Balamani Ammal rode the stage like a colossus

Among the many forgotten Tamil theatre pioneers is Kumbakonam Balamani Ammal, who shattered the glass ceiling and was one of its earliest superstars, She remains an intriguing personality, with most details of her life and times being scant. Born into a devadasi family sometime around 1870, Balamani Ammal learnt to sing and dance at an early age. It is not known how she took to theatre (though TK Shanmugam mentions her to be a student of Sankaradas Swamigal). Sometime in the 1890s, she, along with her sister Rajambal, began a theatre group called the Edward Theatrical Company, popularly known as the Balamani Drama Company. It was an all-women theatre group, the first of its kind, and comprised disenfranchised and economically underprivileged girls. Balamani Ammal took them under her wing and became their mentor. 

The troupe staged mostly mythological plays, though Balamani Ammal is credited with being the earliest to take up social themes in Tamil theatre. She performed the first social drama —  Kasi Viswanatha Mudaliar’s Dambachari Vilasam. 

Noted drama teacher and playwright M Kandaswamy Mudaliar (father of actor MK Radha) was associated with  Balamani Ammal’s theatre group as a writer and director for a long time. He adapted novelist JR Rangaraju’s work Rajambal into a play by the same name; it became one of the troupe’s major successes. Balamani Ammal is also credited with having introduced petromax lighting on stage, and being the first to reserve separate seating for ladies at her performances. Her fan following spanned a wide cross-section of society, including several zamindars, merchants and even royalty. 

Balamani Ammal was born into a devadasi family 
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Special Arrangement

A report in The Hindu from 1903 during her visit to Trivandrum for performances notes that “a carriage and pair had been placed at her special disposal by kind permission by His Highness the Maharajah”. That her shows drew huge crowds is borne by the now-oft-recounted legend of special trains known as Balamani Specials being run to cater to her audience. 

Balamani Ammal lived a life of luxury. Her residence at Kumbakonam had a large retinue of more than 50 helpers and is believed to have had a swimming pool, marble fountains and gardens. Her beauty attracted admirers from far and wide. Quoting his father in a brief article on Balamani Ammal, MK Radha writes that a huge crowd used to gather just to watch her dry her hair after a wash, as she walked up and down the balcony. Famous composer Dharmapuri Subbaraya Ayyar even composed a javali in her praise. 

Balamani Ammal was generous to a fault when it came to charitable causes. A report from 1910 in this paper speaks of her numerous gestures during her stay at Kanchipuram during that period, and her donating the proceeds of a performance to the building fund of the Big Conjeevaram Hindu Girls High School. It also states that she promised to dedicate at least one performance every month towards the cause of the school. 

Adi Kumbheshwarar temple in Balamani Ammal’s her hometown, Kumbakonam
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Wikimedia Commons

The French writer Julian Viaude, who met her in 1899, writes of her charitable disposition, mentioning her contribution of thousand rupees to a group of European ladies for a Hindu orphanage. She is also said to have donated liberally to several temples across South India. One of her contributions, which still stands, is the Thirukalyana Mandapam inside the Adi Kumbheshwarar temple in her hometown, Kumbakonam. Kumbabishekam of the temple is scheduled on December 1. According to the Census of India 1961 (Volume 9) publication, this elegant single-storied structure is said to have cost around Rs. 40,000 in those days.

Balamani Ammal’s last days were, unfortunately, a far cry from her glory-filled days. Moving from her palatial residence in Kumbakonam to a modest dwelling in Madurai, she passed away in relative obscurity around 1935. According to MK Radha, she was 65 at the time of her death.

Balamani’s trailblazing journey and success against all odds is remarkable for its sheer tenacity and worthy of commemoration. Regrettably, more than nine decades after her death, she remains a forgotten footnote in the annals of Tamil theatre history.