As a tribute to B.V. Karanth, the doyen of contemporary Indian theatre and one of the pioneers of the stage music, the 20th Bharat Rang Mahotsav, International Theatre Festival of India, commenced last week with the staging of “Karanth Ke Rang”, by Rangpurva, Mumbai, at Kamani Auditorium.
Theatre music constitutes a vital element of the Indian theatrical art, and Karanth has given it a new dimension that goes beyond rendition of lyrics to enrich emotions. His quest was to use music to evolve a new language of theatre.
Master on music
In one of his interviews, he said, “Music, I think, is another important aspect of the theatre language. All sounds go to create this language and the finest use of sound is in music. Music was formerly used in our theatre to create a proper atmosphere for action and also for the creation of a particular mood, and for decoration. When I did music for ‘Hayavadana’, I discovered another use of music and that is interpretation.” At another place, he said, “Music is created not just by sitars and violins, things like stones, glasses, utensils even bells can create music.”
A musical tribute to this genius must keep this innovative aspect of his musicology. Written by Atul Tiwari and directed and conceptualised by Amod Bhatt, we watch an elaborate display of a variety of musical instruments and singers. The stage is aesthetically designed with singers, instrumentalists occupying their spaces at different levels to be visible to the audience.
Karanth’s oeuvre is much deeper than mere singing of lyrics. Amod had worked with Karanth as a performer when Karanth was head of the theatre repertory company of Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal. The lyrics which formed parts of “Karanth Ke Rang” were from various productions by Karanth, particularly from Jai Shankar Prasad’s plays, considered un-stageworthy by the theatre pundits of that time. Initially, the songs sung have no point of reference to the production they featured in at different points of time.
However, in the second half, we watch some enactments of brief sequences from earlier productions. There is a sequence from “Mahanirvaan”, in which Karanth himself acted as the dead man who resurrects himself to comment on the reaction of his family to his death and insensitivity of neighbours and apathy of the local administration in a satirically comic tone.
Similarly, there is one more interesting sequence about the dialogue between a mother-in-law who is going on a pilgrimage and her daughter-in-law to take the charge of domestic chores in the absence of mother-in-law. The vocalist could not capture the fine nuances of Karanth’s music and its warmth.
Some faded stills showed Karanth in different scenes of his productions and sitting with other personalities. These were shown without any captions to relate them to the lyrics rendered by the singers. The production would have become significant if scenes from Karanth’s landmark productions were enacted to the accompaniment of lyrics used, illustrating his quest for creating a new theatre language through the use of music. A production that is featured as the inaugural piece in the 21- day International Theatre Festival should have been conceptualised with greater depth, sensitivity and artistry.
Inhuman working conditions
Adapted from Emile Zola’s classic French novel titled “Germinal”, Ashish Chattopadhyay’s “Bol” (Bengali) was artistically remarkable and has striking contemporary relevance. “Bol” takes us to the inhuman world of miners who are condemned to work in coal mines.
A new worker joins these exploited workers who are deprived of basic human rights, are paid a pittance and often die inside the mines with no compensation. The newcomer is a woman disguised as a man as women are not permitted to work as a miner. She makes workers conscious of their rights and the need to resist oppression and fight for their rights. As the owner is not ready to listen to workers, a strike takes place.
The rapaciously greedy and inhuman owner of the coal mines, using his muscle men and police force, manages to break the strike. Ingeniously conceived, his production reminds us of the recent tragic fate of miners trapped inside the rat hole infested coal mines in Meghalaya.
The play projects the contrast between the affluent world of the owner and the pathetically impoverished world of the workers with no mechanism to fight for their basic rights. Director Chattopadhyay has created powerful visuals creating the illusion of mines flooded with water and the trapped workers trying desperately to remain alive. Similarly, he has convincingly created a structure upstage used as an elevator to take workers down the mines and bring them back. The visuals, stage sounds, and lighting effects create an ambiance that conveys the sigh of trapped humanity desperate to liberate them to breathe fresh air and enjoy themselves on earth. Though the strike is failed, the workers express their hope for a better tomorrow through the musical tunes of the mouth organ played by the leader of the failed movement who leaves the coal mines. The tune she plays is that of the mortal song – ‘ayega ayega ayega aane wala’.
Dipa Brahma as Etienne, the leader of the strike, and Shouvik Sarkar as the strong supporter and activist act with conviction. Sujit Das’s Gregoire brings to the fore, the inhuman traits of the character of the owner of the coal mines.
