Bhasa -- one of the earliest Indian playwrights -- literally straddles between two worlds in his celebrated work, Madhyama Vyayoga . He is within the epic and outside of it. Bhasa picks characters from the epic Mahabharatha – Ghatotkacha, Bhima and Hidimba, and weaves it with the story of a Brahmin, taken from a Vedic text. In doing so, Bhasa is creatively liberated from the epic, as also from the Vedic text. This conjunction also makes it possible for Bhasa to gain an interpretive freedom: he thereby bestows upon these epic figures, a new dimension. Ghatokacha is not a cruel demon and Brahmin hater as he is in the epic, Hidimba is no mere mountain of strength and a brutal demoness, and Bhima is not all show of strength. Bhasa, who is said to have lived between 3 and 4 century B.C., writes a strikingly modern play envisioning a model society -- in which large than life epic heroes are humanised with compassion. In his brilliant stroke of imagination, Bhasa forges a remarkable dialogue between these two texts, and redeems the characters and the societies they inhabit from the danger of singular representation.
Ninasam Tirugata 2017 as part of its two plays annual theatre tour, staged Madhyama Vyayoga and Su Bitre Banna, Ba Bitre Sunna in Bangalore recently. The young Umesh Saliyan, alumni of Ninasam, directed Madhyama Vyayoga with exceptional brilliance, held together by actors who were no less splendid.
The performative text is visually rich with traditional theatre and dance forms such as Koodiyattam, Yakshagana, Chhau and Kalaripayattu along with contemporary drama. The result is a grand spectacle of music, dance and theatre. This deliberate grandeur and upscaling of emotions as technique, works perfectly well in grasping the creative intent of Bhasa, who is actually unravelling latent contrasts. Bhima, Ghatotkacha and Hidimba epitomize fiendish power, but the playwright opens up something tender: through them he speaks of compassion and kindness. The performance carries off these inherent dissimilitudes so poignantly that Hidimba’s chilling scream in fact, produces tears in the audience. Bhasa, in his description of each of these characters, is constantly trying to capture the duality of the internal and external selves, eventually erasing the exterior with the interior strongly moving to the foreground. This, he is hinting from the very beginning. For instance, when Ghatotkacha is introduced, he says the looks bear the majesty and fierceness of a lion, but in his eyes is a honeyed goodness. In fact, he goes a step further and writes he is the image of Shiva ( Harana pratime in Kannada ) – who is both austere and destructive. Ghatotkacha’s (endearing performance by Vinod Bhandari) portrayal carries both these attributes: finally the image of Ghatotkacha that stays with us is that of a loving son, a symbol of Matrubhakti and not demonic power. If Bhasa intended to go with the telling of the epic, would his Ghatotkacha say, “Brahmins are to be honoured foremost in this world”? If he were a true blue demon, would his innate desire be to let go off the Brahmin family but for his mother’s hunger?
The leitmotif of the play is the Brahmin family clinging together: this is a touching and profound choreographic stroke. In it is the philosophical vision of the playwright too -- unlike Bhavabhuti for whom kingship is supreme, Bhasa upholds the family. His eventual bringing together of Bhima, Hidimba and Ghatotkacha is also an outcome of this. Critics of a society are born within it -- society is a sum of all its parts, and in Bhima one can see the desire to keep it together. Blown over by the beauty and physique Ghatotkacha, Bhima remarks: ‘Of what use is that physical prowess which is devoid of mercy for the distressed?”
An addition that Umesh Saliyan has made to his stage text is the insurgent group -- this is like an off key note in a play that is otherwise sheer poetry. But that is perhaps Umesh Saliyan’s response to Bhasa -- if some become less equal in the eyes of the State or the family, they will write a discordant story. There are enough evidences in history for this.
Su bitre Banna, Ba bitre Sunna is based on Carlo Goldoni’s Servant of Two Master s. An 18th century situational comedy, it is adapted to Kannada by writer Jogi. The play was a runaway hit during Goldoni’s times and was received with acclaim for its comic adventures and witty inventions. The Kannada play retains its comic tenor, but is thin in terms of its content. With the wonderful set of actors, and the quirky approach of director Iqbal, the play gets elevated. It gets its contemporary twist by placing it in India ridden with identity politics. A whole lot of issues from the current socio-cultural scenario is written into the play, making it a huge hit with the audience. Moreover, the play evolves with songs set to several popular genres making it an out and out entertainer.
Iqbal’s theatre is highly stylised and at times the body language is too loud making the theatre look lewd. One of our most talented directors, Iqbal packs in a lurking eeriness of the times that we live in, giving the play a certain edge. But this kind of theatre is his comfort zone. It is time for him to breakaway from it like he did in his earlier production, Antigone .
Each of the actors in the Tirugata team are extraordinary -- their energy and accomplishment is awe inspiring. Nandakumar G.K. who was the lead in both the plays is a star, and so is Uma who can sing, dance and act with aplomb. The music and lighting team did a fine job.
