Professional mourner from Tamil Nadu exhibits grief show

Weeping, wailing and lamenting out loud, displays of the aching anguish felt at the death of a loved one, can also be a traditional art.
For Lakshmi R, who hails from Tamil Nadu's Tirunnelveni district, weeping on command and often during funerals for strangers, is a profession she has been practicing for the past over 20 years
The 57-year-old professional mourner, a practicioner of 'Oppori', the ancient tradition of singing to express grief and lament, gave a live performance here recently.
The event was part of the finale event marking a show curated by the Delhi-based artist collective Khoj. Titled "Nameless Here for Evermore" it showcased art reflecting on global suffering and collective trauma.

"It was fairly disturbing", says Amitesh Grover, an assistant professor at the National School of Drama who was invited by Khoj to put up the performance.
Grover, also a theatre artist, says he landed on the idea after making shows on death for the past two to three years.

"I wanted to investigate what mourning means. I have been observing a lack of collective mourning in urban society. It is entirely absent in society. Nowadays we do not meet to mourn collectively," says Grover.
During his research Grover spent some time in Tirunnelveni and among Oppori singers, of whom he says there is no correct estimate availaible.

"There are no correct estimates on the community. It is a dying tradition. No new women were interested or allowed to practice and existing Oppori singers are stigmatised by neighbours and not invited to weddings etc because they are thought to carry the stigma of death," says Grover.
Lakshmi, who ran away from her abusive husband provided an intimate autobiographical account of her life and sorrows to a select audience in Delhi, which was visibly moved by the performance. Some people even completely broke down into tears moved by the sheer force of her songs.
"The event was designed for her to see death not just as a private affair but also a lament," says Grover who found a young Tamil singer who expressed interest in learning the ancient sacred art form.

"Lakshmi has been singing for 20 years now and we set up a tutorial during event so that the young aritst Janagi learnt to sing the Oppori repeating after Lakshmi," says Grover.
When the younger artist found it extremely difficult and was scoffed at by Laksmi. The performace in Tamil had live translated words beamed through a projecter but Grover says the Delhi audience reciprocated.
"It was fascinating to see that after some time there was no need for a translation.