A clean river, less pollution and equality are their goals, say children of north Chennai, through interactive play

In Ennore, 10 children of the Arunodhaya Centre used stories of pre-industrialised Ennore to portray the changes brought by city development. The play highlighted the damage to fisherfolks' livelihoods, land, sea, drinking water, and health. The children shared their dreams for a good city, such as regulation of red category industries, a river sans fly ash, and pollution control. Residents wished for the Ennore of the past, with a seashore to walk along.

As rain-heavy clouds gathered over the Kosasthalaiyar in Ennore on Sunday, November 26, 2023, local residents huddled into a convention centre across the Ennore Thermal Power Station to watch a play titled Oru Ooril Oru Aaru, or ‘There once was a river’, enacted by 10 children of the Arunodhaya Children Sangam, part of the Arunodhaya Centre, a charitable trust working in the area of child rights.

Supported by the British Academy’s Good City Project, theatre professionals and young residents of north Chennai have used stories of pre-industrialised Ennore from the oral history of the region’s elders to portray the changes that the development of a city brought to this locality.

The interactive play started with a question to the audience: ‘what is a river?’ “Does the idea of a good city come from discussions between politicians in AC rooms, or from asking people about the problems they face?” asked an actor in the ‘first act’. The show touched upon not just the damage to fisherfolks’ livelihoods, but also to their land, sea, drinking water, and health. “We went on the ‘toxic tour’ where we saw and learnt how the lives of people have changed,” said Dharshini, one of the actors. 

Bhargav, filmmaker and one of the directors of the play, said the children were also taken to a farm in Muttukadu to show them alternative lifestyles and uses of land. At the end of the play, the children spelled out their dreams for a good city — regulation of red category industries, a river sans fly ash and hot water from thermal plants, pollution control, equality between north and south Chennai — before opening up a conversation with the audience. 

“Ennore is known for its beach,” said Rizwana, a resident of the locality. Her dream is that it should “not become a place unfit for living”. Sajida of Makkal Nala Sevai Maiyam, a woman’s welfare centre in Ennore, said every river has a surrounding way of life around it. “This involves land, water, and air. Here all the three are gone. We used to walk along the seashore sinking our feet into the sand. Now there is no seashore,” she said, wishing for the Ennore that once was.