‘Ayali’ Television series Review: An emotional, gripping tale that takes on the patriarchy
Director: Muthu Kumar
Cast: Abi Nakshatra, Anumol, Singampuli, Lingaa
An animated segment that recounts the fable of how the village of Veerapannai came to be opens the eight-part series. According to a tale, after a young girl from the village of Pannaiyur ran off with a man from a nearby village, the locals suffered the wrath of their god, Ayali, which caused them to move the entire village to a new location in the Pudukottai district, which became known as Veerapannai. They resolved to force all village girls to get married the moment they reach puberty after constructing a temple for Ayali in the new village. In 1990, we observe how this practise is abused to subjugate women. Now, it is written in the kaalachaaram and kattupaadu that females who reach puberty are not allowed to enter the Ayali temple or attend school. They have their education and their religion taken away from them, and they are married off. The males of the village, who adhere to their local MLA (Singampuli) and his son, place the uttermost importance on safeguarding this sanctimonious practise, controlling their women, and maintaining the purity of the caste (Lingaa, in a very promising role).