BENGALURU: Indian folktales have proved time and again how they have been ahead of the times. Back in 1988, when playwright Girish Karnad wrote the play Nagamandala which is a love story that blends fantastical elements, it was already established folklore.
After many successful theatrical adaptations, city-based Punyah Dance Company is all set to perform Naga Mandala, a dance-drama adaptation of the tale, which is happening January 25, at ADA Ranga Mandira, JC Road. Hailing from North Karnataka, Parshwanath Upadhye, the director of the dance company who conceptualised the show, says most of his works are adapted from mythological stories.
“Folklore was always there in the society and we still keep hearing about them. I must have heard a different version from my granny and I have watched the play also before Karnad sir’s play got famous. So the particular production is not an adaptation of that play. Here, the main plot has been kept the same. The story is about a couple and there is an involvement of the snake in the story.
So there is a merge of fantasy as well as realistic elements which sometimes leaves it open to interpretation,” explains Upadhye. The show, which has Upadhye, Shruti Gopal and Adithya PV in the lead roles, narrates the story using the folk music form of gigi pada. “Here, we have taken the folk art form gigi pada as the main base for the entire story.
The dance form is more of a folk song style where a female singer is the lead and there are two other musicians as accompanists. In this particular art form, Bharatanatyam has also been merged,” says Upadhye. He further explains, “The choreographic elements have been given more emphasis.
In Bharatanatyam, we do not have dialogues, we convey everything through facial and body abhinaya and hasta mudras. This works interestingly for this particular piece because even the audience will be more involved in finding out what we are trying to say.” The performance is divided into four sections, starting with Surli, where Rani is constantly rejected by her husband.
The second part is Hanati, which represents the inner desires of Rani, and then the third one is Aakasmika, which explains that nothing happens by accident. The show ends with Dwanda that lets the audience interpret the dual mindset of the characters. This is the first time that Naga Mandala is being performed in Bengaluru. Previously, it premiered at Kalavaahini’s Dance for Dance Festival in Chennai. Next, the show will travel to Mumbai.
The Plot
The story revolves around newly-wedded Rani, who is neglected by her husband. Frustrated by this, she ventures into a mystic forest in search of a magical flower with which she brews a love potion. When the potion accidently falls on an ant hill housing a shape-shifting snake, it falls in love with Rani and takes the shape of her husband.