Mahaabhaaratam (Collaboration)

Dhananjayan finds an abiding link between the mythologies and age-old stories and present day situations. The family feud in Mahaabhaaratam is equally relevant now and so are the political situations.

It was originally commissioned by French theatre companies Plaza St. Louis, Champ Fleuri and the association Vaani of Reunion Islands in 1998, in commemoration of the 150th year of the abolition of slavery in the island, the 50th year of Indian independence and Vaani's 10th anniversary. It was presented on April 10 – 12, 1998

The people of Indian origin in Reunion still practice and perform naatakam which they pronounce as ‘Naatokoom’, a diluted form of Therukoothu and the songs they recite sound like old Therukoothu songs in Tamizh, but it is difficult to identify the language since it carries the influence of French and Creole. Mahaabhaarata is their ‘bible’ and some members of the older generation enact certain episodes from it. The Indians, who settled there many years ago, still worship Panchaliamman as their Goddess in the Tamizh Therukoothu tradition. The Dhananjayans had initially envisioned a contemporary approach like Peter Brooks, but on a preliminary visit to Reunion, they found the organizers wanted a traditional approach with glittering sets, costumes and makeup, so they revised their concept.

The Dhananjayans found there was awareness of Bharatanaatyam since their student Radhika Sivapathasundaram was conducting classes there and chose 20 of the local dance students. As there were no male dancers available, they took 6 male and 4 female dancers from Chennai to do the main roles. Since the play needed more male than female characters, it was a challenge to direct it.

The people in Reunion do not speak or follow Tamizh, but they wanted to produce this dance drama only in Tamizh with French and Creole narration. Mahaabhaaratam was available only in Samskritam, there was no available text in Tamil except in prose form. Dhananjayan worked nearly a month with Kumbakonam A Gajendran to write the simple Tamil lyrics and compose the music for this production. He wrote the story in a nutshell, taking a lot of inspiration from Kathakali literature, translated this into Tamizh and probably wrote one of the first poetic versions of the Mahaabhaarata in Tamizh.

With more than a 100 in the cast, Mahaabhaaratam was presented in Krishna Gana Sabha, Chennai, in February 1999 as part of a fund raising drive to renovate the Sabha auditorium. A cast of 27 performed in nearly 38 shows of Mahaabhaaratam in 28 cities in USA between September 15 and December 15, 1999. It was presented later at the Narada Gana Sabha.

Confining itself to select episodes from the epic, the Dhananjayans attempted to tell the whole story in 2 ½ hours in this ambitious project. In concept, choreography, dance and music, Mahaabhaaratam confines itself to the essential narrative. It is in paring away all that is not significant to core action that the approach shows maturity. The concept of a sootradhar to interlink various episodes was introduced. The characters of Vyasa and Ganapathy did the narration in French and the whole play was clearly understood by the audience. The presentations in India had the narration in Tamizh and in other countries in English.

The costumes for the subsequent presentations were totally different as against the grander costumes of the original show in Reunion. The costumes and accessories were simple, characters were recognized by some recognizable symbols like a sarpakodi (flag with snake symbol) for Duryodana and so on. A lot of inspiration came from Ravi Varma paintings.

When few dancers had to take on multiple roles, appropriate costume designs were made. The quick costume changes gave the impression of more number of members being in the cast and also served to give the dancers experience in participating in such productions, one of several things that would go a long way in developing their careers. Having been a part of such productions in Kalakshetra, the Dhananjayans were used to it and their experience was passed to the younger generation in Bharata Kalanjali.

Conceived and choreographed by the Dhananjayans.
Dhananjayan used the theatrical impulses of Kathakali to portray Bheema.
Costumes designed by Shanta Dhananjayan.
Libretto and lyrics are in Tamizh with the exception of the Sanskrit verses of the Gita.
Music composed by Kumbakonam A Gajendran.
Lighting design by V. P. Ramachandran.

Synopsis

Select episodes were chosen and skillfully woven to capture the essence of the epic drama.

Scene 1

Veda Vyasa (the narrator) prays to Lord Ganesha requesting him to write a story of Mahabharatam. Ganesha agrees with the condition that he should not stop even once during the entire story.
Vyasa then narrates the events that led to the emergence of the two races of the Pandavas and the Kauravas.

Scene 2

Guru (teacher) Dronacharya takes his disciples, the Pandavas and the Kauravas, to the forest to practice archery. He encounters a young and gifted archer, Ekalavya, who requests Dronacharya to take him as a disciple. The Guru asks for Ekalavya’s thumb as his "Guru-Dakshina". With true devotion Ekalavya cuts his right thumb and places it at Dronacharya’s feet.

Scene 3

Through the years the Kauravas try to destroy their cousins, the Pandavas, so they can have sole control of the throne. In order to eliminate them, Duryodhana, the eldest of the Kauravas builds a palace of wax for the Pandavas and then sets it on fire. Fortunately, the Pandavas escape and take refuge in Eakachakra. This place is terrorized by a demon called Bakasura. The strongest of the Pandavas, Bheema, decides to meet this demon and in the ensuing battle he kills the demon and emerges victorious.

Scene 4

After many valorous episodes, the Pandavas reach the kingdom of Drupada. They arrive there during the Swayamvara (marriage) of the princess Panchali (Draupadi). In the competition of shooting the flying fish, Arjuna emerges victorious and wins the hand of Panchali. Due to a series of unavoidable circumstances she becomes the wife of all the Pandavas and together they begin their lives in Hastinapuram in a special palace which is built for them at the request of Bheeshma. During their stay there, Duryodhana visits the Pandavas. Captivated by the illusions in the palace, he slips and falls into a pond. This is noticed by Draupadi who mocks him. Infuriated by this, he swears to avenge this insult.

Scene 5

Duryodhana seeks revenge and with the help of his wicked uncle Shakuni, he invites the Pandavas for a fixed game of dice. In the game, Yudhishtra loses his wealth, kingdom and eventually his brothers, himself and his wife Panchali. Pleased with the turn of events, Duryodhana orders Panchali to be dragged into the palace, then to be disrobed and humiliated. However, Lord Krishna comes to her rescue and magically covers her with seemingly unending length of sari. Panchali vows to avenge this public humiliation by leaving her hair untied until she can wash it in Dushasana’s blood. The Pandavas also vow to avenge Duryodhana’s treachery.

Scene 6

The Pandavas are exiled to the forest for twelve years and spend another year in hiding. During this period, they encounter various incidents that change their lives. Bheema gets to meet his brother Hanuman, and Arjuna receives the Pasupada arrow from Lord Shiva in an incident where Shiva comes in the disguise of a hunter.

Scene 7

After their exile, the Pandavas return to Indraprashtha and send Krishna as their messenger to inform the Kauravas of their arrival. Duryodhana gives Krishna a cold reception and refuses to return the Pandavas their rightful property. Infuriated, Krishna declares war on the Kauravas as he leaves.

Scene 8

In the battle between the Pandavas and Kauravas, Krishna gives up his army to fight for the Kauravas and chooses to be the charioteer for Arjuna. During the battle, Arjuna realizes that he is fighting with his own kin and loses heart. In the famous episode, the Geetopadesam, Krishna teaches Arjuna of his duties (Karma). He takes on the form of Vishwaroopam (Universal Form) to convince Arjuna to proceed into battle.

Scene 9

The war is replete with immoralities and cheating. Bheeshma the wise, Dronacharya the guru of Kauravas, are all tricked and defeated while Karna dies at the hand of Arjuna. Bheema kills Dushasana and bathes Panchali’s hair in his blood, fulfilling her vow. In a final battle, Bheema tracks down hiding Duryodhana and kills him as well. Finally, Bheema, disturbed by his own actions, requests Krishna for salvation.

Scene 10

The war lasts eighteen days, but the Pandavas emerge victorious. Yudhishtra reluctantly accepts the crown and the kingdom celebrates the destruction of evil and the rebirth of righteousness.