PANAJI: What would have happened if Yudhisthir had not pledged Draupadi in the game of pachisi? Would the narrative be different if Bhishma had not abducted Amba? Would the Kauravas have won had Duryodhan's arrogance not blinded him when he sought help from Krishna?
These are some of the many questions that the 'Mahabharata', a play being staged at the ongoing Serendipity Arts Festival (SAF) here, raises as it explores the possibilities of averting the apocalyptic war.
Directed by Anurupa Roy, the play uses puppets, masks and shadow puppets to look at the Mahabharata as a dynamic narrative which has evolved over several thousand years, prompting Arundhati Nag to make the production part of her curatorial line-up in the festival.
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Nag, who has co-curated the theatre segment at SAF this year, said the epic was the only story that has got everything and continued to be relevant in contemporary times.
They say what is here (in Mahabharata) may not be elsewhere, but what is not here is not anywhere else, she told PTI.
What determined Nag's choice of the production was its interactive and engaging approach towards the retelling of the 18-day battle through the use of puppetry.
Here, they are speaking in English and trying to make it more accessible to urban children who don't know the details, who don't know who Jayadratha is, or who Ashwatthama is. So this play helps by suggesting imageries, Nag said.
The 62-year-old who helped found the Ranga Shankara theatre in Bangalore, has curated a set that draws attention to pertinent issues of present times - be it encouraging anti-war sentiment through the different interpretations of the 'Mahabharata', questioning the multiple understandings of gender in 'Akshayambara', or bringing the LGBTQ community to the forefront in 'Parayan Maranna Kadhakal'.
Her fascination with the Mahabharata is evident.
She brings to the stage yet another rendition of the Hindu epic in 'Urubhangam', a classic anti-war play by G Venu.
I wanted to show the different ways in which the Mahabharata is being presented in the country. The works I have chosen are verbal, structured pieces but with a little contemporary twist, she said.
The play, which is an adaptation of 'Urubhanga' by Bhasa, one of the earliest Indian playwrights in Sanskrit, re-enacts the episode where Bhima breaks Duryodhana's thigh, thereby mortally wounding him.
The production shows Duryodhana, usually regarded as the antagonist in all the traditional renderings of the Mahabharata, as the hero, maintaining a unique objective perspective while approaching the great war.
It almost criticizes the exercise of war, Nag said.
She said she is very concerned about the urban disconnect with contemporary issues such as gender, war and conflict.
I am very concerned about the urban disconnect with these issues. Urban kids seem to be connecting only with their individual issue that is angst, loneliness, depression, and stress. I feel theatre is this very powerful collective medium that addresses such marginalized issues in a very direct way, she said.
'Akshayambara' by playwright and director Sharanya Ramprakash, explores the representation of the feminine within the male-dominated practice of Yakshagana, a traditional theatre form from Karnataka.
The play, through imagining a reversal of roles in the well-known story of Draupadi Vastrapaharana (disrobing of Draupadi) a man plays the virtuous wife of the Pandavas, and a woman is cast as the lust and power-driven Dushasana - investigates what happens when a woman enters the professional space of a form performed by men for the past 800 years.
As the actors switch identities, a constant shift of power takes place between the performers.
They engage in a tussle that blurs the boundaries of stage and reality, male and female, thereby exploring the conflicts around tradition, gender, power, and morality.
Yakshagana is a man's world, where men play the men, and men play the women. At such a time, a girl learns the art and says, I want to play the man'. So, it is an interesting take on how the patriarchal society reacts and how the male world behaves when women come asking for their space, Nag explained.
Emotional trauma, public humiliation and stories of difficult childhoods of the members of the LGBTQ community come to the fore in 'Parayan Maranna Kadhakal', a workshop production by a first of its kind trans-theatre group in Kerala, featuring transgender actors.
The play hopes to awaken the dormant nerves of guilt in our society, Nag said.
Her curatorial line-up also includes plays for children (1.5 years 6 years) 'Plasticity' that inspects the manipulations of plastic, 'Oool', a performative journey of wool, and 'Dinner is at 8', a performance discovering the extra in the ordinary.
The Serendipity Arts Festival continues till December 22.