This Janmashtami, Shobha Deepak Singh will focus on Krishna’s Gita Updesh in Mahabharata. She shared details with I Kaur
On stage, we have often seen Krishna’s notorious side as a kid or his love for gopis. But rarely do we get to see him at war or reciting the Gita Updesh. Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra’s forthcoming’s presentation, Krishna, will take you through a contemporary journey of Krishna’s life from the time of his birth to the Mahabharata, covering the lesser-known aspects. Director Shobha Deepak Singh feels that with the changing times even creative writers need to rewrite mythology. “Every year we look at the story of Krishna’s life in a different way. Mythology evolves with every generation. Earlier we would only see one aspect of Krishna. However, now the Krishna of Mahabharata and the butter-stealing him have been merged.”
The director-choreographer has tried to put in unique elements of Krishna’s life in her show. She explained, “You wouldn’t find anything of Krishna that is over 500 years old. There are sculptures of Vishnu and Shiva and a few of Bhrama too, but there are only miniature paintings on Krishna. Those too, only depict the earlier part of his life and the popular aspects. Even you won’t see paintings on maakhan chori. So, we have tried to inculcate the lesser-known factors of him in the show. The second half is totally devoted to Krishna's role in the war. He played a very active role. It is very interesting to show all of this through a ballet.”
The dance drama will be a two-and-half hour long presentation. The first half will feature the Putna Vadh, Maakhan Chori lila, Rasa lila, Kaliya-Krishna story, separation of Radha-Krishna, killing of Karna and the Sudama Charitra.
Shobha feels that the first part had a vivid scope for dance while the second part was devoted to martial arts which are shown in the Bhishma Vadh and Karna Vadh.
“The person who wrote about Krishna’s childhood was Surdas and most of the poetry used in the first half is by him. The second half has a specially commissioned script because nobody has shown this side of Krishna on stage before,” she told us.
Shobha will be running a PowerPoint presentation alongside to give a detailed interpretation of the metaphors. She elaborated, “Our mythological writings are full of metaphors which many people do not understand. In the Ramayana, when Ahalya was turned to stone, it didn't mean that she was physically became a stone. It referred to her emotions. Similarly, when Hanuman jumped to lanka, it meant that his will and determination was so strong that he managed to reach the Ravana's palace.”
There are around 12-14 dances throughout the presentation. The entire show is expected to be very colourful.
The Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra is now running in its 60th year. Shobha says that this is the beginning of their celebrations. “In May next year, I hope to do three more presentations — Khajarao, Kamayani and the story of the conquest of Kalinga which will cover how Ashoka’s wickedness prevented him to follow the path of good,” she informed. Her group is packed with activities until then. “They are headed to Indonesia, Malaysia, Bali and Bangkok right now, after which the Ram lila will start on October 4. Soon after that they are going to New York,” she shared.