| ‘All
too Real’ presented as dance theatre at the recently concluded Katha Utsav
mega-literary event in New Delhi’s India International Centre was a lively
interpretation of a wonderfully incisive short story written originally
in Hindi (KAUN THAGWA?) by Kashinath Singh and translated into English
by Pamposh Kumar as WHO IS THE THUG LOOTING THE CITY? published in Katha’s
latest offering of translations.
What was truly
engaging in Arangham’s transcreation of a short story for stage presentation,
were the twin streams that intertwined seamlessly. The edited narrative
delivered as a regular story reading was punctuated by the visual enactment
of the tale that also included intelligent articulation via choreography
and body movement and use of the voice-chorus. Splicing the text
with humour, both dark and bright, and through the stage mechanics of metaphor
and simile and hard-hitting irony, the performers boomed their own lament
over rampant globalisation and corruption, which are the themes that are
most engaging in the original short story.
The use of
the common bhajan ‘Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram’ as a refrain for the current
state of Ram Rajya (India today?!) and the recreation of facile images
of Rama imprisoned by galloping market forces, were charming stage devices,
and
the performance
drew several rounds of spontaneous applause and peals of laughter as the
chock-a-block-full house recognized the maddening contemporary ironies
of the script.
All in all
a marvelous performance, and another radiant feather in Arangham’s already
multi-plumed cap!
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