MADURAI: Students of Lady Doak College (LDC) came up with a unique way of paying tribute to the college founder, Katie Wilcox , by staging an engaging drama on Wednesday depicting her life story. The drama was enacted as part of the platinum jubilee celebrations of the college.Over 1,500 students, staff and enthusiasts witnessed the drama in the college auditorium.Well-known playwright and artist and former professor of drama at Tamil University, Thanjavur, M Ramaswamy directed the 90-minute musical play titled “Aathimai Ver” (Roots). The play was organised by the Tamil department and research centre of LDC.Apart from Ramaswamy, the team comprised a total of 12 artists – all students from the Tamil department – and two students who helped with the music for the play.The students enacted how Wilcox came to India as an American missionary, how she initially worked in the now Capron Hall Higher Secondary School in the city and what instigated her to start the first exclusive women’s college in the city.Ramaswamy told TOI that existing writeups about Wilcox had provided contradictory information and hence he had to do proper research before writing the script. “When it comes to history, we can reach the audience in a better way if we add fictional elements. But we should make sure that the fictional elements don’t dominate the actual history, and I directed it accordingly,” he added.The play was staged twice on Wednesday and would be staged couple more times on Thursday, as well.

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