Mangala N. of Sanchari Theatre performed the solo play Urmila – which she has also directed – earlier this week, at Kappanna Angala, a small but inspiring space for the arts. This was the play’s 25th show since its beginning in 2004. Mangala, a close disciple of B. V. Karanth, worked on this play just before she started her theatre group which has been continuously growing in size and scope.
The dominant narrative of the Ramayana is a story of glory: of the dharma of vows, filial piety, brotherly love, ‘civilizing’ missions, conquests, morality, fidelity and honour – and an unequivocal notion of good over evil. But when read against the grain, the smaller and forgotten voices within it tell stories that are more real – humane and colourful – cracking open the dominant narrative.
Urmila, the wife of Lakshmana, is one such character that has been resurrected by Kuvempu in his Sri Ramayana Darshanam. And H. S. Venkatesha Murthy’s play, Urmila, gives her the centrestage as a strong woman whose sense of optimism, in spite of grief, is palpable.
The stage is open, with minimal props: a carved pillar behind which character-transformation happens, and a stool to sit on. The artist wears a neutral costume of a white, nine-yard sari thus ensuring the emphasis on the literature of the play. Gajana Naik’s music intersperses the act with songs that give Urmila’s words a soulful aesthetic, and Vinay Chandra’s lighting helps colour the spectrum of emotions.
The short 50-minute play portrays Urmila in a bitter-sweet haze, about to welcome back her husband after 14 years of separation. A look back shows Dasharatha mournfully accepting to send Rama on a fourteen year exile in order to keep his word with Kaikeyi . Seeta goes along with her husband while Lakshmana decides to accompany them. He disallows Urmila from going with him by binding her in entreaties of dharma . Although unconvinced by his shaky arguments, she decides to honour him by staying back as the true gruhini : an efficient housekeeper, a gracious host, and a loving mother. Her need for the love and companionship of a husband is considered unimportant in this scheme ruled by dharma . In the Ramayana, Lakshmana goes away to participate in many adventures, while Urmila inhabits a dark space away from the author’s mind. In the play however, the protagonist Urmila lives her life to the fullest – while battling loneliness and sorrow. In her words, the burning of Lanka is a vengeful assault on a peaceable population rather than the prevalence of good over evil; its conquest is a matter of cultural domination; and Hanumantha’s subservience is a matter of psychological enslavement.
When Lakshamana returns basking in his triumph, he notices the city flooded with flowers but fails to understand that they come from the trees that Urmila has planted and nurtured in his absence.
The last scene where Mangala unfolds strips of green cloth lined up on the stage and holds them up in a towering canopy, is stunning for its symbolic value. While her husband went away into the forest, she made the forest come to her and loved it like her own child, thus subverting the narrative while living within the confines of her limited role.
Mangala says that she saw the image of Salumarada Thimakka in this characterisation of Urmila and felt an instant need to embody this thought. In the play, Urmila is constantly weaving flowers into a garland – an activity of creation, of construction, which Mangala sees as a hopeful push against desperation and loss. She performed these emotions with such conviction that it was apparent that the tears in the audience’s eyes were effortless.
