Village Street Play at Palli village on World TB Day
March 23, 2008 & March 22, 2009
The village of Palli about 10 Km from Cheyyar in Thiruvannamalai District came alive on the evening of World TB Day. The villagers squatting on the ground, waited patiently for the play to start. The members of Gipsy Theatres, Chennai staged the play ‘Vidivelli’ on tuberculosis awareness and health education. Gipsy Rajkumar, and his troupe members appealed to the people not to waste their hard-earned money on alcohol & tobacco. It also created an awareness for TB and other chest diseases.
‘Vidivelli’ told the villagers to be strong and support their families by not risking their health by indulging in arrack, and tobacco. Dr. Raj B Singh Trustee of the Chest Foundation of India (the organizers of the programme) interacted with the villagers and answered queries regarding chest diseases.
It was heartening to see the response to the play. The actor playing the doctor in the play was surrounded by over 50 villagers asking him questions about various symptoms.
The CFI staff who were present appealed to the villagers to make use of the weekly clinic run by the CFI in Irumbanthangal village to get themselves tested and treated for various ailments.
A similar programme was also conducted in relation to World TB Day in 2009 at Palli Elementary School. It was publicised extensively around the nearby villages. The play which was in Tamil attracted a lot of local interest and it highlighted symptoms of chest related illnesses, the need for timely action and the treatment available for these illnesses.