Bharat Rang Mahotsav or Bha-Rang-Am as many call it is an emotional sigh of nostalgia for me. It reminds me of a world (of theatre) & time (my youth) which like a sweet, intoxicating wine I tasted with my tongue, wet my dry lips with but did not drink the full chalice. I moved from acting to directing, to writing plays to watching them. Although, I have never turned away from theatre, I am only an infrequent visitor to this caravanserai.
More on that later but now for the woman of the moment - Swati Dubey from Jabalpur. I met Swati briefly at NSD final selection camp in the year 2011. Swati continued her journey of exploring herself and her art through theatre and runs a theatre group called Samagam Rangmandal in the beautiful town of Jabalpur, MP. I have kept track of her work through this very medium of Facebook but once missed her show in Bhubaneswar by a whisker.I was witness to this brilliant play Bhoomi staged at the Sri Ram Centre during the 25th BRM. The play was directed by Swati and she was also playing the lead role of Chitrangada in this amazing tale from Mahabharata. On the face of it, the story is a tale of a egoistic, warrior king (Arjuna) driven by the unquenchable desire of expansion of their kingdom or land (hence, the name Bhoomi), meeting a beautful warrior princess in the land of Manipur (Kangla) in the North-East. They marry, have a child and then he deserts her to go back to the mainland (and mainstream culture) only to return after many years, yet again in a conquest of more land-grabbing via the the ritual of Ashwamedha. The horse is captured by a young lad who challenges the greatest archer and warrior of the time, Arjuna to a fierce battle fought in the beautiful hills of Kangla valley. Arjuna, or Parth is defeated for the very first time in his life. Surprised and shocked Arjuna, later finds out and gets assurance that the one who defeated him was and could only be his worthy son - Babruvahana. Also, known as someone who won against & defeated Parth, i.e. Partha-Jeet ! Hence, the deep connect this play had with me. I am told by my mother that my father as is usually the case in the affairs of men and women, prevailed and named me Partha-Jeet. He apparently had no idea about this tale of Chitrangada-Arjuna but wanted his son to be like Partha (Arjuna) who wins (Jeet) everywhere and every time. My mother wanted another beautiful name that finds a lot of mention in the Bhagavata Gita - Sthitapragyan, or the one with an established or still or calm intellect. I would have also preferred winning over inner foes and conquering oneself first as against this arrogance of fighting and winning!
But, coming back to the the play. It was extremely well-designed, well-performed, well-rehearsed and thoughtful play. The work of Swati and the writer Ashish Pathak wraps and unwraps so many layers, so many dimensions in the one and half hours, you are left with aftertaste after aftertaste in your mouth which you savour for many many hours after the play.
There are layers of a gender presented through a different relationship between woman and man. The play starts with a scene of Shiva (in apparent disguise) being beaten up by Parvati. They bless the ancient forefather, Prabhanjan of the clan that rules Kangla. Parvati makes Prabhanjan understand the alternative that women can also lead and run clans and families and can inherit the kingdom of the father. There is an acceptance of matrilineal society which is not the norm elsewhere in the country. There is an encouragement of women to choose, determine and pursue their own course of life.
There is also an alternative narrative where you are encouraged foster valour and strength as a path to glory but not cruelty; where you can take up arms to protect yourself (atma-rakhsha) and expand yourself (atma-vistaar) but not for greed (for bhoomi or resources) or ego (self-aggrandising); where you can transform war into an art.
It was also wonderful that they had time for a conversation between the artists and the audience. This is becoming so much rare in these days of reducing attention span where people wait for the play to get over to catch up on 2000+ reels and 200+ notifications. We had a chance to share our appreciation for the amazing work of asthtically designed costume, beautiful interplay of lights, thoughtful use of props. We also heard about the detailed research that went into the development of the play where a group based in the heart of Bundelkhand & central India travels to Manipur to understand the culture, the styles and details they bring out so well in the play. We meet the trainer from Manipur, who joined the group in Jabalpur to guide the dedicated practice behind the breathtaking display of martial arts. We heard more about the dance and songs from the land of Kangla, Manipur.
What a delight it was to understand & experience the play from all of our senses and mind. Thank you Swati for this. Shukriya !
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