|     |
|
| |
 'Cleopatra' by Prabal Gupta - Sharmila Mazumdar e-mail: sharmilamazumdar62@gmail.com Photos: Ambarish Bhattacharya April 11, 2023 Connoisseurs of performing arts of Pune were treated to a breath-taking performance of Kathakali by Prabal Gupta of Bangalore. A programme organised by Infosys Foundation and hosted by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan on 25th of March 2023 at their Sardar Mahadev Balwant Natu Sabhagriha, the performance of Gupta will linger in the minds of the rasikas for its exuberant execution. Initially trained by Guru FACT Padmanabhan, Prabal became the disciple of Kathakali Guru Sadanam Balakrishnan and has been carrying forward his legacy. He has specialised in the Keezhpadam style of Kathakali and continues with his research work and choreography on experimental themes which have brought him great recognition.  The evening's presentation was expressively woven around the character of Cleopatra of the classic Shakesperean tragedy and adapted wholesomely into authentic Kathakali style - complete in its exquisite abhinaya, gorgeous costume, makeup and a perfectly designed music that was vocally rendered in Sanskrit in the traditional Kathakali style of singing by Sadanam Sivadas and Sadanam Jyothish Babu. It was accompanied by an English commentary by the artiste himself. The striking feature of his dance lay in its fluidity that packed a whole lot of dynamism into a few suggestive movements and dynamic kalasams. In this performance the storyline progression of the classic was recast into a Cleopatra centric depiction comprising of six scenes. The first scene opens with Cleopatra enquiring about the whereabouts of Anthony, particularly expressing her delight in being addressed as the Serpent of the Nile by him. The two padams "Kutra kutraasthi sakhi mama vallabha" in raag Shankarabharnam and then "Snehena vitarati" in raag Purvi Kalyani beautifully brought out the desired rasa of the scenes. Such is her possessiveness of Anthony that she strikes down the messenger who brings the news of Anthony's marriage to Octavia, "Saptoshi saptoshi dushta doota" in raag Vekata in scene two. In the third scene, we see Cleopatra declaring war against Caesar. She requests Anthony to accompany her in her battleship. It consists of a shlokam, "Nimajya Roma samrajya" in raag Ahiri.  In the fourth scene Cleopatra manages to convince a disbelieving Anthony of her liking for him by saying that if that was not true, then may poisonous hail rain upon her thereby killing her and erasing all existence of her family and the land of Egypt. The padam used here to great effect is "Yadi sreeman asmayi toyi" in raag Neelambari. In the fifth scene through the padam, "Iichami Caesara naraadipatim" in raag Devagandhari, Cleopatra is seen asking her friend to protect her from Anthony who is hell bent in killing her. The play finally climaxes in the sixth scene with Cleopatra embracing death from a serpent's bite. By this time the dancer having cast a spell of trance upon the audience with the subtlest of abhinaya, manages to build an ethereal intensity in the death scene. Cleopatra passes through a whole range of emotions before taking the fatal bite after which the dancer shows unbelievable skill in enacting the death throes and the ultimate frothing from her mouth due to the effect of the poison. The poignant rendition of the song used here "Yachcha yachchamae ruchira dukulam" in raag Shivaranjani remains in true witness of this tragedy. The script was written by Shankar Rajaraman. The music was composed by Sadanam Sivadasan and arranged by Prabal himself.  Sharmila Mazumdar, an alumnus of Lalit Kala Kendra of Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU), trained in Bharatanatyam under Gurus Prerna Desai and Sucheta Chapekar. Her life's inspiration is Tagore and she specializes in the Rabindrik style of dance. She has also learnt Balinese dance. She runs her school Upasana Nrityayan, and is currently the dance teacher at Symbiosis International School. |
