Bhubaneswar, Nov 28: The third day of the golden jubilee celebrations of Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalaya started off with a play based on one of Mahabharata’s great heroes – Karna.
The accomplished theatre veteran KN Panikkar and his troupe staged a retelling of ‘Karna Bharam’, the 2nd Century play written by Bhasa, at Rabindra Mandap Friday.
The play explored the angst and the conflict which Karna grew up with all his life. His encounter with his guru Parasurama, who flies into a rage and curses Karna after finding out he is not a Brahmin but a Kshatriya; the cunning deception of Indra who takes from Karna his armour and earrings (a protective shield that he was born with) at the behest of Krishna so that Karna would be defenseless against Arjuna on the Kurukshetra battlefield; his mother Kunti’s unfair request to him and his charioteer Shalya’s act of demoralising him, were all immaculately portrayed by the actors.
Karna Bharam (The Anguish of Karna) is a well-known Sanskrit play written by legendary playwright Bhasa centuries ago. KN Panikkar used the technique of Koodiyatam rooted in Natya Shastra. “My main motto behind choosing this play was to bring out the anguish of the protagonist on the battlefield. I feel proud to be associated with the golden jubilee celebrations of one of the acclaimed art institutes in the state of Orissa,” said the theatre maestro.
The performers created wonderful battle scenes through their body movements. The chorus is powerful enough to evoke a heroic mood, intensity and dramatic thrust. Through the sheer change of their postures, they create chariots drawn by horses. These visuals evoke in the audience a sense of admiration and awe.
Kavalam Narayana Panicker has written over 26 Malayalam plays, many adapted from classical Sanskrit drama and Shakespeare. Some of his notable plays were Madhyamavyayogam (1979), Kalidasa‘s Vikramorvasiyam (1981, 1996), Shakuntalam (1982), Karna Bharam (1984, 2001), Bhasa‘s Uru Bhangam (1988), Swapnavasavadattam and Dootavakyam (1996). He is the founder-director of theatre troupe Sopanam, which led to the foundation of Bhashabharati: Centre for Performing Arts, Training and Research, in Trivandrum.
He is also the recipient of the 1983 Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in Direction by Sangeet Natak Akademi, India’s National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama, which gave him its highest award for lifetime achievement – the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship – in 2002.