Draupadi @Tripunithura

Draupadi a play in Malayalam that tells the story of womanhood will be performed at Govt Sankrit College Tripunithura, at 7.00 pm on 27th of February 2013, as part of The Kulasekhara National Theatre Festival – Natyasastra and Living Traditions, organised by Govt. Sankrit College Tripunithura, Chinmaya International Sodh Sansthan Veliyanadu, and International Centre for Kutiyattam, Tripunithua. The festival is February 24^th to March 02^nd

This play analyses the relationship between a contemporary girl, living in an Indian town with the epic character Draupadi. It searches into the many layers of complexity by which the motif of Draupadi lives in the psyche of Indian women and also the reality of her life.

This performative analysis makes use the novels Yajnaseni written by Prathibha Ray, Ini njan urangatte by PK Balakrishnan, Randamoozhamby MT Vasudevan Nair, the critical studies Bharathaparyadanam by Kuttikrishna Marar, and Women of Mahabharata by Chaturvedi Badrinath.

Draupadi is wedded to five great men who are embodiments of all virtues, and is the love of Krishna, the universal lover. So it seems logical that she might have been the happiest lady on earth. The play looks into reality. In fact all her husbands have their own priorities and perception about Draupadi’s life; none of them acknowledged her individuality and self, her potential/needs as a human being, or even her sexuality. She was just another pawn in the game of politics, and has to sacrifice her ideals, dreams, and life itself for the men who mattered to her. The play looks into these aspects transports the experience of Draupadi transcending through the ages to the life and conditioning of a contemporary girl.

Draupadi is a woman of acute understanding and wisdom, very well aware of her circumstances. She opts to keep silent and go through whatever comes her way with the understanding that it was unjust and that she deserved better. Even when she rebelled against the odds in her own individual ways, she was not all that empowered to break out of the constraints that bound her and abandon the people who she believed were her family. This is where she becomes the representative of the contemporary Indian woman who is aware but also tied into the archetypes of family and morality fed into her by the collective conscience of her roots.

The performance structure is fluid in its narrative; the actors are performers as well as characters, shifting from one persona to the other. The role of Arjuna and Krishna are enacted by one actor, and that of Yudhishthira, Bhima and Dussasana by another actor. In between they transform to stage hands, narrators, puppeteers, and musicians so as to take the performance dynamics ahead and are in tune with the tradition of Indian theatre.

The play uses paintings, music, movement, puppets, props and lights to enhance performance and is in tune with the mode and aesthetics of Indian art.

The artists who participate in this performance are Sukanya Shaji, VR Selvaraj. Shaiju T Hamza /Adithye K Narayanan, Latif Ceepee, Charu Narayanan, Jolly Antony, Kishore NK, Shobha Menon Srikanth, Dr. Terry Converse, (USA) and Madan Kolavil.

This is the 3^rd Show of Draupadi, the second one being at Amritsar, Punjab.

Photographs : Terry Converse, Shobha Menon, & Jipson Fourframes.

10-day theatre fiesta comes to end

Neha Saini
Tribune News Service

Aakash during the festival. Tribune photos

Amritsar, December 17
The 10-day theatre fiesta came to an end only to leave the audience asking for more and with performing theatre groups happily obliging. The annual National Theatre Festival organised by Manch Rangmanch at Punjab Natshala drew curtains with Draupadi, a play directed by Chandradasan. And going by the success of the 10-day event, the organisers are content that Amritsar has finally arrived on the theatre map of the country.

“We had already hosted some of the best theatre groups with our national and international theatre festivals. And this time too, the audience support and encouragement has made us plan these events frequently,” shared Kewal Dhaliwal, organiser and a prominent theatre personality from the city.

The theatre festival hosted 10 theatre groups from across the length and breadth of the country, right from Jammu and Kashmir to Kerala, Jodhpur to Kolkata. With critically acclaimed plays like Draupadi, Math Ke Raste Me Ek Din, Yamlila and Karmawali being staged, the festival was high on theatre ethics and quality performances. Some of the theatre groups and directors seemed quite impressed by Amritsar’s support towards theatre.

“It was an amazing experience being a part of the National Theatre Festival here in the holy city. I am thankful to the audience for their support and full attendance during all 10 days. The festival was an excellent mix of classic, folk and contemporary theatre and brought together some of the most popular and acclaimed theatre artistes from the country,” shared Suresh Bharadwaj, a noted theatre person and director of the play ‘Math Ke Raste Me Ek Din’.

Suresh was impressed by the venue chosen. “Punjab Natshala is an amazing cultural and theatre space created with the right amount of ambience and technical support. It’s probably one-of-its-kind in the country,” he said.

Likewise, Bahrul Islam and Sharad Sharma, who brought their plays ‘Akaash’ and ‘Arey Sharif Log’ at the festival, too felt that Amritsar has picked up pace with the other noted theatre hubs in the country.

“It’s not just about quality theatre, but also its implementation and understanding. The city has a good theatre audience and its encouragement enough for any theatre artistes to come and perform again,” said Sharad Sharma.

As for the future plans, Kewal Dhaliwal is hopeful that bigger and better theatre events become calendar activity in the holy city. “Artists in the city have shared the responsibility along with the artists nationwide to promote the cause of theatre in the city. If only the government would take note and chip in with some assistance, we can have more such activities on a much better scale.”

Paying respect to womanhood through ‘Draupadi’

Neha Saini
Tribune News Service

Amritsar, December 16

Draupadi, as most would agree is the most prominent and fancied character from Mahabharat. There have been many inspired writings and portrayals of the character considered a strong embodiment of Indian womanhood.

And so the dramatised and a contemporary version of the character was at the centre of things when Lokadharmi Theatre Group presented Draupadi at the National Theatre Festival here on Sunday.

The Kerala-based theatre group enthralled the audience with an impressive play which tried to analyse the modern womanhood through the epic character.

It searched the many layers of complexity by which the motif of Draupadi exists in the psyche of Indian women and the reality of her life.

“Draupadi is an archetype for women of all ages. She was married to five men with virtues, yet never given her due respect and acknowledgement for her individuality. She was a woman with great intelligence and remained aware of her circumstances,” says the director, Chandradasan.

“Even when she rebelled against all odds, she couldn’t break through her constraints and this is where she becomes a representative of the contemporary women, who is aware and also tied into the archetypes of family and morality fed deep into her,” he adds.

Inspired by the idea after reading Yajnaseni, a novel written by Pratibha Ray, Chandradasan decided to represent the character as a symbol of both, modern Indian women and the marginalised segment.

The play made use of several props like paintings of many known women like Sylvia Plath, Madhavi Kutti, Taslima Nasrin, Silk Smitha and more.

It also brought in some great set design and drama with masks, puppets and innovative lighting on stage. The artwork, which plays a central prop in the play, was by renowned artist Shobha Menon.

Draupadi in many moods

Parvathy Nambidi

Lokadharmi Theatre Group’s ‘Draupadi,’ to be staged tomorrow will look into the various shades of the epic character | EPS

Draupadi, as one of Mahabharata’s central characters, has always fascinated writers.  There have been several literary works on her, many portraying her as an embodiment of Indian womanhood. And all set to enthral the Kochi audience is Lokadharmi Theatre Group’s ‘Draupadi’, to be staged this Sunday at Changampuzha Samskarika Kendram directed by Chandradasan, the director of the theatre group. The one-and-half hour play will begin by 6.45 pm.

The play, as its title suggests, revolves around the character of Draupadi. The director says he was inspired by the idea after reading the novel ‘Yajnaseni’ written by Prathibha Ray. “I was enamoured by the multiple layers of the character. Novels ‘Ini Njan Urangatte’ by P K Balakrishnan, ‘Randamoozham’ by M T Vasudevan Nair, ‘Bharathaparyadanam’ by Kuttikrishna Marar and ‘Women of Mahabharata’ by Chaturvedi Badrinath were equally inspiring,” he says.

In the play, the playwright tries to analyse the modern woman through the epic character. “Draupadi is an archetype for woman of all ages. She married five great men, and hence could be considered a content person. But she could also be viewed as someone who had to compromise her preferences and priorities for the sake of others. She was a woman of intelligence and understanding. But she was forced to bear some injustice that came her way, so as to not break the framework of family. In that sense, Draupadi can be viewed as the representative of both the modern woman, and equally that of the marginalised section of the society,” says Chandradasan.

The play is presented in a unique way with several props like paintings, masks, puppeteers. Paintings of many well-known female faces like Sylvia Plath, Madhavi Kutti, Thaslima Nasrin, Silk Smitha and others have been used so as to relate to the present era. Masks are used to symbolise male characters, the concept being introduced by Dr Terry Converse, the Head of the Theatre Department of Washington State University.

In order to maintain the continuity of the narrative, the same performers appear as different characters. The main character has been presented by Sukanya Shaji, a Kochi based theatre artist. While Adithye K Narayanan performs the role of Arjuna and Krishna, that of Yudhishtira, Bhima and Dushashana are enacted by V R Shelvaraj. Music of the play is by Sreevalsan J Menon. While art is by Shobha Menon, make up is by Pattanam Rasheed. Director Chandradasan, a professor at St Albert’s College has directed more than 40 plays in different languages.

Courtesy 18th New Indian Express August 2012 KOCHI

Premiere of Draupadi

Draupadi a play in Malayalam that tells the story of womanhood written, designed and directed by me is to be premiered at Changampuzha park Edappalli, Kochi India at 6.45 pm on 20th August 2012. Terry Converse from Washington State University, KS Rajendran from NSD New Delhi,  KG Paulose, and TM Abraham the vice chairman of Kerala Sangeeta Nataka Akademy will be the guests of the day.

The play

This play analyses the relationship between a contemporary girl living in an Indian town with the epic character Draupadi. It searches into the many layers of complexity by which the motif of Draupadi lives in the psyche of Indian women and also the reality of her life.

This performative analysis makes use the novels Yajnaseni written by Prathibha Ray, Ini njan urangatte by PK Balakrishnan, Randamoozham by MT Vasudevan Nair, the critical studies Bharathaparyadanam by Kuttikrishna Marar, and Women of Mahabharata by Chaturvedi Badrinath.

Draupadi is wedded to five great men who are embodiments of all virtues, and is the love of Krishna, the universal lover. So it seems logical that she might have been the happiest lady on earth. The play looks into reality. In fact all her husbands have their own priorities and perception about Draupadi’s life; none of them acknowledged her individuality and self, her potential/needs as a human being, or even her sexuality. She was just another pawn in the game of politics, and has to sacrifice her ideals, dreams, and life itself for the men who mattered to her. The play looks into these aspects transports the experience of Draupadi transcending through the ages to the life and conditioning of a contemporary girl.

Draupadi is a woman of acute understanding and wisdom, very well aware of her circumstances. She opts to keep silent and go through whatever comes her way with the understanding that it was unjust and that she deserved better. Even when she rebelled against the odds in her own individual ways, she was not all that empowered to break out of the constraints that bound her and abandon the people who she believed were her family. This is where she becomes the representative of the contemporary Indian woman who is aware but also tied into the archetypes of family and morality fed into her by the collective conscience of her roots.

The performance structure is fluid in its narrative; the actors are performers as well as characters, shifting from one persona to the other. The role of Arjuna and Krishna are enacted by one actor, and that of Yudhishthira, Bhima and Dussasana by another actor. In between they transform to stage hands, narrators, puppeteers, and musicians so as to take the performance dynamics ahead and are in tune with the tradition of Indian theatre.

The play uses paintings, music, movement, puppets, props and lights to enhance performance and is in tune with the mode and aesthetics of Indian art.

Cast and Credit

A group of eminent artists are associating in this production that include, SUKANYA SHAJI, VR SELVARAJ. SHAIJU T HAMZA /ADITHYE K NARAYANAN as the actors. The credits is Music: SREEVALSAN J MENON, Music control: LATIF CEEPEE, Live percussion: KISHORE NK Vocal: RADHIKA NAIR Choreography: DEEPA KARTHA & RANJITH TRIPUNITHURA  Physical Trainer and Costumes– CHARU NARAYANAN Set: JOLLY ANTONY Properties &Materials: PRAMOD GOPALAKRISHNAN Art: SHOBHA MENON Make up: PATTANAM RASHEED Lighting- SRIKANTH Production Assistance: CHANDRAN V A AROOKKUTTY & JEBIN JESMES, Stills: JIPSON FOURFRAMES, Video KALLYAN, Mask Characterization – Dr. TERRY CONVERSE, USA Production in charge, & Media Management: MADAN KOLAVIL

Wading through the world of colours

K Surekha

Her paintings are dream-like and poetry flows from them just as visuals flood your imagination when you read her verses. Multifaceted but more passionate about painting, Philadelphia-based Shobha Menon was in the city, her home town, where she hopes to exhibit her work in the near future. Her new project is a series on women depicted in the epics. She looks at them from her own vision of life. “My attempts are to demystify moral notions, tear away the veil of holiness.”

She looks beyond the textual interpretation of women in mythology and shows how ‘his’ stories are not ‘her’ stories. How they were victims of male fancies and fantasies and tools to fulfil their  pride and prejudice even as tradition paints them in colours of idealised women hood.

Shobha’s hands lead Gandhari, Draupadi, Madhavi and Sita out of the epics into their own world of introspection.

She is looking forward to showing her works in Delhi and Kochi. “I visit Kochi every year to connect with my root reality and visit art galleries and see as many performing arts as possible.” And when moved by them, paintings take shape. “When I saw Lokadharmi’s play ‘Madhavi’, I wanted to paint her,” says Shobha. Chandradasan is doing a play on Draupadi in which Shobha’s paintings will be incorporated. She is working on them. “I am creating nine large paintings (48” x 30”) for the play.”

They will be part of the narrative which is Krishna-centric and viewed in contemporary light. More than a production exhibition, the frames will serve as background, comment, create a particular atmosphere and link other episodes. Shobha is working on the series which is more of Pahadi and Kangra style of the north but recreated on a larger canvas. “I was the art director for Chandradasan’s first play ‘Theruvujatha’ based on Badal Sircar’s text and have known him since my Kalapeedom days in the mid 1980s.”

This time, her visit to Kochi coincided with the workshop of Mazhavillu, the children’s theatre of Lokadharmi. She was invited to do a session on the basics of art.

“Limited by space and facilities, we created  masks using paper and recycled or casually available materials and objects. The kids were very clever and came out with mixed media masks. It was a great experience for me. The children explored their creativity and  enjoyed playing with clay. It seemed like they had suddenly found freedom and joy when the clay took the shapes they desired.”

Though there is talent, art in India lacks many facilities that are available in the West, she says. Kerala’s art scenario is changing for the better with more and more art galleries coming up but artists have not ventured into setting up one.  Unfortunately in Kerala, professional art groups don’t have a common space for interaction unlike in Philadelphia where there are many art centres that provide space for fine arts and performing arts at the same venue.

Shobha has studios at Philadelphia and San Fransico and does shows throughout the year. After completing MFA in Art History and Aesthetics from MS University, Baroda, and PhD, she taught art for two years. Later she worked for about 10 years in the IT field as graphics and IT consultant. She also had a stint with animation, web design and development. She believes her experience in all the fields helped her look at society and the world with a wider perspective.

“Right now, I am exhibiting at MCGOPA-SPP galleries at Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, and Indo-American Council’s curated art show, Erasing Borders 2011, in New York. I am presenting a solo show “Behind the Fences…’ in Philadelphia from July 26 to August 4.”

Shobha likes to capture moods and emotions, internalised memories of myths and narratives, and the complexities and subtleties of human experience.

“The concept of core images that represent psychological dynamics has been important in relating my work with mythology. My works are best understood as a cultural construct with their own idioms formed by some universal values.” Though she prefers oil, she enjoys exploring other media. She loves looking at empty canvases and colours and enjoys the sensation of letting life’s mysteries and stories swirl around her. “Ultimately, I desire the visual work to offer a defined reading of my thoughts — past and present and a visual sensibility, a deep feeling to connect the viewer to the work.”

Shobha plans to return to her hometown for good.

Courtesy;  The New Indian express daily  on 4th June 2011.

Note;  Shobha Menon is part of Lokadharmi and she had designed the brochures, posteres website, and booklets of the group. she had documented the productions, and she is also a member of the director board of Lokadharmi.