Karna, Abhimanyu, Meera and Durga will be presented in a fresh way during a forthcoming ballet festival. Its director Shobha Deepak Singh chatted with Divya Kaushik
For the tenth edition of Shriram Bhartiya Kala Kendra’s Festival of Ballets, Shobha Deepak Singh the renowned danseuse and director of Shriram Bhartiya Kala Kendra chose four subjects from Indian myth to focus on current issues. They were Abhimanyu and Karna from Mahabharata, the poet Meera and Goddess Durga. Singh has created interesting dance-dramas based on these characters, bringing out lesser-known aspects of their personalities.
“We are not only talking about who they were, but how their stories are relevant. Through Karna, we impress the fact that it is not about cast and creed, or where you were born. It is about qualities you possess as a human.”
She went on, “The story about Abhimanyu and how he was sent to break the chakravyuh by Pandavas, shows two parties at war. The Kauravas and Pandavas were power hungry and used the child to advantage. This situations exists even now.”
Singh added, “Our Meera is not a woman with the God’s idol. She is a dancing-singing Meera. There are two characters on stage. One portrays the body of Meera. The other, her soul. We show it was only the body that married Maharana Sangram Singh 1. The soul remains liberated. Shree Durga has special significance, keeping in mind rape cases and violence against women. Our view holds that Mahishasur has not died. He roams free, using women to advantage. They have to transform into Durga to fight him.” Apart from Meera, in which she has used Rajasthani folk dance, the other three contain Mayurbhanj Chhau and Kalaripayattu. Karna meanwhile, is based on her readings. She was inspired by how Ramdhari Dinkar’s touching poem, Rashmi Rathi, gives contemporary social relevance to Karna. “He said in times to come, it will be qualities of human beings like Karna that make a place for man in society. Not caste, creed or right of inheritance. In a way, Karna’s characterisation in Rashmi Rathi embodies new life. He represented national integration by not being a party to the fragmentation of the great kingdom of Hastinapur.” During his lifetime, Karna upheld ideals for which he fought till the end. These included friendship, charity to the point of handing his victory to Arjun and following Dharma.
In fact, Karna precisely follows the immortal message of The Gita, which is to do what is right and leave result in God’s hands. “Following a path of righteousness like a Brahmin. Being kind and giving charity even to enemies. And for being a good friend. For all this Karna is to be revered. We show that he qualified to marry Draupadi during her swayamwar, but could not. And during the cheerharan episode,” reminded the director, “he stood in the sabha to protect Draupadi’s chastity by covering her with the shawl.”
Meera is an attempt to redefine the saint-singer’s image. It analyses the situation of women in India who seek space in male dominated society. The choreography relies on Rajasthan’s rich dance culture and keeps in view the evolution of Meera over decades. Its music draws upon a wealth of material furnished by Komal Kothari.
The choreography Shree Durga is designed by Shashidharan Nair, using martial arts and contemporary dance. Shobha says Durga and Kali are not vehicles of a bygone era. “Because Durga was unprotected by a male deity, Mahishasur assumed she would be helpless; that is how women are usually portrayed.”
She continued, “For two decades in my work as a director of dance-dramas, I used religious themes sanctified by tradition. In the past few years I have been fascinated by endless possibilities of new interpretations of these themes. I have tried to re-work myths through my own personal and the collective experiences of our time.”
(It begins from May 10 at Kamani Auditorium)