CHITRA – Feast for Eyes
Shubha Gowri, Ninasam
The blending together of aesthetic beauty and ultimate wisdom is unveiled exquisitely in ‘Chitra’. Chitra simultaneously the feast for eyes and good for thought. A beautiful dance drama directed by veteran director Dr. Shripad Bhat and performed by renowned cultural group Nritya Niketana Kodavoor.
The symmetry and the grace of the dance (the classical Bharatanatya) blending with the sense of theatre was the excellent experience served through the drama. Chitra a wild beauty who had grown-up like a man (a character from Purana) becoming the victim of worldly love with Arjuna, in the process of overcoming this, she transforming and evolving oneself as a beauty of truth and power is the shaped story that is adopted in drama. The ‘Chitra’ originally written by Rabindranath Tagore is artistically translated and modified by finer sensible hand Sudha Adukala.
The opening of the play (prologue) Naandi Kalidasa’s Shloka (Vagartha Viva Sampartha) layed a strong base to the theme signifying the unitedness of manly and womanly entities in the nature like meaning and word merged each other in a language.
While visualizing naandi shloka the presented live pictures on stage for the lives (Vagartha Viva Sampartha and Parvathi-Parameshwara) intensely invoked the beyond world experiences to the mind. The graceful hand movements which is like passing waves generated from nature for the lives ‘Parvathi-Parameshwara’ in the shloka was ever memorable. The powerful entry of Chitra in the wild forest as a huntswoman (Hunter) passes a thrill among the audience.
The play has the arresting quality in its artistic presentation as well as in its ever playable storyline. Chitra falls in love with Arjuna who has caught up in her own hunting net throws to catch the wild animals. She becomes aware of surprising variation within her and mustering the courage Chitra confesses her love to Arjuna. Arjuna rejects this raw beauty for the sake of severe practice of bachelorship in his pilgrimage. Chitra deeply humiliated by this grasping that the not feminine quality of her body failed to attract and to get Arjuna makes her decide to get supreme attractiveness and exceptional beauty to her body.
Madana, the God of love appears in front of Chitra pleased by her austere prayer grants her a boon that is heavenly beauty for Chitra. Bestrewed with this glittering beauty chitra seeks the attention of Partha by sitting on huge rock on his way. Here she hears pleasure pleasing longings of Partha for her. But before embracing longings of Arjuna Chitra’s original self (raw self) confronts (speaks) to the outer layer of beauty, now she feels difficult to be in false identity. However, after spending one night with Arjuna, pricked by the hollowness of beauty and wordly bust, Chitra the originally the huntergirl wanders in the dark forest haunted by nightmarish dilemmas. Now realizing the intense genuineness and trueness of core self Chitra’s heart urges to withdraw or jettison the outer and other identity of beauty. Again she prays back to God Madana. God Madana appearing again appreciates her this determination and formation of self and grants her original appearance. Fortified with inner beauty and wisdom of like Chitra moves with her peer girls for her usual art of hunting. But Arjuna who has sucked a bit of nectar of womanliness feeling incomplete within him seeks and longs for separated and distaned real chitra. Finding her in the forest in the amidst of hunters trape he expresses and requests his longings for her and follows her and joins her in hunting.
Arjuna experiencing the pang of love and in the end he is the need to follow chitra saves the story, it becoming a unique man’s need of a ripened woman in later part of relationship for his completement. Rather it becomes the establishment of Chitra’s autonomy on own’s own self. Drama gets this win or Chita wins in drama by making Arjuna to follow her rather than she stays with him.
Chitra’s metamorphosis like movement from raw to the splendored shape and attractive beauty through using of veil by God Madana and Vasantaraja created a grandever envi and glittering pleasure for the hearts and minds. The usage to the audience promoting many imaginations like Chitra meaning a beauty of veil to the outer world and again in the end when several glittering Chitra disappears with veil connected that the core Chita dropping out the false veil of beauty.
In praying to God Madana the masculine Chitra putting sands on knees (Badagutittu Yakshagana Style) helped to arouse the strong feel of austerity of Chitra among the audience exhibiting the possibility in changing in the meaning of movements when applied different emotions.
The appearing of God Madana and Vasantharaja and transforming the surrounding into Autumns or Vasantakala was pleasant filling and merry evolving in the mind and hearts.
Audience gets the super feel when masculine Chitra and feminine Chitra’s glorified movements presented contrastingly in the play.
In the end the original Chitra’s entry using Yakshagana movement perfectly established her doubly strengthened self.
The play gives dear feel and heavenly locate simultaneously upto the ending.
Hunter Chitra (Anagha) and the later Chitra (Dheemahi) enters to the heart and minds of audience by acting through their vein.
In the end again the raw Chitra or masculine quality of Chitra looks and stands subtly more beautiful and dear may be is the essence of the play.
The beautification of the theme gains much kudos expecting many more such pleasure by Dr. Shripad bhat.
Shubha Gowri Ninasam
Shubha Gowri, Ninasam
The blending together of aesthetic beauty and ultimate wisdom is unveiled exquisitely in ‘Chitra’. Chitra simultaneously the feast for eyes and good for thought. A beautiful dance drama directed by veteran director Dr. Shripad Bhat and performed by renowned cultural group Nritya Niketana Kodavoor.
The symmetry and the grace of the dance (the classical Bharatanatya) blending with the sense of theatre was the excellent experience served through the drama. Chitra a wild beauty who had grown-up like a man (a character from Purana) becoming the victim of worldly love with Arjuna, in the process of overcoming this, she transforming and evolving oneself as a beauty of truth and power is the shaped story that is adopted in drama. The ‘Chitra’ originally written by Rabindranath Tagore is artistically translated and modified by finer sensible hand Sudha Adukala.
The opening of the play (prologue) Naandi Kalidasa’s Shloka (Vagartha Viva Sampartha) layed a strong base to the theme signifying the unitedness of manly and womanly entities in the nature like meaning and word merged each other in a language.
While visualizing naandi shloka the presented live pictures on stage for the lives (Vagartha Viva Sampartha and Parvathi-Parameshwara) intensely invoked the beyond world experiences to the mind. The graceful hand movements which is like passing waves generated from nature for the lives ‘Parvathi-Parameshwara’ in the shloka was ever memorable. The powerful entry of Chitra in the wild forest as a huntswoman (Hunter) passes a thrill among the audience.
The play has the arresting quality in its artistic presentation as well as in its ever playable storyline. Chitra falls in love with Arjuna who has caught up in her own hunting net throws to catch the wild animals. She becomes aware of surprising variation within her and mustering the courage Chitra confesses her love to Arjuna. Arjuna rejects this raw beauty for the sake of severe practice of bachelorship in his pilgrimage. Chitra deeply humiliated by this grasping that the not feminine quality of her body failed to attract and to get Arjuna makes her decide to get supreme attractiveness and exceptional beauty to her body.
Madana, the God of love appears in front of Chitra pleased by her austere prayer grants her a boon that is heavenly beauty for Chitra. Bestrewed with this glittering beauty chitra seeks the attention of Partha by sitting on huge rock on his way. Here she hears pleasure pleasing longings of Partha for her. But before embracing longings of Arjuna Chitra’s original self (raw self) confronts (speaks) to the outer layer of beauty, now she feels difficult to be in false identity. However, after spending one night with Arjuna, pricked by the hollowness of beauty and wordly bust, Chitra the originally the huntergirl wanders in the dark forest haunted by nightmarish dilemmas. Now realizing the intense genuineness and trueness of core self Chitra’s heart urges to withdraw or jettison the outer and other identity of beauty. Again she prays back to God Madana. God Madana appearing again appreciates her this determination and formation of self and grants her original appearance. Fortified with inner beauty and wisdom of like Chitra moves with her peer girls for her usual art of hunting. But Arjuna who has sucked a bit of nectar of womanliness feeling incomplete within him seeks and longs for separated and distaned real chitra. Finding her in the forest in the amidst of hunters trape he expresses and requests his longings for her and follows her and joins her in hunting.
Arjuna experiencing the pang of love and in the end he is the need to follow chitra saves the story, it becoming a unique man’s need of a ripened woman in later part of relationship for his completement. Rather it becomes the establishment of Chitra’s autonomy on own’s own self. Drama gets this win or Chita wins in drama by making Arjuna to follow her rather than she stays with him.
Chitra’s metamorphosis like movement from raw to the splendored shape and attractive beauty through using of veil by God Madana and Vasantaraja created a grandever envi and glittering pleasure for the hearts and minds. The usage to the audience promoting many imaginations like Chitra meaning a beauty of veil to the outer world and again in the end when several glittering Chitra disappears with veil connected that the core Chita dropping out the false veil of beauty.
In praying to God Madana the masculine Chitra putting sands on knees (Badagutittu Yakshagana Style) helped to arouse the strong feel of austerity of Chitra among the audience exhibiting the possibility in changing in the meaning of movements when applied different emotions.
The appearing of God Madana and Vasantharaja and transforming the surrounding into Autumns or Vasantakala was pleasant filling and merry evolving in the mind and hearts.
Audience gets the super feel when masculine Chitra and feminine Chitra’s glorified movements presented contrastingly in the play.
In the end the original Chitra’s entry using Yakshagana movement perfectly established her doubly strengthened self.
The play gives dear feel and heavenly locate simultaneously upto the ending.
Hunter Chitra (Anagha) and the later Chitra (Dheemahi) enters to the heart and minds of audience by acting through their vein.
In the end again the raw Chitra or masculine quality of Chitra looks and stands subtly more beautiful and dear may be is the essence of the play.
The beautification of the theme gains much kudos expecting many more such pleasure by Dr. Shripad bhat.
Shubha Gowri Ninasam
