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 Durga Stotram by Shyamal Mullick - Tapati Chowdhurie e-mail: tapatichow@yahoo.co.in Photos: Rittik Photography November 12, 2024 The dance drama 'Durga Stotra' has been adapted from Sri Sri Chandi and Shiv Puran chapters of Markandeya Puran and performed this autumn when Devi Durga is worshipped in the length and breadth of the country. The theme, of course, is very special to Bengal. The dance composer Shyamal Mullick highlighted the Devi's power to annihilate demons. "Sadaripu" is a term used to mean the six enemies of human mind. They are: kama (desire / lust), krodha (anger), lobha (greed), mada (ego), moha (attachment), and matsarya (jealousy) and additionally alasya. According to the Sastra as contained in Sri Sri Chandi, Devi had confronted and killed demons three times. Vishnu had managed to kill the duo Madhu and Kaitabha with the help of Devi.  Devi At the outset, Devi was shown in her manifestation as a destroyer. Next, the Goddess of great beauty was shown in her manifestation as Goddess Kaushiki who killed Shumba and Nishumbha as narrated in the Shiv Puran and Chandi.  Devi as Gauri In the dance drama, the transformation of Devi Kaushiki from Devi Parvathi has been described. The close conjugal life of Shiva and Parvathi including their day-to-day life was depicted in an interesting manner. Shiva had aroused his consort's anger, when jokingly he had referred to her dark skin colour that had hurt her deeply. Subsequently it made her go into meditation, which gave her the boon of emerging as the light complexioned Gauri, which added flavour to the production. Kaushiki remained as the one who was not born of a woman's womb. She appeared as the Devi who could be used by the gods, in future, to fit the bill of making the impossible possible. The Asura brothers Shumbha and Nishumbha had received a boon from Brahma that a person born from the womb of a mother would not have the power to kill them. So empowered were the duo that they took over the heavens or Swarga Rajya from the gods. The defeated gods approached Goddess Kaushiki with folded hands to save them from the Asura brothers. The Devi had already come into existence to fulfil the wishes of gods. The duo's life was taken by Devi Kaushiki. This very dramatic story was exquisitely rendered in dance. The two brothers confronted Kaushiki in a fierce battle but were killed. In the final scene, Durga's manifestation as Mahamaya or the ultimate reality was shown.  Durga Stotram  Mahishasuramardini Mahishasur who had attained the boon from Brahma that no man could kill him, had been destroyed and killed by Devi manifested as Durga. The gods' fervent prayer to Devi made her manifest as Durga, the formidable one, in whose hands Mahishasur finally met his end. It was a fierce battle fought in space, the universe and the world, was one-of-its-kind battle, where the powerful Devi's calm and benevolent look was awesome. The audience held their breath to see the asura's final defeat. Besides showcasing Durga's "Matri Rupa", her transformation to one that is invincible was hair-raising. It was a drama of blood and gore as well as benevolence and hope.  Shyamal Mullick and group The main theme that finally emerged was that Mahishasura was the symbol of human beings' Sadaripu or his six vices. The message is, if man can conquer his Sadaripu, Devi Mahamaya will reign in his heart. "Kathakatha" is an ancient form of entertainment in Bengal, where the storyteller enacts a tale using all his talents. He is at once the Sutradhar and the actor, as and when the story demands. He has other actors to assist him in unfolding the selected story. As per tradition, in this drama too, Shyamal Mullick, the dancer, composer and choreographer and costume designer though basically was in the role of the Sutradhar, he played many roles. Besides enacting the role of Vishnu, at times he was in the role of Shiva or Mahishasura. He tried to uphold the angika of "Kathakathakar". In Durga Stotram. Sraboni Bhuya who is known for her acting abilities was in the role of Durga. Sagarika Roy excelled in the role of Kaushiki, while Priyanka Das Karmakar was in the role of Parvathi. The opening dance was by well-known actor Swikriti Mazumder.  Tapati Chowdhurie trained under Guru Gopinath in Madras and was briefly with International Centre for Kathakali in New Delhi. Presently, she is a freelance writer on the performing arts. |
