A tale of womanhood, Chitrangada, was beautifully narrated through dance splendidly performed by Bharatanatyam exponent lata Singh Munshi here on Thursday.

 Chitrangada is a famous dance-drama by Rabindranath Tagore which was staged on the occasion of his 154th birth anniversary under ‘Rabindra Utsav 2014’ at Antrang Hall, Bharat Bhavan.The four-day long festival is all about dramas, dance, music, poetry and classical events. The festival is organised by Rabindra Amateur Natya Group to pay homage to the great poet.Chitrangada,  a popular poetic play, is about Princess Chitrangada, a brilliant and brave character mentioned in the great Indian epic Mahabharata, a warrior princess of Manipur who fell in love with Arjuna, whose prowess in archery is well-known.

Inspired by her persona, Tagore embellished the character of Chitrangada with the myriad emotions of a woman. The story goes that the brave Arjuna during his period of exile took to the hills for meditation. The territory came under the kingdom of Chitrangada, the warrior princess of Manipur. On one of her hunting forays she came across Arjuna. Chitrangada is fascinated by the attractive Arjuna and falls in love with him.

When Chitrangada expresses her feelings to Arjuna he rejects her. Chitrangada is shattered, hurt and insulted. She realises that there is more to her personality than just being a warrior. She seeks the blessings of lord Madana, the God of love, to grant her ‘beauty’, the weapon with which she aims to subjugate Arjuna. A transformed beautiful Chitrangada starts living in the forest temple close to the place where Arjuna meditated and charms him. Arjuna is attracted by her beauty and consequently breaks his vow of celibacy.

Incidentally, one day Arjuna is told that the village has been attacked by dacoits and there is no one to fight and protect them. Arjuna share’s his thoughts with the beautiful Chitrangada. This becomes a moment of realization for Chitrangada, about her true strength, her duty towards her people and kingdom and her desire to shed the mask of falsehood.Chitrangada is an exemplary woman and Munshi with her spontaneous moves and captivating expressions gave the musical dance drama a lyrical portrayal of emotions in a woman, her dignity, individuality and worthiness that is as relevant in today’s life.

The audiences enjoyed the show whole-heartedly and appreciated the performance of the artists.