The essence of Rabindranath Tagore’s philosophy came out beautifully in dance drama “Shyama”, staged at Kolkata’s Rabindra Sadan recently.
Darpani took upon itself the responsibility of staging the dance drama which falls into the genre of romantic tragedy.
In the story, Bajra Sen, a foreign merchant, who has bought the valuable indramani necklace from Subarna islands, is in search of his ideal soulmate and does not know where she is And Shyama, the court dancer, is also in the dark about her man, They meet in the most unusual circumstances.
Bajra Sen is chained-up and taken by the “Nagar Kotal” to the prison, on charges of theft from the king’s treasury. Shyama has a glimpse of him from her palace window. She falls in love and her heart cries for his immediate freedom. Human fallibility to achieve the unachievable sows the seeds of tragedy. Uttiyo, the infatuated youth, love-sick for Shyama, is persuaded to save her lover. He takes the blame upon himself and sacrifices his life for Shyama – the woman of his dream. The thorn of guilt weighs heavily on Shyama and mars the enjoyment of pure love. The knowledge of her act disgusts Bajra Sen, who abandons her.
But the most uncomfortable question raised by the philosopher poet Tagore in a lyric sung by Bajra Sen is rather disturbing. “Khsamite parilam na je khsamo hey mamo dinata”, begging the Almighty to forgive his lowliness and poverty in being unable to forgive Shyama. The disturbing thought for all of us is that we all want forgiveness when we ourselves are unable to dispense it.
Rabindranath Tagore had requested his audience to pick up “the immediate impression of the whole, to capture the spirit of art, which reveals itself in the rhythm of movements, in the lyric of colour, form and sound and refuses to be denied or described by words” rather than getting into the quagmire of the story.
The lyrics in “Shyama” have an untold beauty. The theme has been adapted by a poet from “Sanskrit Buddhist Literature of Nepal”, staged for the first time in 1939.
Soumili Biswas’ understanding of the character of Shyama was immaculate. Her manipulation of goading the infatuated youth to own up for a theft he had not done and then trying to stop his execution, placed power alongside kind feelings. Her expression when her lover describes her as an epitome of one who is merciful was etched with depth. As a court dancer she was aptly costumed. Arnab Bandopadhayay was at his creative best. His true love was not mixed with guilt. His loathing for Shyama on knowing the truth was authentic. The sakhis as well as the group, who represented the soul of Shyama as well as narrators, took the story forward in an imaginative way. However the music to which they danced did not gel with Rabindra Sangeet. Surajit Biswas as Uttiyo evoked tragic emotion. Pratap Mondal as Kotal was fearful and that is where his success lie.
Sraboni Sen’s singing has never been so good as it was that evening in the role of Shyama. Promit Sen was perfect as a vocalist for Bajra Sen. “Shyama” by Arnab Bandopadhayay was a spectacularly mega show and the audience remained glued to their seats till the very end. Scene after scene offered a rich tapestry of dance.
