The clouds of June hung so low that one needed an evening-bite, a drama for thought and a night-ride of contemplation. The pouring weather metaphorically matched the brooding moments we often face politically, environmentally and ethically, which was also themed for a theatre festival in Bangalore last week.
Avadhi, an e-magazine that features literature and art in Kannada, honoured director Sripad Bhat who has been tirelessly working in the field of theatre since 25 years. A three-day theatre festival was also organised. Bhat who researched extensively on Uttara Kannada theatre, has set up a drama research centre at Sheshagiri village in Haveri. He has chosen to remain outside the ‘fame-frame’, and has been training artistes from across the State.
Out of three plays selected for the festival, Mistake was staged on the first day. Performed by Rathabeedi Geleyaru from Udupi, the play comprised of four stories by Sadat Hasan Manto. In the gloomy lighting, a group of men wound themselves with each other giving the impression that they were controlled by an invisible puppeteer. This, conjured up the images of Partition, and how people became pawns in a political game. Louring voices chanting Hindu and Muslim hymns set the tone of communal disturbance that was going to materialize.
The sequence of the stories that placed ‘Mistake’ in the beginning and ‘A tale of 1947’, a story of two friends, at the end, was a good strategy. If ‘Mistake’ establishes the problematic, ‘A tale of 1947’ de-constructs the problem. ‘Mistake’, a very short story, in making the audience think - what afterall was the mistake after the murder, who killed whom - kicks-off the narrative. The last story probes into the issue of communal killings through the character Mumtaz. Mumtaz tells his friend Jugal, “If you kill a Muslim, you kill a human being and never the Muslimness in him.” This line sums up the intent of the other stories too.
The play was a mix of narration and performance -- in fact, one felt that the narration could have been cut down and replaced by theatrics. For instance, in the hospital scene of ‘Khol Do’, the audience initially did not understand why Sakhina’s dad was baffled. It later came as narration by Sakhina, which, instead of creating the impact, diluted the heaviness of violence.
In ‘Sharifan’, the use of colourful pieces of cloth, tearing and throwing them all over the floor, depicted the anger and helplessness of a father who witnessed the rape and murder of his daughter. Repetition of the lines - “body, a fully bare body....lie those tiny breasts facing the sunlight” - after the death of Sharifan and Vimala, convey the similitude between what happened to Sharifan and Vimala; also what Sharifan’s father and the Hindu rioters did.”
The machine-like callous behaviour of the army was well captured by measured beats and mechanical movements. The expressions of the army officer was terrifying, but his three assistants did not match up to his brutality.
Mistake captured the tenor of Manto, but could have been forceful if it was kept crisp.
If Mistake started off with religious violence that numbed one’s conscience, Kempu Kanagile by Rabindranath Tagore showcased the oppression under the garb of development. The entire play was musical and the speciality of it was, actors themselves sang throughout the play and the music team acted as a support system. The acting by the members of Natana school of Mysore was not superficial, but internalised.
Disha Ramesh who essayed the role of Nandini not just looked mesmerizing, she embodied the internal spirit of the role, which was lit by the red oleanders that dangled around her neck. Disha was indeed the star of the day. Her elegance in singing and acting marked the success of the show.
Akhilesh Krishna as Bishu, though appeared in lesser number of scenes, added depth to the performance in his characterization of a matured lover and an inefficient labourer who roams around singing. Visualization of the king’s palace, costume and accessories were commendable. Megha Sameera as king in his display of energy, steadiness and anger mixed with ignorance caught the audience’s attention. Kothwal’s rope was a symbol of power and control that demanded obedience.
When Bishu is being jailed, the governor, the professor and the purohit stand as pillars of government, university and the church (religion).Workers were kept in Yaksha Town under the rhetoric of progress, scientific advancement and divine service.
Nandini becomes an object of curiosity to everyone as she does not speak the language of the town. In a positivist world where anything indiscernible is considered unreal and deviant to the dissecting eyes, the production and accumulation of wealth only is measurable, real and therefore productive. Tagore thinks, the only way to challenge the rigid, practical, scientific and demonic thought is by the charm of beauty! Beauty of nature and music that is anarchist and imaginative brought exuberance in the graveyard. When Bishu is about to go behind bars, Nandini advises him, “whatever it is, never stop singing my friend.” The line captured the place of art in a political space and for keeping one’s personal spirits alive.
The oppressed art forms, raped and distorted bodies of Manto’s stories seemed to linger on, till it was liberated the second day with the transformation of the king of Yaksha town. With a few swift turns of Yakshagana, the atmosphere became a space that was approachable.
