamil Nadu, the drama troupe decided to travel to Colombo in the hopes of better income. From traveling via rail until Dhanushkodi by kneeling to dealing with seasickness during the journey to Colombo, the travel to Sri Lanka was entirely a novel experience for all of them.

Once in Colombo, the plays started and a couple of weeks went by. To the members' delight, the audience loved their plays, but they had to deal with a drunken theatre staff named Mookupuri. Unable to bear the atrocities of the alcoholic Mookupuri, some of the troupe members tied him up after a particularly trying night. They beat him and tied him up, effectively ruining his chance of retaliation. A very livid and vengeful Mookupuri was then freed after some of his men untied him the next morning.

This incident led to a lot of threats and unpleasantness from Mookupuri and his friends. Fed up with the rogue incidents and assessing the risk to his troupe members, the eldest brother, TK Sankaran, decided to wrap up the stay in Colombo and return back to India. The team was thus forced to return despite the good response they'd received from the audience in Colombo.

Once back in Tamil Nadu, by 1930, the theatre business further slid, forcing SVS to return back to his family. After all, it had been four years and he hadn't seen any of his siblings or his father. Coming to a decision, SVS came back to his native, to his family. The reunion with his family was joyful. 

Yet, merely days after his return, SVS understood he had to contribute to the family's finances to ease the burden of his eldest brother. This time, he was determined to get into a salaried job to circumvent the financial woes of being in an unpredictable field.

Knowing he wasn't particularly skilled in any field other than acting, SVS was keen to learn driving. He wanted to get a license and become a driver. But learning to drive wasn't easy, especially not without having a car. That's when SVS joined as a mechanic under Kovai Appavu Pillai. Nearly five months later, he realized the job neither fetched him a great salary nor did he have the opportunity to drive a car. That's when SVS decided to move on from the job.

He went to his sister Krishnammal's place to meet his her and her husband Sundaram Iyer. This was the first time SVS was visiting his younger sister after her marriage. His sister and her family welcomed him with open arms and he decided to stay with them for a while. 

Within days of living with his sister and her family, SVS found out that Sundaram's business partner had a second-hand Chevrolet car. That meant a car to learn driving, right? Well, yes and no. SVS could only manage to snatch limited time to learn driving. A model that wasn't sustainable to obtain a permanent license and make a living out of it.

Sundaram, seeing the plight of his brother-in-law, suggested he seek employment with a Bus Service company his classmate owned. SVS readily agreed and thus started his brief journey as a bus conductor. Have we heard this conductor-to-actor journey elsewhere? :). Anyway, back to the story!

While his rational mind told SVS that he had to earn money and help his family, his heart and soul belonged to the stage. Even during his tenure as a bus conductor, SVS used to watch the local plays whenever time permitted. Don't we say when we aspire something with our heart the universe conspires to make it happen? The same thing happened with SVS when an interesting cascade of events occurred. 

A few months after his joining as a conductor, members from the Rajambal Drama Company happened to travel in the same bus where SVS was working. A known face within the Tamil theatre circle, he was recognized by one of the company members (M.V. Mani) who then introduced SVS to the other company members. 

Further, SVS also happened to watch the 'Rajambal' and 'Manohara' plays by the Rajambal Company, and he immediately recognized his mentor's (Kandaswamy Mudaliyar) work. Observing the actors on stage, SVS recollected his own experiences acting in the very same plays.

The final piece of event that pushed SVS back on stage then occurred. M.V. Mani who had introduced SVS to Rajambal's company had a misunderstanding with the troupe's manager and he abruptly left the company, leaving behind a pair of shoes to fill. 

The very day M.V. Mani left, Smt Rajambal and the other members of the troupe requested SVS to step in. When Rajambal herself requested SVS to act, he couldn't deny her. That evening, SVS donned the role of Rajpriyan in the play Manohara in Naamakkal. SVS' acting was well received by the audience and the troupe members. He was back on stage. Where he truly belonged!

Did SVS stay with the Rajambal Company? Or did go back to the odd jobs? Where did the TKS Brothers fit into all this? Stay tuned to read the next part in the upcoming week!