Stories Worth Sharing

Nelum Kuluna

Nelum Kuluna/Tentigo is a first-of-its-kind comedy in Sri Lanka: a story centered around a phallus, a dead but erect phallus. And it’s hilarious, from start to finish. I watched it in Kandy and the audience was in stitches. The actors were superb!

This dark comedy explores many layers of our middle-class existence. The family members are saddened by the passing of the family patriarch, but more worried about what others will think of his unfellable phallus that stands gloriously. The eldest son attempts to save face by concocting different stories, while the younger alcoholic son chants a mantra to chase away the soul trapped inside the “head.” After witnessing the gigantic appendage of their father-in-law, the two daughters-in-law discuss their own sex lives and the sons’ failure in the bedroom.

The “kuluna,” a symbol of the hollowness inside ostentatious high-rising phallic structures that mark power, remains unaffected outwardly; yet, chaos reigns all around. The performance of power and the desire to defend patriarchal power structures persist even after death. It’s tragic; yet above all, it’s comic and hilariously absurd!