The roads outside Chinmaya Heritage Centre are bereft of any parking space, even as cars continue to line up outside the life-size banner of Usha Uthup that marks the entrance to the venue. Inside, the corridor leading to the hall is filled with kids and parents browsing through the many publications of Karadi Tales, such as When the Earth Lost its Shapes and The Monkey King: A Jataka Classic . The 20-year-old organisation has brought out several audio books, picture books and tactile books. This is their foray into a theatre production (based on books by Karadi Tales and in collaboration with city-based theatre company Evam).
The second edition of Once Upon A Bak Bak Tree, directed by Amit Singh, opens to a full house. From near the moshpit, a look at the audience shows an empty seat or two in each row. Go closer, and it’s already taken by some child who, breathless with excitement, shuttles between his or her parent’s lap and the seat. A few parents, perhaps with a competitive spirit, are already reading out rhymes from a three-fold pamphlet that was handed out to everyone by the organisers; a few others are busy shushing their kids.
That’s only till the lights go out, and the spotlight shines on an installation of a freakish tree with two curious eyes a.k.a the bak bak tree. The 450-year-old tree and the ‘oldest surviving member of the forest’ invites the kids to listen to two stories that it was witness to. With that being the cue, the rest of the stage lights up to a set-up that apes, quite sincerely so, the rocks, ropes and comb of bananas that make for an ideal habitat for monkeys.
Monkeys on a Fast (based on a story by Kaushik Viswanath) narrates the tale of an idealist monkey Chakku, who attempts to encourage his clan to eat healthy, practise yoga, and become wiser, but fails miserably. Each time, he gathers everyone to sit and fast, they find a way to get to their bananas and tempt Chakku to do the same. Filled with characters who succeed in bringing out their idiosyncrasies (like Metro monkey who raps, grooves and is known to have the swag), and a live band (3 Brothers and a Violin) that whips up prompt thematic numbers for every situation, the interactive musical soon has kids going bananas.
The story then seamlessly weaves into another, The Monkeys and the Capseller (based on a story by Anushka Ravishankar), about a boy named Taklu, who as the name suggests, is born bald. Taunted by his friends about his baldness, and after a rejection by a college crush, he takes up a challenge to stitch his own cap. An effort that becomes his calling, he is soon travelling out of town to sell his caps — a journey that has him get down to the aisles and click selfies with the kids. Eventually, he meets one of the monkeys who happens to have a bald spot.
The last leg of the two-hour show is when Usha Uthup belts out simple rhymes on monkeys, mangoes and puppy’s tail, even as she hugs the tiny tots who are continuously propped on to the stage by their parents to join her. The crowd swells around her, until a point when it just seems like the mix of children and actors from the play are now just monkeying around.
