BENGALURU: Considered an asset of Kannada literature, Pampabharatha is the Kannada version of the Mahabharata with Arjuna as the hero. The play through the eyes of Karna. Written by KY Narayanaswami, the show will be staged for the 96th time this September.
Director Pramod Shigov says, “We will donate proceeds to victims of the Kodagu floods. The play is relevant to today’s socio-political situation in Karnataka and as one watches it, they will understand how.”
The story starts in the present with flashbacks of the past and future.
“In the story, two students from Bengaluru visit the Gangadhara Shasana (Pampa’s stone) to find out how he died. They encounter the ghost of Pampa and Karna. What follows is a conversation between the two, with Karna having a long discussion with him; asking the poet about the injustice meted out to him in the Kannada epic,” Pramod shares.
The two spirits revisit different instances from the Mahabharata and dissect them. The drama, presented by Samudaya Bengaluru weaves in issues of caste and religious fundamentalism. The director points out, “Karna is born a Kshatriya but brought up as a shudra in Mahabharata.” “Throughout the original epic, he loses out on many opportunities and is met with injustice as he is from a ‘lower’ caste,” Pramod adds.
Literary texts from the ancient script are recited and recorded, which serve as background music in the play. This is in addition to new-age Kannada songs that will also be played, an attempt to give a contemporary context to the two-hour drama. The 10-member crew will be performing on September 1 in Rangashankara, JP Nagar at 7.30 pm. Tickets are priced at `150.