The idea of ​​broadening the canvas for Tamil theater audiences by bringing plays in other Indian languages ​​to the city led to Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s annual showcase – a multilingual theater festival. The fourth edition featured a series of plays in Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam, English and Kannada. The diversity of topics and quality of performances as well as the attendance of the audience were testament to the success of this initiative.

Sutradhar and dancer. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Natana Repertory, Mysore, has been a regular participant in the festival, presenting plays of various genres every year. This time, the theater group re-performed one of the earliest independent Kannada plays, UshaharanStaged more than a century and a half ago. It was written and staged by Shantakavi of Hoseru, who is considered one of the pioneers of the early theater movement of Karnataka.

The conversation between the sutradhar and the dancer, who introduces the playwright – Sakkari Balacharya, better known as Shantakavi, sets the tone for the play. The story begins with Shiva and Parvati’s game of Sarangapatta (dice), when Banasur, the mighty demon king with a thousand arms, arrives and challenges Shiva to provide an opponent worthy of his might. Meanwhile, Parvati blesses Banasur’s daughter Usha to be united with the prince of her dreams.

Usha and Chitralekha. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Taking the help of her confidant Chitralekha, Usha realizes that Krishna’s grandson Anirudh is the man she loves. Chitralekha uses her special powers to recognize him among the many lovers and takes the sleeping Anirudh to Usha’s chamber along with her bed. When he wakes up and sees Usha, he is infatuated with her at first sight. However, Banasur rejects this union, confronts Aniruddha and imprisons him. Then Krishna fights with Banasura. When the gods prepare to open their Sudarshan Chakra, Shiva and Parvati intervene and pray to spare Banasur’s life. Ultimately, with the blessings of both Shiva and Krishna, Usha and Aniruddha got married.

Shiva and Parvati blessed Banasur’s daughter Usha to meet the prince of her dreams. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

The production made interesting use of props to establish the various settings. Flower arches were moved around to represent the changing locations in different locations, while the ornate bed brought to the stage was handled with precision. The sequence in which Chitralekha displays images of different men to help Usha identify her beloved was creatively conceived. As the curtains behind the frame were pulled aside each time, different characters came to the fore through depictions, inspired by forms such as Bhimmalatta and Yakshagana, adding an aesthetic embellishment to the presentation.

Equally interesting was the use of hairbands with different symbols to identify the characters: a trident for Shiva, a chakra for the Sudarshan Chakra, and a namam for Vishnu. Judiciously incorporated musical sequences added to the appeal of the production. However, the familiarity of the story and lengthy scenes that offered little contemporary relevance brought a sense of fatigue. The attempt to finally bring together the two philosophical traditions of Shaivism and Vaishnavism also seemed a bit awkward and failed to make a lasting impact.

Disha Ramesh as both Parvati and Chitralekha, Manoj Subramaniam as Ishwar and Chetan Raj as Banasur enthralled the audience with their stellar performances. The cast also included Megha Sameera, Ranjana Khera, Vinay S., Vikri Vikas, Bhimarai, Sanath Acharya, Chandu, Dushyant and Bharat. Music, design and direction was by Shripad Bhatt.