A cultural extravaganza is in the offing for art lovers of the Capital city. Chhau dancer Sadashiva Pradhan will perform a ballet on “Dandi Mahabharata” in Mayurbhanj Chhau style at the Utkal Mandap, here on March 27.
Pradhan said the “Dandi Mahabharata” was scripted by Sarala Das during 15th century.
“The script was written in Dandi Brutta, a form of poetry which used colloquial language prevailing then. Sarala Das wrote the Mahabharata in a manner that can be easily understood by common people, whereas Vyasa’s Mahabharata was written in Sanskrit,” said Pradhan.
He added that Das eliminated certain events and scenes in his version of the epic and replaced them with imageries and events from his own imagination which could be easily registered in the minds of people.
“As per Sarala Mahabharat, the main game planner and conspirator was Shakuni and not Lord Krishan as portrayed by Vyasa in his Mahabharat, said the dancer.
He added that our ballet will be based on various episodes of the epic. We will also show the end of the great battle in a series of deceitful events which see the death of Duryodhan and his 99 brothers.
The dancer choose to represent this in Mayurbhanj Chhau style as Chhau being a martial dance form would be an apt medium for an epic story like Mahabharata where there is battle and bloodshed.