Unfolding the story of Shakuntala through a Manipuri musical, Jawaharlal Nehru Academy of Manipuri Dance from Imphal added a worthy addition to the text using pristine Manipuri style. By Utpal K Banerjee
The first-millennium poet Kalidasa’s Abhijnanam Shakuntala had always caught the whole world’s imagination— as drama, ballet, musical and opera. Indeed, once Shakuntala reached the European shores in the 19th century through the translation of German Indologists, it took that contiment’s intellectuals by storm. In Germany, Ernest Reyer composed a ballet Sacountala in 1838. Károly Goldmark, the Hungarian composer, wrote the Sakuntala Overture in 1865. Italian Franco Alfano composed the opera la leggenda di Sakùntala (The legend of Shakuntala) in 1921 and simply Sakùntalan in 1952. Norwegian musician, Amethystium, wrote a long song: Garden of Sakuntala. Soviet composer Sergey Balasanyan composed a ballet, Sakuntala. The great composer Franz Schubert wrote an incomplete Sakontala: Opera in Two Acts around 1820, completed by Fritz Racek and first performed in Vienna in 1971. Another version of Schubert’s Sakontala Opera was completed by Karl Aage Rasmussen in Copenhagen in 2006 and world-premiered in 2010.
In India, the earliest adaptation was when Bhupen Hazarika made the Assamese film Shakuntala in 1961: much acclaimed critically. Shakuntala was also made into a Malayalam movie in 1965. A Telugu picture was produced on Shakuntala in 1966 starring N. T. Rama Rao as Dushyanta. V. Shantaram made a Hindi film stree on the same theme. In Marathi, there was a musical drama Shakuntal. In recent times, while Kavalam Panikkar directed for NSD repertory — a highly stylised and Sanskritised Chhaya Shakuntalam, Rita Ganguly steered a NSD student production, Abhijnana Shakuntala, imbued with imagery of classical sculpture and architecture, and punctuated by dramatic movements in traditional dance-style.
Shakuntala, produced recently by Jawaharlal Nehru Academy of Manipuri Dance from Imphal and organised by Sangeet Natak Akademi, was a worthy addition under the same lineage. Directed by the veteran choreographer lokendrajeet Singh (who also enacted the roles of Viswamitra and Durvasa), the story is carefully unfolded as a Manipuri musical: with dancing nymphs, traipsing monks, prancing royal minons and roaming forest-denizen: using pristine Manipuri style.
The dance-drama opens with the gods conspiring to prevent sage Vishwamitra from attending godhood. A bevy of heavenly dancers float around the penancing sage for sweet-scented distraction; the danseuse Menaka entices the monk: and a baby is born — to be forsaken thereafter. Protected by forest’s flora and fauna, and nurtured by foster - parents Kanva and wife in their hermitage, the little nymphet Shakuntala blooms into a lovely maiden (essayed well by Chandana Devi). The king Dushyanta saunters within the woods, chances upon the enchanting beauty and claims her amours as his future queen. Their blissful moments are soon forgotten; the king gallops away to his palace-duties and the day— dreaming Shakuntala is caught unawares by the irate sage Durvasa. She is cursed to be forgotten by her loved one.
As ordained by fate, Shakuntala is rejected by the king, for the signet ring - token of their love - has been gobbled by the fish in an unwary bath. The agonising forest-maiden, now also an expectant bride, is claimed back by her heavenly companions. The ring is eventually re-claimed by a fisherman and restored to the king. The hugely repentant monarch searches out the deserted queen - now complete with a royal son — and a re-union takes place over much rejoicing. The choreography was superb throughout and the gossamer-attire added a dreamy veneer to the dancing figures: as though moving among flitting clouds.
On the process of going through Shakuntala’s text and creating the production script, the choreographer said, “I make my humble obeisance to the Kavi Kula Guru, remembering always his greatness and beseeching him to guide me through the performance. The greatness of Kalidasa surpasses all the poets. It is, indeed, difficult to catch the inner music of Shakuntla in a dance-drama where the beautiful lines of Kalidasa’s poetry are replaced by dance-movements and gestures.”
On his choreography, Singh commented, “I tried in my humble way to present Kalidasa and his great work— using appropriate dance-forms to suit the mood and texture of every scene. Shakuntala is a great work of Kalidasa and the tale of this daughter of Nature is endearing to everyone’s heart. The importance of the play is enhanced by the fact that her son Bharata had given this land its haloed name, Bharatavarsha.”