CHENNAI: The most famous story of guru Dronacharya, a character from the epic Mahabarata, is undoubtedly that of his encounter with Ekalavya. This and more such episodes from the life and times of the legendary guru will be staged at Chettinad Vidyashram by the school’s theatre group Chettinad Players. This play will mark the 15th stage production of the group.
“A hundred students of Chettinad Vidyashram including the school’s alumni will perform. The role of Dronarcharya will be played by Asif, who is a former student of Chettinad Vidyashram,” shares principal Amudha Lakshmi.
Actors for the production were chosen after an audition early this year, and they began rehearsing for it in July.
The production has been helmed by director Jayakumar Janakiraman and scripted by Deepika and Kumaravel. The sets have been designed by Thota Tharani and Thota Rohini, and it took three months for them to make it. Three weeks ago, the actors started rehearsing with the sets. Principal Amudha Lakshmi has designed the costumes, and some of the school students donned the role of assistant directors of the play. Ilavarasan, an alumnus who is playing the role of Drupada, says, “I am a professional theatre artiste. I know training adults is easy but it was fun to teach these children. It was a learning experience, too.”
Amudha says that such plays based on legendary characters and epics aim to create awareness among children about ancient Indian texts. “Earlier, grandparents used to narrate such stories to children. Now, everything has changed. By doing such plays, we are educating them about our ancient texts. There is no religious connotation. These texts are about how one should lead life. That’s what students will learn.”
The two-and-a-half-hour production will focus on Ekalavya’s encounter with Dronacharya, why Dronacharya decided to join the Kauravas instead of the Pandavas, what he inherited from his parents among other episodes.