Sixty-two year old Khudiram Chattopadhyaya and his wife Chandramani have visions of a divine child being born to them. The child is named Gadadhara, after Vishnu. The child has a mystic experience when he is just six. The turning point in Gadadhara’s life, however, comes when he becomes a priest in the Dakshineswar Kali temple. He throws conventions to the wind. To him, Kali is a mother, with whom he communes daily. His behaviour falls outside the range of what is defined as ‘normal,’ and people dub him insane.
Gadadara’s mother decides that a marriage will straighten him out, and Sarada Devi enters his life. ‘Bhagawan Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsar,’ the play presented by Mahalakshmi Ladies Group Trust of Bombay Gnanam, captured the evolution of Gadadhara into the ascetic Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, with Sarada Devi beside him, holding the same monastic ideals as her husband. In Narendranath, Sri Ramakrishna finds the ideal student. Narendra is assailed by doubts — if indeed Advaita is valid, how can idol worship be justified? Has anyone seen God? Answers come from Sri Ramakrishna and Narendranath becomes the sanyasi Vivekananda.
A scene from ‘Bhagawan Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsar’
Obviously, not all incidents in Sri Ramakrishna’s life can be covered in a play, but Gnanam shines enough light on the life of the saint. In her play, the story of Sri Ramakrishna is narrated by Vivekananda, to a little girl, after he arrives in Madras from the U.S. The Tamil grammar work Nannool talks of ‘Paayiram,’ which means introduction to a book or synopsis. Persons qualified to give the introduction are: tannodu katraan, tan aasiriyan, tan maanaakkan (the author’s classmate, his teacher or his student). If Gnanam’s play is taken as an introduction to a biography of the saint’s life, then who better than his sishya Vivekananda to give us this introduction and summary ( paayiram )? The play ends with Vivekananda’s Chicago speech, where he repudiates the criticisms of the missionaries and talks of the defining features of Hinduism — its tolerance and all-encompassing nature.
The play simply took one’s breath away, with brilliant sets (including fibre mould figures of Kali and Sri Ramakrishna), beautiful music, a great authorial and directorial effort by Gnanam and the acting of her team. Bhargavi Guhan as little Gadadhara and Sarada was charming. Varsha as Sri Ramakrishna was the soul of the play. She had injured her ankle and ended up with torn ligaments, for which she was advised rest by the doctor. But she came on stage, after an injection of pain killers. Prancing about, dancing in ecstasy at visions of Kali, she was so full of life as Sri Ramakrishna, that if not for the bandage on her foot, one would never have known of the injury. She deserved the standing ovation she received.
It was divine will: Bombay Gnanam
Any particular reason why she comes up with spiritual themes? “I want to portray the lives of our religious leaders. Such plays draw a larger audience than social plays,” says Bombay Gnanam. Who decided that they should do a play on Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa? “Let us say, it was decided for us by divine will,” says Gnanam. Tara Srinivasan and Gnanam were mulling over future plans, when Gnanam heard a ping on her phone, and found a message which had just three words — Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. She and Tara wondered who had sent it and why. A few seconds later, the message simply disappeared, much to their astonishment. Immediately, they decided that the life of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa would be the theme of their next play. Gnanam went to the book stall in Ramakrishna Mission, to pick up a book on his life, when someone recognised her and told Swami Vimurtananda that she was there. The swami sent for her, and said, “I have heard about your dramas. Why don’t you do one on Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa?”
“So, you can see the hand of God throughout, right from the inception,” says Gnanam.
Gnanam’s play is based on the book by Swami Saradananda. Suchitra Balasubramaniam came up with tunes for the songs in the play. Music composer Diwakar Subramaniam decided that instruments such as the sitar, tabla, dholak and harmonium would gel with the theme of play. “I was meticulous about the players. I had to wait for a month for the flautist of my choice,” says Diwakar.
Grand sets
Gnanam told art director Babu that while he should not compromise on the grandeur of the sets, the stage should not be cramped. Gnanam suggested a novel lighting technique. She said that the lights should “follow” the actors as they moved. When an actor moved away from a spot, the light would be gradually dimmed, keeping her movement in focus. “I designed three levels for the stage — floor level, one foot, two feet and four feet above floor level. I decided to have a buffer light, in case an actor stepped out of her circle of operation inadvertently. But I did not tell the actors this, for I was afraid that this would make them complacent,” says Babu.
And what about the cost of such a lavish production? “Production costs came to ₹20 lakhs,” says Gnanam. And how will she recover the costs? “We always worry about it but have managed to land on our feet every time. I am sure God will show us a way this time too,” she responds.
