BHUBANESWAR: When it comes to Ravana Chhaya, an ancient form of shadow puppetry in Odisha, the narrative is usually rooted in mythological tales, Ramayana in particular. But, for exponent Gouranga Charan Dash of Kutarimunda village in Angul district, it is an instrument of change - a medium to ignite nationalistic spirit among the people and inspire them to work for the good of the country along with eradicating social evils and practices.
He has brought about a fusion of mythology, history, and the contemporary to make the art form more effective in spreading the message of social change and upliftment. In his most popular story titled ‘Mahalaxmi Katha’, Dash juxtaposes the Purana with the Gandhian ideology of social equality and the freedom movement. The show that uses 250 puppets continues for 55 minutes and throughout touches upon three very important issues in society today – caste discrimination, women empowerment, and love.
Dash, who had first showcased the puppet play in Banaras in 2006, has staged it at least 40 times across the country. “Mahalaxmi Katha is one of the most loved plays in our repertoire and the audience has been a good mix of villagers, educated mass in cities and youth,” says Dash who recently collaborated with the Sangeet Natak Akademi to host the play again at a two-day puppet festival ‘Putul Utsav’ celebrating the 75th year of Independence at the Kandhei Ghara museum on the premises of his Sriram Institute of Shadow Theatre at Kutarimunda.
A PhD holder in Ravana Chhaya, he says improvisation is important to keep the art form alive without changing its traditional elements. Dash, who retired as the HoD of Odia department of Ravenshaw University in Cuttack, says he uses the craft to make the younger generation aware of the great leaders of the country, the Gandhian philosophy of life, and problems that haunt the society even after seven decades of Independence.
Some of his contemporary works with Ravana Chhaya include ‘Bapu Katha’, ‘Srikhetra O Bapu’, ‘Visit of the Legend’ (depicting Gandhi’s visit to Angul), ‘Jawahar: The Apostle of Peace’, ‘Vriksoham’ (I Am Tree), ‘Mahanadi Katha’, ‘Chandalika’, and ‘Vande Maataram’.
Citing the example of ‘Chandalika’ which he has adapted in Ravana Chhaya for Sangeet Natak Akademi, he says the dance drama was authoured by Rabindranath Tagore to promote social equality and eliminate the discrimination of people on the basis of their caste. Mahatma Gandhi is central to many of his works as he believes following his principles is the need of the hour.
Hailing from Angul, which is home to the art form, his tryst with shadow puppetry began early in life. It was in 1992 when he was approached by Kapila Vatsyayana, one of the greatest doyens of Indian art and culture, to do a play using Ravana Chhaya on Mahatma Gandhi for Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts (IGNCA). He staged two plays on Gandhi in 1995 using shadow puppetry.
Dash does not only manipulate the puppets but also creates them. What makes the Ravana Chhaya puppets unique, he says, is that they are made from a single piece of untanned animal hide and have no joints unlike puppets in other forms. They are linear-cut into varied shapes and sizes and manipulated by the puppeteers with the help of bamboo sticks attached to the bottom.
Over the years, the number of Ravana Chhaya troupes in Odisha has been reduced to two including that of Dash and the other being, Ravana Chhaya Natya Sansada in Odash village of Angul.
But the craft is not dying considering the demand for shows from connoisseurs and the general public, says the artist who has been staging shows at many prestigious platforms and institutions of repute throughout the country. Pre-Covid, he used to stage at least 40 plays in a year. He has also trained a number of students of IITs in the art form.
Trivia
Jivan Pani, an exponent of dance and theatre, in his book ‘Ravana Chhaya’, has claimed that the art form existed in Odisha in the 3rd century BC and during this time, shadow theatre had travelled from Kalinga to Southeast Asian countries
Ravana Chhaya uses lyrical Odia poetic rendition of Bichitra Ramayana written by Biswanath Khuntia in the 18th century