A helpless mother, a dutiful son, both caught in a web of righteousness and love towards their respective families, yet bound by a biological relationship, is more than a usual mother-son relationship. Noted Mohiniattam danseuse Mandakini Trivedi, who explores the saga of Kunti and Karna in her latest dance production Prathama Kaunteya, says that it was one of the most intensive productions that she has worked on.
“There are various facets to this relationship, so many complex colours and yet, it holds you strong,” she says. When the Happening Festival organisers from Kolkata approached her to present something on Rabindranath Tagore’s works, Trivedi sought out his unusual works, which are not usually taken to. “I didn’t want to do a typical Mohiniattam recital based on his works. Somewhere, I wanted to break out of my conditioning and this seemed like a perfect opportunity to do so. I didn’t stick to the usual repertoire and wanted to go beyond the existing possibilities around,” she says. While Trivedi plays the character of Kunti, Bharatnatyam dancer Vaibhav Arekar essays the role of Karna. The production was staged at the NCPA in Mumbai recently.
Prathama Kaunteya delves into the relationship between Kunti, mother of Pandavas and Karna, the great warrior of Kauravas. Karna was the son of Surya Dev (the Sun God) and Kunti, before she married King Pandu. She realised much later in life that Karna was her son and as a mother she felt immensely happy. But she also needed to do her duty and be righteous to her five other sons. “I was so drawn to their characters, more so towards Karna. There are no illusions of negativity in his character and he comes across as a very noble person. Kunti on the other hand does strategise things,” she says. Trivedi says that one can’t really take sides in this story. While Kunti was right in her way, Karna was right in his way too. “Kunti was a little girl when she gave birth to Karna and one couldn’t have expected her to raise the child, given the circumstances she was in. Karna, who was brought up by someone else, will definitely feel more for the people who looked after him, irrespective of the blood relations,” says Trivedi.
What she finds alluring about the story is how two individuals’ helplessness is pitted against each other. “I’ve always felt that the hand of karma cannot be exonerated. It’s all about how your actions will bear fruit and this sheer poignancy of the story inspired me to go ahead with it,” says Trivedi. The challenges that Trivedi faced were that of making this tale a descriptive one, to which people could connect with and not just be a part of the audience. “If one goes to see, this tale is quite a teary-eyed, soppy and full of melodrama clichés. I didn’t want that to happen with this production. People should connect with it and not get too weepy. I’ve tried to make it robust and endearing at the same time,” says Trivedi.
One of the most interesting sequences about this production is the rope dance where Trivedi has incorporated a duel of sorts with the help of rope. Metaphorically, it would stand for the umbilical cord, which represents the bond between a mother and child. “It has been exciting working with different elements. The rope is a symbol of motherhood, of birth and of that eternal bond,” she says. The presentation was more of a challenge than the actual choreography itself. “One needs to perceive it holistically and make sure it doesn’t become a linear narrative depending just based upon hand gestures and expressions, which often is the case in any classical dance form. There are various ways to depict that inner turmoil and anguish,” explains Trivedi. The idiom of classical dance gives way to incorporation of various other elements like painting and having a multimedia presentation in the background made quite a lot of difference.
Artist Subodh Poddar who paints in the background behind a big screen is a treat to the eyes with his rhythmic flow of images and shapes and smoothly lets a story flow. “Subodh has a brilliant sense of rhythm and dance. He literally choreographs his paintings on the canvas,” says Trivedi.
The storytelling had to be interesting and hold the audience’s attention, Trivedi felt. Everything from music and script has been crafted in a different manner. The story is put to verse in Hindi adaptation, expertly forged in moving verse, by noted Sahitya Akademi award winner, Veena Alase. “I wanted the poetry to be translated in Hindi since it has a universal appeal and didn’t want the essence of the poetry to be diluted in any way whatsoever,” Trivedi says.
“This production has taken me by surprise with respect to my capabilities. I am happy with the way our whole team has collaborated, ” says Trivedi.