Gunakar Dev Goswami spoke to Utpal K Banerjee about the influence of Assamese music, dance and instruments in his Sita Swaymvar
Sita Swayamvar, the recent presentation by NSD’s second-year students — evolved as a workshop-based production over 45 days on Ankia Naat Bhaona and other folk/traditional art forms of Assam — has an interesting background. Back in 1977, when BV Karanth became the NSD director, he had observed, “There has to be a solid practical training, which determines voice, the body and the sensibility of training as its nucleus. Covered alongside are all connected areas of work, such as, stage craft, stage technique, lighting, direction, even script writing.”
Such an approach led to the shifting of NSD’s pedagogic emphasis from an academic engagement to hands-on learning in the process of production. This was a process-oriented idea, where one learnt through participation.
With script, music, design and direction by Gunakar Dev Goswami, Sita Swayamvar is based on the last of the Ankia Naat plays, Sri Rama Vijaya, written by that savant of Assam, Srimanta Sankaradeva, in the early 16th century. Taken from the Ramayana, the entire story is truncated into three parts: Marich-Subahu Badh (killing), Sita Swayamvara (self-selection of bridegroom) and Parasurama’s Darpaharana (crushing of pride). Included are episodes not found elsewhere, such as, princes assembled at swayamvara making amorous exclamations at the sight of Sita; their humiliation at the hands of the maids, and, subsequently, sage Vishwamitra’s facetious fighting with haughty Parashurama. Right from the word go, the entire production was of a piece where one could witness vintage Assam putting its best foot forward with Ankiya Bhaona’s stylisation in: white costuming in gayan-bayan, an energetic sutradhara dancing, a demure Sita fluttering around Rama; the hapless princes reduced to buffoonery on the royal swayamvara court and a very melodramatic Parashurma tasting defeat. Everything fitted in the re-created 16th century milieu of the Jatra-lke, high-pitched traditions of folk-theatre.
Excepts from an interview with the director:
What’s Ankia Naat Bhaona on which the play’s basedIJ
Bhaona is a traditional performing artform in the domain of drama in the north-east India. Srimanta Sankardeva created Ankia Naat Bhaona by giving it a theatrical form in specific acts and scenes, brought aspects of ancient Sanskrit plays, attached to it other traditional art elements like dance and even painted the backdrops himself!
Could you cite significant Sanskrit-drama influencesIJ
One of the features is the ancient Purbaranga (prelude) that the saint added, which we call dhemali in Assam. This is a typical song-and-dance sequence used as an overture to the main play. Dhemalis are gayan-bayan (singers and instrumental accompanists): dressed in white dhoti and turbans, playing khol (drum) with distinctive hand-gestures and footsteps and clapping large cymbals in rhythmic unison. There’s also the Sanskrit concept of sutradhara (narrator). An important character in Ankia Naat, he introduces the play, describes the characters and their movements, summarises the storyline from beginning to end and reminds spectators about devotion to God by repeatedly chanting sacred mnemonics.
What about dialoguesIJ
In Ankia Naat, the lyrical quality of the dialogue is an important aspect where the language is not Assamese, but its mixture with Hindi, Oriya, Bengali and Maithili, called Brajabuli. There’re also payar (song of apology to God) and bilaap (lamentation).
There’re much stylised entries and exits, reminding one of the South’s folk-theatre Yakshagana…
Entrances and departures of characters are performed with distinctive rhythms of khol. Their moods are presented through body-movements, which keep changing in keeping with the characters’ dramatic action. Taal (rhythm), too, changes.
In your presentation, how has Hindi been modulated to retain the original flavour of Ankia NaatIJ
We got the basic Brajabuli text translated, keeping in mind the rhyming nature of the dialogues.
Finally, you’ve used Sattriya dances…
Yes, this classical genre has been preserved in Assam’s sattras (monasteries) and naamghars (community halls). In adopting Sattriya, we were guided by Nrityacharya Jatin Goswami, my father, who is from Adhar sattra of Assam.